• by Wayne Friedman , April 15, 2015

Netflix keeps growing -- in terms of subscribers in the U.S. and worldwide. But its profits were cut in half.

In the first quarter, the subscription video on demand service added 4.9 million worldwide users -- now at 62.3 million global subscribers -- much more than Netflix earlier estimates of 4.05 million new customers. In the U.S., Netflix grew 2.3 million subscribers over the fourth quarter 2014 to 41.4 million; adding 2.6 million internationally to 20.9 million.

First-quarter revenues came in at $1.57 billion -- at expectations. This was up 24% from $1.27 billion in the first quarter 2014. But net earnings came in way under estimates -- to $23.7 million, down from $53.1 million in the first quarter 2014.

Still, after Netflix released its financial report after the market close on Wednesday, the stock shot up a big 13% to $535 a share. On Wednesday, Netflix stock closed down 0.7% to $475.46.

Netflix's international operations lost $65 million, nearly double that of its $35 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Netflix says it’s the world's leading Internet television network, with over 57 million members in more than 50 countries. It offers more than 2 billion hours of TV shows and movies per month, including original series.