Netflix stock up 11% after adding 5M new subscribers

July 17 (UPI) -- Netflix stock increased 11 percent to $179.45 Monday after the online streaming service told investors it added more than 5 million new subscribers during its second quarter.

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said it exceeded subscriber expectations by 2 million during the second quarter of 2017 and that its international subscribers account for 50.1 percent. However, profits remained relatively small with a net income of $66 million, as the company plans to spend $6 billion on new content in 2017.

The international outlook is reflected in the streaming service's choice of new content. According to Bloomberg, Netflix plans to create series based in foreign locales such as Spain, South Korea and Mexico.

Netflix credited its continually expanding slate of original, award-winning content as the reason for its rapid growth this year.

"Last week, the Television Academy nominated 27 Netflix original programs with 91 Emmy nominations, nearly double last year's tally," the shareholders letter stated. "With five of the 14 total nominated best series contenders (Stranger Things, The Crown, House of Cards, Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Netflix had the most nominated series of any network.

"We strive to be bold in our programming choices and financially disciplined, so we can keep being bold. Every show has passionate fans and committed talent striving for excellence," the letter added. "Sometimes those shows don't attract as many viewers as we had hoped, compared to our other content. As much as we dislike ending a series early, it consoles us that it frees up investment for another new show, or two."