Following through on the plans it shared on its recent earnings call, Netflix has offered $1.6 billion in senior notes, with the debt largely funding its increasingly ambitious spending on content.
The company’s official announcement said it “intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include content acquisitions, production and development, capital expenditures, investments, working capital and potential acquisitions and strategic transactions.” It is the sixth time the company has issued senior notes since 2013.
Executives anticipate spending between $7 billion and $8 billion in 2018 on film and TV titles, a step up from previous estimates of $7 billion and up from the $6 billion it spent this year. One major growth area is feature films. Netflix anticipates releasing 80 films next year–in the quarter ending September 30, by comparison, it put out eight.
Debt is nothing new for Netflix, whose stock has posted meteoric gains despite the company running negative cash flows due to its big bets on streaming content. The company’s share price indicates investors are along for the ride, with the stock recently hitting record highs. Last week, it pulled back slightly and will begin the week at $194.16 a share, but was up a fraction in pre-market trading this morning.
As of the end of the third quarter, the company had just shy of $5 billion in outstanding long-term debt. In May, Netflix sold $1.56 billion in senior notes due in 2027.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.