3 Stocks to Watch Out for as Streaming Market Grows

Comcast Corporation’s CMCSA NBCUniversal will be the latest entrant in the streaming market when it launches its much-awaited Peacock streaming service in the United States. Peacock’s entry will only intensify competition in the market.

Needless to say, Peacock enters the market at a time when streaming services are gaining traction as movie theatres and other means of outdoor entertainment remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. This thus gives Peacock the perfect opportunity to capture the already-booming streaming market.

Peacock’s Proud Debut

Comcast couldn’t have got a better time to launch Peacock nationally, as the streaming market is growing by leaps and bounds thanks to the pandemic that has kept millions at home. Although the service became available to some in April, it  will be available full-fledged Jul 15 onward.

With over 20,000 hours of content, Peacock will include a mix of NBC series, sports, news and original shows, such as the dystopian drama Brave New World and documentary In Deep with Ryan Lochte. The company said that the service will also be available on Sony's PlayStation 4 gaming console from Jul 20.

Peacock, understandably, will have ample scope to capture the thriving streaming market given the growing demand for at-home entertainment over the past quarter. Moreover, the service has also been launched with the aim of offsetting declines in Comcast’s cable TV business, which is gradually losing out to the already-existing streaming giants.

Streaming Services Poised to Grow

The coronavirus pandemic has redefined the concept of entertainment. Given that the coronavirus-led lockdown has kept movie theatres and most other modes of outdoor entertainment closed, people are left with no choice but to stream video and music at homes.

This has seen the already the booming steaming market thrive further. Amazon.com, Inc.’s AMZN Amazon Prime, Netflix, Inc. NFLX and The Walt Disney Company’s DIS Disney+ have all been beneficiaries of this global pandemic. Netflix gained 15.8 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2020, taking its global total to 182.9 million. The company had predicted that it would add around 7 million customers during the period.

Disney too has been gaining subscribers driven by the forced stay at home. Disney+ crossed more than 50 million subscribers within the first five months of its launch. Incidentally, the pandemic too had peaked at that time. According to a recent report by Grand View Research, the global video streaming market size was valued at $42.6 billion in 2019 and is projected to witness a CAGR of 20.4% between 2020 and 2027. 

Stocks to Consider

Streaming services are one of the rare few to be benefiting from the coronavirus pandemic, which has kept billions of people at home with nothing to do but stream. This thus makes an opportune time to invest in video and music streaming stocks.

Netflix, Inc. is considered a pioneer in the streaming space. It has been spending aggressively on building its original show portfolio. At the end of first-quarter 2020, the company had 182.86 million paid subscribers globally.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 55.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the past 60 days.  The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Amazon.com, Inc.,besides being an e-commerce giant, offers several other services. Its Amazon Prime, a membership program, provides access to streaming of movies and TV episodes; and other services and is one of the market leaders in the streaming space. 

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 92.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.1% over the past 60 days.  The company carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Spotify Technology SA SPOT provides music streaming services. The company offers commercial free music and ad-supported services to subscribers. 

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 47%. The company’s shares have gained 43.5% over the past 30 days.  It carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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Comcast Corporation (CMCSA): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Walt Disney Company (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Spotify Technology SA (SPOT): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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