Netflix will report its first earnings since Disney Plus launched today, and Wall Street is divided but mostly optimistic

• Netflix reports earnings results for its fourth quarter of 2019 on Tuesday.
• Wall Street analysts are divided, but mostly optimistic, that the streaming company will have a strong end to a rocky year that saw new competition arise and revealed cracks in Netflix's expansion plans.
• Netflix expects to add 7.6 million paid net subscribers in the fourth quarter. Bloomberg consensus forecasts 7.65 million additions.
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Wall Street analysts are divided, but mostly optimistic, that Netflix can reassert its streaming dominance when it posts earnings on Tuesday for its fourth quarter of 2019.

The year, as a whole, was rocky for Netflix. The streaming company added the most paid net subscribers in its history during the first quarter, and then missed its own growth targets twice in a row.

Cracks in Netflix's expansion plans emerged in 2019. New competition from Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus also threatened Netflix's standing during the fourth quarter.

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Netflix expects to add 7.6 million global paid net additions during the fourth quarter. Bloomberg consensus estimates 7.65 million additions.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs, however, are expecting Netflix to end the year with a huge quarter for subscriber growth. The Wall Street firm, which has a buy rating for Netflix, estimates the streaming company will add 9.7 million paid net subscribers globally during the fourth quarter. It would be a new high watermark for the company.

Other analysts have been more reserved, given the streaming company's growing competition.

JPMorgan Chase expects Netflix to slightly surpass its guidance with 7.7 million paid-net-subscriber additions. Brian White, a Monness Crespi Hardt analyst, expects Netflix to come in 900,000 short of its projections.

For more on Netflix's fourth quarter, see our coverage on Business Insider Prime:

• Netflix will crush subscriber-growth targets with its biggest quarter of all time, Goldman Sachs forecasts: The Wall Street firm is expecting Netflix to add 2 million more subscribers than the company expected to during its fourth quarter, thanks to a strong content slate and encouraging mobile-app data.
• Netflix had a weak quarter in key international markets, according to exclusive data that has predicted subscriber growth trends: International mobile-app data from analytics firm SimilarWeb, which has predicted subscriber trends in recent quarters, suggested possible weaknesses in Netflix's global expansion.