2026년 2월 20일 · Unknown · financial · 출처 Yahoo Finance
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Netflix (NFLX). Shares have lost about 8.6% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Netflix due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Netflix Beats Q4 Earnings Estimates, Crosses 325M Subscribers
Netflix reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of 56 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.82%. The figure increased 30.2% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues increased 18% year over year (17% on a foreign exchange neutral basis) to $12.05 billion, driven primarily by membership growth, higher subscription pricing, and increased advertising revenues. The figure exceeded the consensus mark by 0.67%.
Despite unfavorable foreign exchange movements during the quarter, revenues were 1% above guidance due to stronger-than-forecasted membership growth and ad sales. Netflix crossed the 325 million paid memberships milestone during the quarter.
Netflix effected a 10-for-1 forward stock split on Nov. 14, 2025. All share and per share amounts in the fourth-quarter 2025 earnings report have been retroactively adjusted to reflect this split.
Strong Operating Performance Despite Acquisition Costs
Netflix delivered robust operational performance in the fourth quarter. Operating income reached $2.96 billion, up 30% year over year, with operating margin expanding two percentage points to 24.5%, both slightly ahead of forecast due to the revenue upside.
Net income included approximately $60 million of costs (booked in interest expense) related to the company's recent Warner Bros.-related bridge loan and associated bridge reduction financings, which were not included in guidance.
All regions experienced healthy year-over-year revenue growth. United States and Canada revenues increased 18% year over year to $5.34 billion, Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 18% to $3.87 billion, Latin America rose 15% to $1.42 billion, and Asia-Pacific increased 17% to $1.42 billion.
Marketing expenses were $1.11 billion in the quarter. Technology and development expenses totaled $890.3 million. General and administration expenses reached $567.8 million.
Record Engagement Driven by Strong Content Slate
With over 325 million paid memberships, Netflix is now serving an audience approaching one billion people globally. In the second half of 2025, members watched 96 billion hours on Netflix, up 2% (+1.5 billion hours) year over year versus a 1% increase in the first half of the year.
This growth was driven by viewing of originals, which was up 9% year over year in the second half of 2025 due, in part, to the company's strong fourth-quarter branded slate.
The fourth-quarter featured exceptional content performance led by the massive final season of Stranger Things, which generated 120 million views. The series finale became a cultural phenomenon and drove significant engagement.
Other successful fourth-quarter releases included Nobody Wants This S2 (31 million views), Selling Sunset S9 (11 million views), anime series Record of Ragnarok S3 from Japan (13 million views), Culinary Class Wars S2 from Korea (10 million views), and Emily in Paris S5 (41 million views).
New shows from around the world performed strongly, with The Beast in Me from the United States generating 48 million views, The Asset from Denmark achieving 24 million views, Rulers of Fortune from Brazil attracting 23 million views, and Last Samurai Standing from Japan garnering 22 million views.
The documentary slate was robust, featuring Being Eddie (12 million views), The Perfect Neighbor (50 million views), Sean Combs: The Reckoning (54 million views), and Babo from Germany (7 million views).
Stand-up comedy continued to be a strength, with Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable… (17 million views), Kevin Hart: Acting My Age (13 million views), Leanne Morgan: Unspeakable Things (5 million views), Matt Rife: Unwrapped - A Christmas Crowd Work Special (8 million views), Tom Segura: Teacher (5 million views), and Ricky Gervais: Mortality (7 million views).
The film slate was exceptionally broad, featuring Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (102 million views), Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (66 million views), A House of Dynamite (78 million views), Jay Kelly (21 million views), Train Dreams (20 million views), Caramelo from Brazil (54 million views), Troll 2 from Norway (47 million views), Champagne Problems (52 million views), My Secret Santa (51 million views), and A Merry Little Ex-Mas (40 million views).
Story Continues
Live Events Drive Outsized Value
Netflix's live programming strategy continued to deliver disproportionate impact. While accounting for a small proportion of total view hours, big live events like Anthony Joshua's sixth-round knockout of Jake Paul drove significant excitement and signups. The fight generated 33 million average minute audience (Live+1).
NFL Christmas Day games also drove disproportionate engagement. According to Nielsen, Netflix's share of U.S. TV time reached an all-time high of 9% in December 2025, up 0.5 percentage points year over year, though linear TV still comprises more than 40% of U.S. TV screen time.
Advertising Business Accelerates Growth
Netflix made great progress growing advertising revenues in 2025. In what was only the company's third year selling advertising, ad revenues grew more than 2.5 times versus 2024 to over $1.5 billion.
The company continued to enhance its advertising technology capabilities. In 2025, Netflix began testing new AI tools to help advertisers create custom ads based on Netflix's intellectual property, with plans to build on this progress in 2026. The company also introd…