Netflix may test just how essential it is

Forget dinner and a movie. As cinemas remain desolate, cooler weather puts an end to the enjoyment of safe outdoor dining and Covid-19 roars back across the world, takeout and Netflix sound more appealing than ever. And when something’s as in demand as Netflix is, prices go up.

Netflix Inc. released results for its latest quarter on Tuesday afternoon, showing it added fewer subscribers to its base than Wall Street analysts predicted. That sent the stock price tumbling 6% in after-hours trading. Still, investors don’t need a report card to tell them of the increasing utility of the streaming-video service or its market dominance. Everyone’s been living it these last seven months. In fact, it may not have been the arrival of new streaming-video competitors like HBO Max and Peacock that hurt Netflix so much as the partial reopening of restaurants around the U.S. and other countries, with consumers itching to get out of the house.

Now, the changing leaves are making way for frostier temperatures, which pose an added challenge this year for eateries and other indoor locales given how the novel coronavirus thrives in not-well-ventilated confines.