In the fourth quarter of 2014 Netflix added 4.3 million new users - beating its own forecast of 4 million. This is being driven by growth in new markets. The streaming service now has a total global audience of 57.4 million in 50 countries.
It says that it plans to continue to aggressively target international markets. It now believes that it will complete its global expansion to over 200 countries by 2017 - a year ahead of schedule.
The company continued to add subscribers in the United States, but at a slower pace. It gained 1.9 million new users over the three months - compared to 2.3 million in the same period in 2013.
Netflix has also made a modest investment in the Chinese market but will need a licence to operate in the region. Chief executive Reed Hastings said, "It’s not 100 percent clear that we'll be able to do it."
Investors welcomed these new figures and the company's shares enjoyed a 16 percent bounce in after-hours trading. Net income rose to $83.4m (€72m) from $48.4m (€42m) a year earlier.
Netflix also reiterated its commitment to investing in original content - having developed its own hit series including House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
In 2013 Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos told GQ that: “The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.”
With established TV stations, including HBO rolling out their own streaming services, and current online competitors like Amazon committing to investing in developing more of their own shows - Netflix faces real competition to stay ahead of the curve in 2015.
