Netflix earnings to set the pace for 2022 streaming wars

FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with the Netflix logo lies in front of the displayed words "Streaming service" in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc will be the first major streaming service to report earnings this week, offering investors a sign of whether companies have started to pull in enough new customers to justify big spending on online programming in 2022.

The dominant streaming service reports fourth-quarter results on Thursday. Wall Street will watch for how many customers Netflix picked up overseas as the pace of streaming growth levels off from torrid pandemic gains of 2020.