(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc.'s international business is on a tear -- and it had better stay that way.
The streaming company added 7.31 million paid international customers last quarter, accounting for 83 percent of total new members. The overseas share is getting bigger as it's getting harder to find new customers in the U.S.
Over the past two years, the percentage of international additions has slowly inched up from the 70s to the 80s. Overseas members now account for the majority of Netflix customers --- 58 percent at the end of 2018. And the Los Gatos, California-based company projects that international markets will eventually account for as much as 90 percent of its customer base.
Fourth-quarter results, released late Thursday, showed why international strength is crucial to Netflix's future. While overall sales grew to a healthy 27 percent $4.19 billion, they fell slightly short of Wall Street's estimates, and the forecast for the current quarter also was below projections. That puts still more pressure on finding new members outside North America.
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To contact the reporter on this story: John J. Edwards III in Geneva at jedwardsiii1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Cecile Daurat
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