Netflix’s subscriber and earnings growth accelerated in its latest quarter as the video streaming service benefits from a crackdown on freeloading viewers, an expansion into advertising and an acclaimed programming lineup.

The results announced Thursday painted a portrait of a company still gathering momentum after a jarring decrease in subscribers during the first half of 2022 prompted a change in direction.

Netflix added 8 million subscribers during the April-June period, marking a 37% increase over the same time last year. It was the sixth-consecutive quarter of year-over-year subscriber growth since the 2022 downturn that served as a wake-up call for the Los Gatos, California, company.

And Netflix is still financially thriving. The company’s profit in its latest quarter rose 44% from last year to $2.15 billion, or $4.88 per share — a figure that exceeded the estimates of analysts polled by FactSet Research.

Jobless claims rise

U.S. filings for unemployment benefits rose again last week and appear to be settling consistently at a slightly higher though still healthy level that the Federal Reserve has been aiming for.

Jobless claims for the week ending July 13 rose by 20,000 to 243,000 from 223,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the eighth straight week claims came in above 220,000. Before that stretch, claims had been below that number in all but three weeks so far in 2024.

“The Fed asked to see more evidence of a cooling economy, and for the most part, they’ve gotten it,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade. “Add today’s weekly jobless claims to the list of rate-cut-friendly data points.”

Few analysts expect the Fed to cut rates at its meeting later this month, however most are betting on a cut in September.