1 billion hours worth of viewing couldn’t save Netflix.

The popular sci-fi series “Stranger Things” could not carry the digital streaming platform Netflix any higher with its fourth season, despite its enormous impact.

The existence of “Stranger Things,” which aired on Netflix and clocked in at over 1.15 billion hours of views with its final season, showed a short-term recovery effect, with shares in the platform plummeting 70 percent.

The fourth season is the second most watched Netflix season of all time. The series also reached #1 on the platform’s top 10 charts in 91 countries.

But analysts warn that Netflix is ​​still a “business in transition.” The company is struggling with “subdued” subscriber growth, fueled by record-high inflation rates and stiff competition from Amazon, Apple, and Disney+.

Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers at the end of the first quarter, causing the company’s value to shrink by nearly 70 percent. It also announced that it expects to lose another 2 million subscribers by the end of the second quarter.

Experts: “Keep Waiting”
The platform also laid off more than 450 employees in total as it struggled with the weak share price. Netflix stock was worth over $600 in January 2022 but was trading at $183 as of Tuesday afternoon.

Thomas Champion, director and senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, said Netflix is ​​a company investors should watch but not buy just yet.

Champion explained that the last season of Stranger Things, which “enjoyed” the platform with more than 13,000 users, shows reason for “optimism” but that doesn’t mean the digital broadcasting giant has yet to recover.