Stock Market Today: Netflix, Alphabet Lead Rally in Tech Stocks
Netflix reported much higher-than-expected subscriber growth, while Wall Street cheered Alphabet's layoff announcement.


Stocks ended the week on a high note. And while the buying was widespread on Friday, tech stocks were the clear winner as investors cheered impressive subscriber growth from streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) and news that Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) is undergoing its biggest round of layoffs ever.
Last night, Netflix reported fourth-quarter earnings of 12 cents per share, much lower than the 45 cents per share analysts were expecting, due to forex headwinds. Revenue of $7.85 billion matched the consensus estimate. But the real number investors were looking for was the subscriber growth, and Netflix blew that out of the water. Specifically, the company added 7.66 million paid subscribers over the three-month period – a time frame that included the launch of a lower-price, ad-supported tier. This compared to Wall Street's expectation for 4.57 million additions. Netflix also said founder Reed Hastings will step down as co-CEO, and will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters. The stock rose 8.5% as a result.
"Netflix has had a show-stopping end to the year, in a performance even its worst critics can't argue with," says Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "While Wall Street sags with the weight of recession fear and Federal Reserve jitters, Netflix's huge beat on subscriber numbers has injected some much-needed optimism into the mix."

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Elsewhere in the tech space, Alphabet said it is cutting roughly 12,000 positions, which works out to be about 6% of its global workforce, sending its shares up 5.3%. "Over the past two years we've seen periods of dramatic growth," Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, wrote in a memo to employees. "To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today." This follows similar layoff announcements from several big tech companies in recent months, most notably Amazon.com (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Big gains for Netflix and Alphabet stocks helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperform today (+2.7% at 11,140), though the broader S&P 500 (+1.9% at 3,972) and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.0% at 33,375) still notched robust gains.
3 Hot Earnings Reports to Watch
So what's in store for next week? Lots of chatter around what the Federal Reserve may or may not do at its upcoming two-day policy meeting, set to kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Ahead of this, Wall Street will get more data on how the economy is holding up amid the central bank's efforts to tame inflation through aggressive interest-rate hikes, with the first reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) due out on Thursday. Additionally, December's personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index – the Fed's preferred measure of inflation that tracks consumer spending – will be released Friday.
And throughout the week, investors will sift through a jam-packed earnings calendar. Among the notable names set to report quarterly earnings are Dow Jones stocks Microsoft and Visa (V). Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) is also on the docket. Despite a dismal end of the year for Tesla stock, analysts still expect solid growth in the company's Q4 financial results.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
The Most Tax-Friendly State for Retirement in 2025: Here It Is
Retirement Tax How do you retire ‘tax-free’? This state doesn’t tax retirement income, has a low median property tax bill, and even offers savings on gas. Are you ready for a move?
-
Plan for Higher Health Care Costs in 2026: Projected Medicare Part B and Part D Premiums
In 2026, Medicare participants will pay more for their health care. Part B costs are expected to rise more than 10%. Here's what you can do.
-
Dow Dives 542 Points on Soft Jobs Data: Stock Market Today
The last day of a busy week ends with the first greater-than-1% move in either direction in more than a month.
-
Stocks Can't Hold Meta, Microsoft Gains: Stock Market Today
The main indexes all opened higher Thursday on impressive Big Tech earnings, but momentum faded into the close.
-
How to Invest for a Fall Interest Rate Cut by the Fed
A lot can happen between now and then, but the probability the Fed cuts interest rates in September is back above 80%.
-
Stocks Are Up and Down on Fed Day: Stock Market Today
In another sign of changing times, JPMorgan has partnered with Coinbase to enable cryptocurrency purchases with credit cards.
-
Stocks Close Mixed to Start Fed Week: Stock Market Today
News of an EU-U.S. trade deal was met with muted reaction from market participants who are looking ahead to a jam-packed week.
-
Are Buffett and Berkshire About to Bail on Kraft Heinz Stock?
Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway own a lot of Kraft Heinz stock, so what happens when they decide to sell KHC?
-
Dow Bleeds Red Due to Big Blue: Stock Market Today
Six of the official GICS sectors were in the green, led by communications services, technology and energy stocks.
-
How the Stock Market Performed in the First 6 Months of Trump's Second Term
Six months after President Donald Trump's inauguration, take a look at how the stock market has performed.