'Flix flex… Netflix is back in #GainzMode. The streamer smashed growth expectations, adding 8.8M global subscribers last quarter, 3M+ more than Wall Street expected. It's Netflix's biggest quarterly net subscriber gain since the lockdown boom of 2020, when it added 10.1M homebound viewers in the second quarter. Revenue and profit grew last quarter as Netflix's password-mooching crackdown paid off (and lured your ex to finally get their own account). Netflix's new ad-supported tier also seems to have been a good play, for two reasons: 

• Accessible: Netflix's ad-plan members grew 70% quarter over quarter as budget-conscious Americans were drawn by the cheaper option (starts at $7/month).

• Profitable: While ad tiers cost less, they tend to have better profit margins than costlier ad-free subs. It's why streamers like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery are trying to steer customers toward those plans.

Pushing its limits... Despite the strong growth, Netflix announced it's going to raise prices again for some of its plans. Its ad-free premium plan will rise from $20/month to $23. Netflix's basic plan (which was discontinued except for existing customers) will rise from $10 to $12 (possibly to drive customers to the cheaper ad tier). There hasn't been much new content on Netflix since the Hollywood strikes, so it's a bold move to keep raising prices.

Range gives you pricing power… so does popularity. Netflix's growth last quarter, coupled with its status as the streaming leader, gives it confidence that it can pull off price hikes without losing subs. But it's also a matter of giving customers options: Netflix's US monthly plans range from $7 to $23, a wide spread for different budgets. The company said its US starting price is "extremely competitive." And if folks do move down to the ad tier, it could mean better margins.

🏦 Main Street POV…JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo topped Q3 estimates as higher interest rates lifted bottom lines. Chase (America's biggest bank) saw profits soar 35% after record net interest income (what it earns from interest on loans and deposits, minus what it pays out for savings accounts). Wells Fargo's revenue jumped 6.5% as higher interest rates helped offset cooling lending activity. As America's debt balloons, WF set aside $333M in case of defaults on credit cards and commercial real-estate loans.

🏦 Wall Street POV… Investment-focused Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs topped expectations, though profits were down from a year ago as dealmaking slowed (fewer mergers, slumping IPOs). Morgan Stanley shares fell 6% after its wealth-management and investment-banking revenue came in short of analysts' forecasts. Goldman Sachs balanced a slowdown in investment banking with revenue growth in equities and bond trading.

➡️ Forward POV… While banks could keep benefiting from high rates, surging Treasury yields could mean lofty unrealized bond losses. US consumer-spending growth smashed expectations last month, boding well for banks, but debt has also swelled, posing more risk. IPOs have started a comeback, but the biggest debuts of 2021 have shed over half their value.

🪙 Coins… Reddit said it's ending its blockchain-based community points system, citing the "regulatory environment." The decision plunged the price of the linked moon and brick tokens, and angered Reddit's crypto community.

🌶️ Spicy… New York's attorney general sued the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange Gemini, crypto-lending platform Genesis, and Genesis' parent co, DCG. The suit argues that the three defrauded over 230K customers out of $1B+.

🤹‍♀️ Quirky… Speaking of suits, grocery star Trader Joe's