Netflix, Inc. NFLX Shares are rising on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter 2024 financial results after the market closed on Thursday.

What you should know: The streaming giant reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.40, beating analysts' estimate of $5.12. Revenue rose 15% year-over-year to $9.82 billion, beating analysts' estimate of $9.76 billion.

The company also saw a 14.4% increase in global paid streaming memberships.

The company also provided a regional breakdown of its revenue. Sales in the U.S. and Canada as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa increased 16% year over year. Sales in Latin America rose 9%, while the Asia Pacific region saw the strongest growth, increasing 19% year-over-year.

In its letter to shareholders, the company said, “Engagement, our best indicator of member satisfaction, remains healthy.” In the first three quarters of 2024, viewing hours per member increased in owner households (the clearest view of engagement -Trends after the introduction of paid sharing) from year to year.”

Directions: For the fourth quarter of 2024, Netflix expects earnings per share of $4.23 and revenue of $10.12 billion. Netflix's full fiscal 2024 revenue forecast is $38.9 billion, and the company expects fiscal 2025 revenue to be between $43 billion and $44 billion.

Analyst changes: Following the earnings report, several analysts announced price target adjustments.

How to buy Netflix shares

You're probably curious now about how you can participate in the market for Netflix – whether by buying shares or even trying to bet against the company.

Buying stocks is usually done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many providers allow you to purchase “fractional shares,” which allows you to own shares of stock without having to purchase a whole share. For example, owning some stocks like Berkshire Hathaway or Amazon.com can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, you can do so with brokers.

In the case of Netflix, which is trading at $753.39 at the time of publication, $100 would buy you 0.13 shares.

If you want to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You will need access to an options trading platform or a broker that allows you to short a stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of short selling a stock can be found in this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option or sell a call option at a strike price that is higher than the current stock price – either way, you can benefit from the decline in the stock price.

See also: Tesla promotes key executives and gives them more responsibility during leadership transition

NFLX price action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Netflix shares were up 10.5% at $759.55 at the time of writing.

Image: Courtesy of Netflix, Inc.