Netflix Q2 earnings preview: Web-tracking data shows traffic slumped then rebounded

An image from the second season of "Never Have I Ever." — "Never Have I Ever."
Isabella B. Vosmikova/Netflix.

Netflix's web traffic slumped during the Q2 and then began to recover, data from Similarweb shows.
It suggests engagement with Netflix has waned a bit, but that it could be temporary.
Netflix reports earnings for its second quarter on July 20.
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Netflix's web traffic slumped during the second quarter of 2021, but rebounded toward the end of the period, according to data from analytics firm Similarweb that was shared exclusively with Insider.

The data, which shows unique visitors to Netflix's desktop and mobile website, suggests that engagement with Netflix waned during the period as the effects of the pandemic subsided in some markets.

Still, the slowdown doesn't seem like it will last long since traffic started to recover in June, according to the Similarweb data.

The findings come as Netflix is due to report its earnings for the second quarter on Tuesday.

Investors and the broader media sector are watching the release for signs of whether the recent softening in streaming subscriber growth coming out of the pandemic will ease up, or continue throughout the summer.

Netflix, which missed subscriber-growth targets during the first quarter, forecasted just 1 million subscriber additions for the period. That's compared with 10 million a year earlier and 4 million the prior quarter.

The company had said so many people signed up during the pandemic that there was bound to be a slowdown. It also faulted the pandemic for causing production stoppages that delayed some major releases.