While Netflix has become the largest standalone subscription programming service in the U.S., and the leading brand among millennials, the company attracted a disappointing number of new users during the third quarter, resulting in a 26.4 percent drop in its stock value yesterday. Netflix added 980,000 customers for the quarter, down from 1.3 million for the same period last year. The disappointing results were intensified by HBO’s announcement that it plans to offer a competing service next year.

The company, which predicted it would add 1.33 million customers, blamed a price increase for the lower-than-expected number of new users.

“The company forecast that slower domestic growth will continue in the fourth quarter, projecting 1.85 million new customers, compared with the 2.33 million it added in the fourth quarter of last year,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

“Netflix reported a profit of $59 million, or 96 cents a share, up from $32 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. However, Netflix forecast that earnings would drop nearly 44 percent next quarter, compared with last year’s fourth quarter, as losses in its international segment widen due to its aggressive European expansion.”

CEO Reed Hastings remains optimistic, noting that that growth of the company continues to outpace other subscription services including cable television.

The company also received some good news, as a new comScore report “found that Netflix is the leading brand among U.S. households that subscribe to paid digital video subscription services, and it’s also the leading subscription service among the much-coveted millennial, 18-34 year-old, demographic,” explains TechCrunch.

The article details some interesting takeaways from the comScore findings:

• One out of six millennials said they did not watch any original TV series from traditional TV sets within the past 30 days.
• They are “significantly more likely to watch TV from an Internet-connected TV device” like Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast or a gaming console like the Xbox or PlayStation, “suggesting that when they do watch original series content on a traditional TV set they often do so through a digital connection and content streaming.”
• Binge viewing is big, and it’s a vote in favor of those bigger screens. ComScore says that 84 percent of viewers said they preferred to binge watch television shows from their TV set as opposed to other screens.