Netflix reported an impressive performance for the third quarter of the year, surpassing Wall Street estimates when it comes to subscriber growth, revenue, and profit margins for the period.
For the three months ended September 30, the streaming service giant reported earnings per share (EPS) of $5.40, blowing past analysts’ forecasts of $5.12. For the same period, its revenue also exceeded market expectations, reaching $9.83 billion, compared to the predicted $9.77 billion. This marks an annual growth of 15% compared to the revenue in the corresponding period last year. Furthermore, Netflix’s net income rose to $2.36 billion from $1.68 billion a year earlier, clocking a YoY growth of 41%. Going forwards, Netflix aims to secure $10.13 billion in revenue and $4.23 in EPS for the current quarter.
Netflix’s operating margin for Q3 2024 also amounted to 30%, while its operating income rose to $2.9 billion for the same period. Its free cash flow surged to $2.19 billion as well. “We’ve delivered on our plan to reaccelerate our business, and we’re excited to finish the year strong with a great Q4 slate,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders. For the full year (2025), Netflix expects its revenue to range between $43-44 billion. Netflix’s shares rose 3.5% in after-hours trading, and are currently priced at $687.65.
Subscriber count has been a bright sport for Netflix during the third quarter – during the three months, Netflix secured 5.1 million new subscribers. This brings its total membership to 282.7 million across various pricing tiers—surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of 4.5 million. Netflix notes that this growth was led by its ad-tier memberships (which climbed by 35% on a quarterly basis). To add to this, more than 50% of new sign-ups came from its ad-supported plans. From 2025, Netflix plans to cease its quarterly subscriber updates, focussing on revenue, operating margins, and engagement metrics instead.
This growth in subscribers comes at a time when Netflix is improving its core series and films offerings, as well as investing in ads and gaming. According to Netflix, its strong financial performance (and growth in subscribers) can be attributed to “a string of hits this quarter.” This includes The Perfect Couple, Tokyo Swindlers, and Nobody Wants, which have drawn significant viewership. This was boosted by the return of favorites like Emily in Paris and Cobra Kai, while films such as Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and Rebel Ridge played their part as well.
To add to this, Netflix is set to roll out a second season of the popular Korean show “Squid Game.” Netflix’s venture into the live sports sector is set to pay rich dividend as well, and the streaming giant aims to air live sports events such as a boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, alongside two NFL games that are scheduled for Christmas Day.
“Programming for such a large, engaged audience, with so much variety and great quality, is hard,” Netflix said. “It’s why streaming services which lack our breadth of content are increasingly looking to bundle their offerings… Netflix is already an extraordinary package of series and films (licensed and original), and increasingly games and live events.”
