Netflix has now reported their second-quarter earnings to investors. The company is primarily known for their subscription streaming service, which is one of the most widely used platforms of the kind.
In addition to boasting a library of licensed shows and movies, the service has produced a number of hit originals since the early 2010s. Some of the most popular Netflix shows of all time include Wednesday, Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and The Night Agent, while their movies include the streaming blockbusters Carry-On and Red Notice.
The company has made a number of major changes recently, including introducing an ad-supported tier, focusing more on live events, and raising subscription prices. Perhaps because of some or all of these changes, revenue for the first quarter of 2025 increased 13% over the previous year.
On Thursday, after the close of trading, Netflix disclosed their second-quarter earnings in a call with investors. Per CNBC Overtime, the company is reporting that they have had a total of $11.08 billion in overall earnings, with earnings of $7.19 per share.
This means that Q2 has grown 16% from the same quarter in 2024, outdoing Q1 of 2025, in addition to marking Netflix’s best ever quarterly revenue.
Additionally, for Q2, growth at the ad-supported tier was even better than Netflix expected. Revenue guidance for the rest of the year has also been lifted, which means that Netflix is increasing their forecast for 2025. This is a good sign for the company, especially during a time when subscribers have generally been less keen to spend money.
They are now expecting Q3 to show sales of $11.52 billion (up from Wall Street’s projections of $11.26 billion) and earnings per share of $6.87 (up from $6.66). This would mean an increase in subscribers, especially on their ad-supported tier, which is their current focus.
What This Means For Netflix
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Per London Stock Exchange Group (via CNBC), industry projections for Netflix’s second quarter were $7.08 in earnings per share and a total of $11.07 billion in revenue. This means that the company has already exceeded expectations for 2025 as the outlook of future quarters looks even brighter.
This good news for Netflix comes during a time when the company has been struck a blow by the television establishment. Although Netflix series including Nobody Wants This, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, and Adolescence earned a cumulative total of 120 2025 Primetime Emmy nominations, their flagship series Squid Game was shut out of the nominations completely.
Squid Game season 1 was the most-watched season of all time across the entire platform, while season 2 was the third most-watched.
While this is still a large number of award nominations, it is much smaller than the number earned by HBO Max, which had 142 nominations across series including Severance season 2, The Penguin season 1, The Studio season 1, and The White Lotus season 3.
Our Take On Netflix’s Q2 Update
Q3 And Q4 Could Outdo Q2
These releases include Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Wednesday season 2, and Stranger Things season 5, which will be a three-part season that concludes the streamer’s flagship sci-fi fantasy series.
Should these major releases, among many others, continue to drive subscribers to the ad-supported tier, Netflix‘s potential for growth may know no bounds.
Source: CNBC Overtime & London Stock Exchange Group (via CNBC)