Netflix shares rose in after-hours trading Thursday after the company reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, alongside reaffirmed guidance for robust full-year revenue growth. The streaming giant posted solid top- and bottom-line performance despite broader market volatility and economic headwinds from President Trump’s ongoing trade policy shifts.
Q1 Earnings: Revenue and EPS Beat Estimates
For the first quarter of 2025, Netflix reported revenue of $10.54 billion, a 13% increase year-over-year and slightly above the $10.50 billion forecast by analysts. The company had previously guided for $10.42 billion.
Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $6.61, handily beating the consensus estimate of $5.68. This marks a significant year-over-year improvement from $5.28 in Q1 2024.
Looking ahead, Netflix guided for second-quarter revenue of $11.04 billion, again above analyst expectations of $10.88 billion. For the full year, it maintained its projection of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion in revenue and operating margins of 29%.
Market Reaction and Competitive Edge
Netflix’s stock rose 1.19% in Thursday’s regular session and surged another 3.39% after hours, trading above $1,000 per share. Year-to-date, Netflix is up over 9%, outperforming major tech peers such as Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, all of which have posted double-digit losses in 2025. The S&P 500 is down roughly 10% over the same period.
In its earnings release, Netflix credited the strong start to 2025 to a mix of higher-than-expected subscription and advertising revenue. The company continues to emphasize a strategy shift toward engagement and monetization rather than raw subscriber growth.
Strategic Shift: No More Subscriber Reporting—For Now
In a notable move, Netflix did not report subscriber numbers for the first time, stating it would only release figures upon hitting significant milestones. The last reported figure from Q4 2024 was 301.6 million global subscribers, with 41 million net additions last year.
The company is currently investing heavily in international expansion and content diversification to fuel further revenue gains. Management reiterated its commitment to reaching ambitious internal targets, including potentially doubling revenue by 2030 and reaching a $1 trillion market valuation. Currently, Netflix’s market cap is just over $400 billion.
On the earnings call, co-CEO Ted Sarandos tempered speculation about these long-term goals, noting that such targets reflect internal aspirations rather than formal forecasts.
