Streaming giant Netflix has now unveiled another round of subscription price increases, impacting plans in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina. This announcement coincides with the company’s fourth-quarter 2024 earnings report, which reveals a solid growth in its subscriber base for the winter quarter.
Starting with the next billing cycle, the ad-supported tier will rise from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free plan will jump from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. The premium plan, the highest-priced tier, will increase from $22.99 to $24.99 monthly. Netflix last raised its prices in October 2023, and this marks the first price hike for the ad-supported plan introduced in 2022.
Despite the price increases, Netflix ended 2024 on a high note, adding 19 million subscribers in the last quarter alone — marking a record for the company and the most significant single-quarter increase in its history. This surge brings its total global subscriber count to over 300 million. Alongside this, the company also achieved its first operating income exceeding $10 billion and reported a 16% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching $10.2 billion for the quarter. This growth was mostly driven by a diverse content lineup that included hits like Squid Game Season 2, the League of Legends spinoff Arcane, and major live events such as the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, which became the most-streamed sporting event ever on the platform. Netflix’s first NFL games on Christmas Day boosted its viewership as well.
“Our Q4 slate outperformed even our high expectations: Squid Game season 2 is on track to become one of our most watched original series seasons, Carry-On joined our all-time Top 10 films list, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight became the most-streamed sporting event ever and on Christmas Day we delivered the two most-streamed NFL games in history,” the streaming service major announced in its earnings report for the quarter.
Coming to Netflix’s earnings for the fourth quarter of the year, Netflix clocked $10.25 billion in revenue (marking an annual growth of 16% and moving past the estimated $10.11 billion). Its operating income for the same period dropped to $2.27 billion, while its net income clocked a steep decrease to $1.87 billion (although it marks an annual increase from the $938 million it pocketed as net income in Q4 2023). Its diluted earnings per share (EPS) amounted to $4.27 for the period (exceeding the estimated $4.20). “We really have built the business on variety and quality across countries, across regions, across genres and really focused year-round on having a very strong slate of programming for our members,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, commented on the development.
Going forward, the streaming service major plans to pull the plug on reporting quarterly subscriber numbers, a metric historically tied to its stock performance. Instead, the company will focus on broader financial indicators such as revenue, profit, and engagement. For the upcoming fiscal year, Netflix has forecast revenue growth of 14%, projecting $44.5 billion for 2025. The company also raised its operating margin target to 29%.
