Popular online movie streaming giant, Netflix has become more valuable than major US oil company ExxonMobil , as the streaming service benefits from multiplied viewing of television and films during coronavirus lockdowns, TopNaija.ng reports.
Netflix which has over 167 million subscribers as at January 2020, soared above the oil company majorly because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has sent its share value to new highs.
According to Business Insider, Netflix stock gained 3% on Thursday to roughly $439 per share, bringing its market capitalisation to about $183 billion at market close.
In contrast ExxonMobil fell more than 3% to $39.15 per share, bringing its market value to about $175 billion at the end of the trading day.
Netflix and other companies such as Zoom and Peloton have benefited from the stay-at-home culture imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
During the trading day Thursday, the streaming company surged to a record of $449 per share, a 20% gain during the week.
The gain was driven by Goldman Sachs’ upgrade of the company on the basis that it’s seeing stable demand during social-distancing.
In addition, new programming including the hit ‘Tiger King’ and season three of ‘Ozark’ have further boosted the stock, the bank said.
Exxon Mobil, on the other hand, has been weighed down by the falling price of oil as the coronavirus pandemic tanks global demand.
In addition, even though OPEC this week agreed on historic production cuts starting May 1 – an effort to boost prices amid the coronavirus outbreak – oil has fallen further.
Netflix has gained about 36% year-to-date. Exxon Mobil has lost roughly 43% in the same period.
Earlier this month ExxonMobil announced it would reduce its spending by a third this year, a reduction of $10bn, as it scaled back plans to cope with the fall in global oil prices. The cuts will be concentrated in the US’s Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico.