For the first time in a long time, Netflix enters a new year as an underdog.
CEO Reed Hastings is now coming under fire. Netflix shares have fallen for the first year since 2006, and fallen sharply. The stock is in a 60% hole year to date with three inconsequential trading days to go.
By now everybody knows how Netflix got into this mess. There was the poorly received decision in July to begin charging subscribers on unlimited DVD rental plans for the now stand-alone streaming service. Three months later came the short-lived Qwikster fiasco. Now Netflix is projecting a loss in 2012 on global expansion costs and problematic stateside net cancellations.
Full story: 5 Things That Netflix Must Do in 2012 (AAPL, AMZN, CSTR, DISH, GME, NFLX).