Netflix shattered expectations in late 2024, adding nearly 19 million new subscribers and crossing the 300-million-user mark worldwide. The streaming giant’s success drove its stock price up 10% after the market closed.
The company pulled in $10.25 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, showing strong 16% growth from the previous year. Its profit more than doubled to $1.87 billion, with earnings reaching $4.27 per share.
In a significant change, Netflix plans to stop sharing its quarterly subscriber counts and per-member revenue starting in early 2025. Instead, the company will focus on reporting overall revenue and operating numbers, though it will still announce major subscriber milestones.
The growth spread across all regions, with North America leading the way. The U.S. and Canada gained 4.82 million new subscribers, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa added 5 million. Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions also showed strong results, bringing in 4.15 million and 4.94 million new users respectively.
Live events proved to be a winning strategy for Netflix. The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match broke viewing records, and the platform’s first NFL Christmas Day games drew numbers close to regular TV broadcasts. The company recently added WWE Raw to its live programming lineup.
“Our business remains intensely competitive with many formidable competitors across traditional entertainment and big tech,” Netflix told shareholders. The company highlighted its advantage in focusing solely on streaming, unlike competitors who must manage traditional TV networks.
Looking forward, Netflix expects to earn $10.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion. Price changes are coming too, with U.S. customers seeing increases of $1 for ad-supported viewing (now $7.99 monthly) and $2 for Premium service (reaching $24.99 monthly).
The company’s advertising business continues to grow stronger. More than half of new subscribers choose the ad-supported option in countries where it’s available. Netflix reports 70 million monthly users watching with ads and expects this number to grow significantly across all markets in 2025.
