King bombshell Korean drama "Squid Game" returns! The second season is expected to help Netflix (NFLX.US) performance soar.

2021The media giant did indeed pay a one-time bonus to the cast of "Squid Game". However, Huang Dong-he still feels motivated to write more episodes to meet the expectations of the fans of the first season.As global audience discussions about the second season gradually heated up, Hwang Dong-hyuk hired a powerful brokerage firm Creative Artists Agency, as well as a Hollywood law firm whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey. In subsequent negotiations, his new team ensured he had enough funding to deal with any dental or other emergencies that might arise in the future. "We feel that, given the success of this series, producing a second season will provide a more complete return to match the global expectations for the second season," Hwang Dong-hyuk said in an interview. In May 2022, he began writing and ultimately conceived new content for two seasons. By the summer of 2023, producers resumed shooting new scenes in a studio on the outskirts of Seoul. Netflix begins exploring derivative projects for the "Squid Game" IP As the new series of "Squid Game" enters the pre-production stage, Netflix is exploring other ways to expand the series, namely exploring derivative businesses for the series to generate revenue. The company ordered a reality show adapted from the popular series, using similar sets and settings, and also began developing a multiplayer eSports game based on the series. In New York, Netflix set up a commercial escape room experience where fans could test their survival instincts. The streaming giant discussed with award-winning director David Fincher, who directed "The Social Network" and "Fight Club," the possibility of producing an English adaptation. Meanwhile, prior to the announcement of the series' return in December, Netflix is advertising in various fields from television to billboards to New York subway cars, launching one of the company's largest promotional campaigns to date for the second season of "Squid Game." In a shopping center in the Southeast Asian country of the Philippines, Netflix built a replica of the giant creepy doll that appeared in the first season. Several top global consumer brands, including Crocs and Johnnie Walker, announced collaborations with the company to launch a wide range of derivative consumer products themed around "Squid Game." The first season of "Squid Game" was widely popular worldwide, especially earning significant profits in the Asian market. According to Netflix's financial report, as of the end of September, Asia surpassed Latin America to become the streaming service platform's third-largest region, with approximately 52.6 million users. In recent years, elite production teams in Korea have brought several globally popular Korean dramas to Netflix, including "Law School Yu Hui," "Zombie High School," and the "Dark Glory" series. Furthermore, it is expected that the third and final season of "Squid Game" will premiere in 2025. Hwang Dong-hyuk stated that he plans to take a long break after this. "This will be the last series I write and direct," he said. "I don't think I'll do it again. I've already exceeded my limits in terms of manpower, physical strength, and mental state." The second season of "Squid Game" could potentially drive Netflix's performance to continue to exceed Wall Street expectations The financial report for the third quarter, released in October, showed that Netflix added over 5 million new subscribers globally, and all major financial indicators exceeded the general expectations of Wall Street analysts, completely dispelling doubts on Wall Street about the pessimistic prospects for Netflix's subscriber growth and performance acceleration. Netflix's overall revenue in the third quarter increased by 15% year-on-year, reaching $9.83 billion, far surpassing Wall Street expectations. The total number of subscription users at the end of the third quarter for Netflix is approximately 282.7 million. The new users in the third quarter of Netflix almost all came from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, but Netflix lost some customers in Latin America for the first time since the beginning of 2023. The company also stated that the number of new users in the fourth quarter will surpass that of the third quarter. Netflix also predicts that sales for next year will increase by 11% to 13% through increased new members and price increases, with a maximum potential of $44 billion. According to bullish Wall Street analysts, Netflix has many ways to promote revenue growth. One of the main methods is to increase subscription prices, especially for standard-level subscriptions. Since the introduction of an ad-supported subscription model, Netflix has not raised the price of standard subscription levels for more than two years. Importantly, with the continuous expansion of exclusive IP content libraries and the increase in platform users, the expectation of price increases makes investors optimistic about Netflix's future revenue growth speed, with the "binge-watching" effect of popular IPs like "Squid Game" potentially driving Netflix to raise subscription prices and achieve "quantity and price increase" which is also one of the important expectations for driving Netflix's long-term stock price increase. Thomas Martin, a senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, stated that Netflix has proven with many high-quality series, such as the "Stranger Things" series, that it has the most loyal subscription customer base in the world, who are willing to pay more for Netflix streaming services. "They have a lot of room to increase the prices for some subscription levels, and they may not lose customers," Martin said in an interview. Analyst James Chiny from Jefferies Financial Group Inc. also agreed, stating in a report, "It must be acknowledged that Netflix has become a 'value' choice rather than the 'premium' subscription product it was touted as in the past." He particularly pointed out that subscription services from streaming competitors like Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu are more expensive than Netflix.