What is Netflix?
The world's leading entertainment streaming service — 325 million subscribers, $45B revenue, originals in 50+ countries
- Category
- Streaming Entertainment
- Headquarters
- Los Gatos, California
- Founded
- 1997
- Employees
- ~16,000 (2025)
- 2025 Revenue
- $45.2 billion
- Market Cap (June 2026)
- ~$326 billion
What is Netflix?
Netflix is the world's largest subscription streaming service, delivering television series, documentaries, feature films, games, and live events to more than 325 million paid members across 190+ countries. Founded in 1997 and originally a DVD-by-mail rental company, Netflix pioneered internet streaming in 2007 and has since grown into a dominant force in global entertainment and a major original content studio.
Netflix generated $45.2 billion in revenue in 2025, up 16% year-over-year, with an operating income of $13.3 billion and a 29.5% operating margin. The company projects $50.7–$51.7 billion in 2026 revenue and a 31.5% operating margin, reflecting a business that has successfully transitioned from subscriber-growth-at-all-costs to durable profitability at scale. With 325 million paid members as of Q4 2025, Netflix stopped reporting quarterly subscriber additions starting Q1 2025, with revenue and operating income replacing subscriber growth as the primary investor metrics.
The platform operates on a hybrid monetization model: traditional ad-free subscriptions alongside a fast-growing ad-supported tier that crossed 4,000 advertising clients in early 2026. Ad revenue exceeded $1.5 billion in 2025, more than 2.5x the prior year, and is expected to reach approximately $3 billion in 2026 as Netflix builds out its own programmatic advertising stack. The company also moved aggressively into live programming, airing WWE Raw weekly under a 10-year deal, NFL Christmas games, and live boxing events to attract casual viewers and generate premium CPM inventory.
Netflix produces original content in over 50 countries, with global breakout hits like Squid Game, Stranger Things, and Wednesday driving both subscriber retention and international growth. The company competes with Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Max/HBO, Apple TV+, Hulu, and YouTube for global viewing time and subscription revenue. Its 21% U.S. streaming market share makes it a near-co-leader with Amazon (22%) — a competitive dynamic that has intensified as every major media company and tech giant has launched a rival streaming service.
What does Netflix offer?
Netflix offers a broad suite of entertainment products spanning on-demand streaming, original content production, mobile gaming, live events, and an advertising platform.
- On-Demand Streaming· Core Product
- Netflix Originals· Content
- Live Events & Sports· Content
- Mobile Games· Gaming
- Ad-Supported Tier· Monetization
- Documentaries· Content
- Stand-Up Comedy· Content
- Anime· Content
- International Originals· Content
- Netflix for Kids· Product
- Downloads / Offline Viewing· Feature
- Personalized Recommendations· Feature
How does Netflix make money?
Netflix generates revenue primarily through monthly subscription fees at three tiers, with a rapidly growing advertising layer on its lowest-priced plan. In 2025, subscriptions drove the vast majority of $45.2 billion in revenue; ad revenue contributed more than $1.5 billion, a 2.5x increase over 2024, and is projected to double again to approximately $3 billion in 2026.
As of early 2026, Netflix offers three U.S. plans: Standard with Ads at $8.99/month (HD, 2 streams, with advertising), Standard at $19.99/month (HD, 2 streams, no ads), and Premium at $26.99/month (4K Ultra HD, 4 streams, no ads). Extra member add-ons cost $6.99–$9.99/month, enabling monetization of multi-household sharing rather than tolerating it. Netflix raised prices across all plans in March 2026 — its second price hike in under two years — signaling confidence in subscription demand and pricing power even in a multi-competitor streaming landscape.
The advertising business is the primary near-term growth driver. Netflix's ad tier had 4,000+ advertising clients as of early 2026 — up 70% year-over-year — and the company is building its own first-party ad-tech stack, including a programmatic marketplace and measurement suite, to capture more of the ad value chain rather than relying on third-party SSPs. The expected step-up from ~$1.5 billion in 2025 ad revenue to ~$3 billion in 2026 would make advertising approximately 6% of total revenue — a meaningful but still minor contribution compared with legacy linear TV.
Content spending is the primary cost center — Netflix projects approximately $20 billion in content spend for 2026 — but operating leverage is compressing that as a percentage of revenue. Operating margin expanded from 22.3% in 2023 to 26.7% in 2024 to 29.5% in 2025, with a 31.5% target for 2026. Live events (NFL, WWE, boxing) serve a dual purpose: they attract casual viewers to the ad tier while generating premium CPM inventory that commands rates well above Netflix's on-demand average.
Who leads Netflix?
Netflix is led by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, with founder Reed Hastings as Executive Chairman transitioning off the board in June 2026. The executive team combines deep content expertise, product and engineering leadership, and finance strength across a lean senior team consistent with Netflix's high-talent-density culture.
- Reed HastingsExecutive Chairman & Co-Founder1997–present (transitioning off board June 2026)Co-founded Netflix in 1997; served as CEO from 2002 to January 2023; stepping back to focus on philanthropy after 29 years. Was central to every major strategic bet: the streaming pivot (2007), the original content push (2013), and the international expansion (2016).
- Marc RandolphCo-Founder (departed)1997–2002Co-founded Netflix with Hastings and served as its first CEO until 2002; exited the board in 2003. Has written publicly about the founding and early years.
- Ted SarandosCo-CEOCo-CEO since July 2020; Chief Content Officer since 2000Former home-video distribution executive who joined Netflix from East Texas Distributing in 2000 and built the company's content strategy from DVD curation through original productions. Responsible for all content, marketing, and communications.
- Greg PetersCo-CEOCo-CEO since January 2023; joined Netflix 2008Joined Netflix in 2008 from TiVo; holds a BS in physics and astrophysics from Yale. Previously COO and Chief Product Officer; oversees product, engineering, advertising, and global operations. Driving Netflix's advertising technology buildout and live programming strategy.
- Spencer NeumannChief Financial OfficerCFO since January 2019Former CFO of Activision Blizzard with prior roles at The Walt Disney Company including EVP and CFO of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Oversees financial planning, capital allocation, and investor relations.
- Elizabeth StoneChief Product and Technology OfficerJoined 2020; CPTO since February 2026PhD in economics from Stanford, BS from MIT. Previously VP of Data Science at Lyft and COO at Nuna. Named CPTO in February 2026, consolidating product, engineering, data, and AI/ML strategy under a single leader.
- Bela BajariaChief Content OfficerCCO since 2022; joined 2016Oversees global content acquisition, commissioning, and programming strategy across all genres and geographies. Previously ran non-English original content and led international expansion of Netflix's local-language slate.
How do you contact Netflix's leadership?
Netflix's verified corporate email format is firstname.lastname@netflix.com. The investor relations team is reachable at ir@netflix.com. Personal executive emails below follow the verified company format but are not independently confirmed as active inboxes; use ir@netflix.com or the official press portal for guaranteed delivery.
jdoe@netflix.comHow much funding has Netflix raised?
Netflix raised approximately $130 million in pre-IPO venture capital, went public in May 2002 raising $82.5 million at $15/share, then raised over $15 billion in high-yield debt to finance its original content buildout. Netflix no longer needs external capital — it is now a net buyer of its own stock with a $15 billion share repurchase program authorized as of 2024. As of June 2026, Netflix's market capitalization stands at approximately $326 billion.
Netflix's earliest institutional funding came from Foundation Capital and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) in rounds starting around 1998–1999. The pivotal pre-IPO round was led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) in 1999, which invested $30 million and held approximately 43% of the company before the IPO. TCV partner Jay Hoag joined the Netflix board in 1999 and remained a director for over two decades — one of the most consequential venture board relationships in internet history.
Netflix went public on May 23, 2002 on NASDAQ (ticker: NFLX), raising $82.5 million by selling 5.5 million shares at $15 each. After the streaming pivot proved profitable and content costs surged, Netflix tapped the high-yield bond markets repeatedly from 2013 onward: $400M (2013, House of Cards-era), $1.5B at 4.375% (April 2017), $2B at 5.875% (October 2018), $2.2B (April 2019), and a final $1B raise in October 2020. By 2021, Netflix's free cash flow turned robustly positive, ending the need for external capital markets.
As of June 2026, NFLX trades around $760/share with approximately 430 million shares outstanding, giving a market cap of approximately $326 billion. The stock reached an all-time high above $700 (pre-2022) and above $1,000 in 2025, fell sharply in 2022 amid subscriber concerns, and recovered through 2024–2025 on profitability and advertising momentum. Netflix has been actively buying back shares rather than issuing new capital, with $15 billion in repurchases authorized and meaningful capital returned to shareholders in 2024–2025.
How did Netflix get here?
Netflix evolved from a DVD-by-mail startup to the world's dominant streaming platform over nearly three decades, marked by pivotal product pivots, content bets, and global expansion.
- August 29, 1997Netflix FoundedReed Hastings and Marc Randolph co-found Netflix in Scotts Valley, California, initially as an online DVD rental-by-mail service.
- April 14, 1998Website LaunchNetflix.com officially launches with approximately 925 titles available for rental by mail, pioneering a subscription-based no-late-fees model.
- 1999TCV Venture Round — $30MTechnology Crossover Ventures leads a $30M round alongside IVP and Foundation Capital. TCV holds ~43% pre-IPO. Jay Hoag joins the board.
- May 23, 2002IPO on NASDAQ at $15/shareNetflix goes public raising $82.5 million; TCV holds ~34% post-IPO. Ticker: NFLX. Raises initially fund marketing and retire $14.1M in debt.
- January 16, 2007Streaming LaunchesNetflix introduces 'Watch Now' instant streaming to subscribers, beginning the pivot away from physical media that will define the next decade.
- 2013House of Cards & First Original BondNetflix premieres House of Cards, its first major original series, and raises $400M in high-yield bonds to fund expanding content investment.
- January 6, 2016130-Country Global LaunchNetflix expands to 130 new countries simultaneously, becoming available in nearly every country outside China, North Korea, and Crimea.
- November 2022Ad-Supported Tier LaunchesNetflix launches its Standard with Ads plan at $6.99/month (later $8.99), marking a major strategic pivot to dual-revenue-stream monetization.
- January 2023Co-CEO Structure InstalledGreg Peters named Co-CEO alongside Ted Sarandos as Reed Hastings steps back to Executive Chairman, formalizing a content/product organizational split.
- January 6, 2025WWE Raw on NetflixNetflix becomes the exclusive U.S. home of WWE Monday Night Raw under a 10-year deal reportedly worth up to $5–10 billion — Netflix's biggest live-programming commitment to date.
Who are Netflix's competitors?
Netflix competes with every major media and technology company that distributes video content. Its primary rivals span traditional studio-owned streamers, tech-giant bundles, and free ad-supported platforms.
- Amazon Prime VideoBundles streaming with Prime membership (200M+ subscribers globally); approximately 22% U.S. streaming market share, neck-and-neck with Netflix at 21%; competing with exclusive NFL Thursday Night Football and prestige original films.
- Disney+Leverages Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar IP; 131.6M subscribers globally; bundles with Hulu and ESPN+ to increase ARPU and reduce churn. Dominant in family and franchise content.
- Max (HBO)Premium prestige content via HBO (Succession, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon); approximately 13% U.S. streaming market share. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
- HuluDisney-owned; offers both on-demand and live TV bundle options; approximately 11% U.S. streaming market share; benefits from ESPN+ and Disney+ bundling as well as local news and sports live coverage.
- Apple TV+Smaller library but high-quality originals (Severance, Shrinking, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses); bundled into Apple One ecosystem; prioritizes prestige quality and awards momentum over subscriber scale.
- YouTubeFree ad-supported short and long-form video dominates global viewing time; massive creator ecosystem competing for hours rather than paid subscriptions; YouTube TV offers a live bundle. Arguably the largest single competitor for consumer attention.
Netflix — frequently asked questions
