Netflix posted record-setting revenue and earnings for the second quarter, and signaled there’s more growth on the horizon.
The streaming giant’s revenue rose 15.9% year over year to $11.08 billion, and earnings grew 47% to $7.19 per share. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected quarterly revenue of $11.06 billion and earnings of $7.09 per share.
The company also raised its revenue forecast for 2025 to $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion, in part because of its momentum growing subscribers and its advertising business.
Netflix shares were relatively flat in after-hours trading following the earnings release on Thursday.
Wall Street has long crowned Netflix as the streaming king. The streamer’s latest win comes on the heels of releases like “Squid Game,” which released its third and final season in late June. Netflix said the season was its sixth biggest ever with 122 million views.
Netflix stopped reporting specific subscriber figures last quarter, which makes it difficult to gauge the platform’s user growth.
But estimates from third-party data firm Antenna suggest Netflix’s gross monthly subscriber additions in the US have fallen from their peak.
Analysts are focused on how the platform continues to scale through live sports and TV, as well as creator-driven partnerships.
So far, Netflix has announced a return of a Christmas Day NFL game, a September fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, and a forthcoming reboot of the late-80s hit “Star Search,” among other live programming.
The live content serves dual purposes: helping Netflix continue to grow its subscription base and providing ample opportunities for its budding advertising business.
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Netflix expects its advertising revenue to double this year, as executives previously outlined on the first-quarter earnings call. The company also plans to introduce interactive ads in the second half of 2025, co-CEO Greg Peters said on Thursday’s earnings call.
Nearly half of new Netflix subscribers in the US chose the ad tier from January to May, according to Antenna data.
At $8 a month, Netflix’s ad plan is starting to look like a bargain. It’s the same as Paramount+’s ad tier and cheaper than comparable plans from Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max. The ad version of Amazon Prime Video costs $15 a month. And Peacock is planning to raise the price of its ad plan to $11 a month, Vulture reported on Thursday.
“We also think that we are an incredible entertainment value — not only compared to traditional entertainment, but if you think about other streaming competitors,” Peters said.
Netflix said it also wants to use artificial intelligence to help create ads, content, and content recommendations.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told analysts that “The Eternaut,” an Argentine sci-fi show, has the first generative AI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix show or movie. The series used generative AI for a sequence where a building collapsed in Buenos Aires.
“That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with visual, traditional VFX tools and workflows,” Sarandos said on the earnings call. “Also, the cost of it would just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget.”
