The growing number of coronavirus cases (here's a guide to free services for those in lockdown) is wreaking havoc globally. Many of these cases are making headlines. Society is panicking, and everyone fears the arrival of the final end. Everyone? No. In the United States, a company that 20 years ago rented movies by mail (and now handles annual budgets in the billions of dollars) remains calm. For Netflix, the coronavirus has been a boon. Truly.
Netflix is doing well with COVID-19
That's at least what several studies compiled by the American media outlet Variety indicate. Faced with the fear of contracting the coronavirus, people are going to prefer to stay home . And what do people do when they stay home? Grab the remote, of course. The one for the game console and, above all, the one for the television.
Netflix “is an obvious beneficiary,” says Dan Salmon of BMO Capital Markets , which has already seen this new status quo reflected in its stock market index this week. While the spread of the disease has caused global financial markets to plummet (the Italian case is particularly interesting after the recent news from Milan), Netflix shares have risen by more than 2% in a short period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lym47XB_qeQ&t=1s
Netflix, winner in the global alarm for the Coronavirus
Disney, for its part, has seen its shares fall by more than 4%, driven primarily by the closure of its theme park in China and the cancellation of Mulan 's release in numerous Chinese cinemas. And it's not the only entertainment company affected. Facebook's shares have dropped 2,5%, Google's 3,42%, Amazon's 3,68%, and Apple's 5,2% . Apple had already warned its investors that it would be unable to meet its March financial forecasts because the bulk of its production comes from China.
In recent days we've read that the American stock market is going through one of its worst periods in recent history. Wall Street has now recorded six consecutive days of losses and is on track to register its worst week since the years of the financial crisis, according to El País.
The renowned economic analysis firm Moody's reported about a month ago that the COVID-19 virus would be very beneficial for Disney+, HBO, Netflix, and similar services. "If the contagion becomes more international, it is likely that more people will seek home entertainment options such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Peacock, HBO Max, and similar services."