Netflix earnings: guidance and next results
Netflix reports its next results on October 20, 2026. The key thing to watch is advertising monetization.
What has Netflix guided for 2026?
Netflix expects 2026 revenue of $51,000–$51,400 million, or growth of 13.0%–14.0%. Subscriptions, price increases and advertising must produce that result together. Its foreign-exchange-neutral growth forecast is 12.0%, which shows how much the business itself is expected to grow without changes in currency values.
Management expects content amortization to rise 10.0% in 2026 and maintains free-cash-flow guidance of approximately $12,500 million. Free cash flow is operating cash received minus operating payments and equipment purchases. The annual forecast benefited from a Warner Bros. transaction termination fee in Q1, while higher cash taxes weighed on Q2, so one quarter multiplied by four would mislead.
| Period guided | Low | High | Date given | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| revenue | Year to Dec 2026 | 51,000 | 51,400 | Jul 16, 2026 |
| revenue growth | Year to Dec 2026 | 13.0% | 14.0% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| F/X neutral revenue growth | Year to Dec 2026 | 12.0% | 12.0% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| operating margin | Year to Dec 2026 | 31.5% | 31.5% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| FCF | Year to Dec 2026 | 12,500 | 12,500 | Jul 16, 2026 |
Did Netflix keep its past promises?
Bonuses also emphasize operating margin, the share of sales left after operating expenses, more heavily than revenue. Management forecast 2025 revenue of US$43.5–44.5 billion in April and finished with US$45.2 billion. Advertising revenue grew to more than 2.5 times the previous year’s level, supporting the case that management delivered against its early plan.
How have Netflix's revenue and profit trended?
Revenue reached 12,559,938, up 13.4% from the prior-year quarter. Every region grew, and currency-neutral growth was approximately 12%, which means exchange rates helped the reported result. Membership growth, pricing and advertising all contributed, but the missing subscriber and ARM bridge prevents precise attribution.
| Jun 2026 | Mar 2026 | Dec 2025 | Sep 2025 | Jun 2025 | Mar 2025 | Dec 2024 | Sep 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 12,559,938 | 12,249,757 | 12,050,762 | 11,510,307 | 11,079,166 | 10,542,801 | 10,246,513 | 9,824,703 |
| Operating income | 4,192,610 | 3,956,997 | 2,956,663 | 3,248,247 | 3,774,694 | 3,346,999 | 2,272,766 | 2,909,477 |
| Net income | 3,401,414 | 5,282,791 | 2,418,521 | 2,546,916 | 3,125,413 | 2,890,351 | 1,868,607 | 2,363,509 |
| EPS, diluted | 0.80 | 1.23 | 0.56 | 0.59 | 0.72 | 0.66 | 0.43 | 0.54 |
What should Netflix watch in its next release?
Advertising deserves separate attention. A strong total-revenue quarter could still hide a slow advertising ramp, so investors should look for evidence that Netflix is selling more of its available opportunities at useful prices. They should also ask whether any profit surprise reflects lasting improvement or expenses moving between quarters.