Trending On Livewire: Weekend Edition - Saturday 25th January

Chris Conway, Managing Editor, Livewire Markets

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This stat recently caught our attention - the dividend yield of the Commonwealth Bank is now less than the yield on its own 12-month term deposit. More broadly, the dividend yield of the Australian market is now just 3.8%, a long way from the 5.3% peak of 2022. So, given Australia's high dividend paying culture is (so often) a product of the Big Four banks and Big Three miners, is Australia losing its "income investors' paradise" reputation? Or is this just a cyclical blip in an otherwise fantastic structural story? We explore this question - and provide some tangible ideas if you're worried - in this wire.

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Red light, green light

And to think I’m old enough to remember when no one wanted to buy this stock in April 2022. But for those who were brave enough to dip their toe in and back Netflix’s introduction of discounted paid tiers as well as its content plans, your investment would have paid off handsomely. This chart shows how that discounted paid tier has affected Netflix’s average monthly revenue per member. Sure, it’s not growing. But in an environment where so many customers are cutting costs, it’s impressive to see a company like Netflix keep its margins and average revenues intact. Its next challenge, however, is to hang onto those customers as it passes through yet another price increase.

Will more customers choose to hit the “O” button and stop paying to see Squid Game? Or will enough people hit the “X” button, sign up, and keep shareholders happy? We’ll find out at its next quarterly result in April.

Hans Lee, Senior Editor, Livewire Markets