Netflix is keeping things humming. The streaming giant topped Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations, announcing total revenue of $10.543 billion and earnings per share of $6.61 in an earnings report Thursday.
The consensus forecast of analysts had been for earnings per share of $5.66 and revenue of $10.5 billion.
The company is no longer reporting subscribers on a quarterly basis, though it plans to offer select data on subscriber growth, particularly when milestones are hit. In its last subscriber reveal in January, the company blew past estimates to reach 303 million global subscribers.
In its quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix took note of a slowdown in the U.S. and Canada compared with the gangbusters fourth quarter of 2024. Revenue grew 9% in the region, down from a 15% in the previous quarter. The letter cited “only a partial quarter impact from our price change,” which took effect during the quarter, as well as “plan mix and the absence of advertising revenue from the Christmas Day NFL games.” The company expects a re-acceleration of revenue in the U.S. and Canada in the April-to-June quarter.
Netflix’s financial release kicked off a month-long series of earnings reports by media and tech companies. Earnings season is unfolding against a backdrop of uncertainty for the overall economy, which is being whipsawed by the Trump administration’s ever-changing tariffs. Against that backdrop, Wall Street analysts had pegged Netflix as one of the least-vulnerable companies in media, given that it is a provider of service as opposed to physical goods. Its advertising business is also just two-and-a-half years old, making the company less exposed to an expected ad downturn than others in the media and tech sectors.
The first quarter brought some more highlights on the programming front, with Adolescence in March quickly rising to near the top of the company’s all-time list of most-streamed series. A sequel is said to be in the works for the show, whose producers include Brad Pitt’s Plan B. WWE Raw also debuted on Netflix in January, providing a solid live weekly draw after a multi-million rights deal to bring the wrestling property from cable TV to streaming.
Not everything came up roses, of course. Electric State, a film costing at least $275 million, drew poor reviews and 25.2 million views in its first few days, well short of Netflix film releases like The Grey Man, which was from the same directors, Joe and Anthony Russo.
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