Netflix Revenue and Profit: Every Year and Quarter From 2002 to 2026

Netflix revenue grew about 300-fold between 2002 and 2025

Netflix reported revenue of $45.18 billion for 2025, up 15.9 percent from $39.00 billion in 2024, according to the fourth quarter 2025 shareholder letter filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 20 January 2026. It was the first year in which the company passed $40 billion, only three years after it passed $30 billion. In 2002, the year Netflix listed on Nasdaq as a DVD by mail rental service, revenue was $150.8 million, so annual sales have multiplied about 300 times in 23 years, a compound growth rate of 28.1 percent a year.

This page follows the money side of Netflix: what the company sells, how fast that has grown, how much of each dollar is left as profit and cash, and what management expects next. Membership numbers are covered separately in our page on Netflix subscribers by quarter, which explains why Netflix stopped reporting paid memberships after the fourth quarter of 2024. Revenue, operating income and free cash flow are now the main numbers the company publishes every quarter, and they are the numbers this page tracks.

The curve steepens twice: once after the 2016 global launch, when revenue went from $8.83 billion to $25.0 billion in four years, and again after 2023, when advertising, paid sharing and price rises added $11.5 billion in two years.

Three numbers frame the long run. Revenue first passed $1 billion in 2007 ($1.21 billion), the year Netflix launched streaming as an add on to its DVD plans. It passed $10 billion in 2017 ($11.69 billion), a year after the service became available in almost every country outside China. It passed $40 billion in 2025. Over the last ten years, from 2015 to 2025, revenue grew at a compound rate of 20.9 percent a year; over the last five years, from 2020 to 2025, the rate was 12.6 percent, a sign of a larger and more mature business.

Growth fell to 6.5 percent in 2022, then returned to double digits

Year on year growth has moved through four distinct phases. During the DVD years revenue rose by 36 to 85 percent a year as the subscriber base compounded from a small start. Growth slowed to 13 percent in 2008, then accelerated again with streaming and the first international launches, peaking at 48.2 percent in 2011. Between 2013 and 2020 Netflix grew by 21 to 35 percent every single year, the period in which it built its global footprint.

The break came in 2022. Revenue grew just 6.5 percent to $31.62 billion and then 6.7 percent to $33.72 billion in 2023. The company reported its first fall in paid memberships in a decade in early 2022, and a strong dollar cut the value of revenue earned in other currencies. Growth then recovered to 15.6 percent in 2024 and 15.9 percent in 2025, driven by the paid sharing programme, the ad supported plan launched in November 2022 and a series of price increases. Netflix said in its 2024 annual report that streaming revenue grew mainly because of more paying memberships and higher prices.

2022 and 2023 were the only years below 10 percent since the company listed. Every other year from 2003 to 2025 delivered double digit growth, and 2024 and 2025 restored rates near 16 percent on a revenue base four times larger than in 2016.

Growth in 2026 is slowing again, but from a high base. Revenue rose 16.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026, 13.4 percent in the second and 11.8 percent in the third, and Netflix expects 11.5 percent in the fourth. Its full year guidance of $51.1 billion implies growth of 13 percent, or 12 percent excluding currency movements. The slowdown is examined in the quarterly section below.

Netflix revenue, operating income and net income for every year since 2002

The table lists the core income statement figures Netflix reported in its annual filings for each year from its first year as a listed company. Operating margin is operating income divided by revenue. All values are in millions of US dollars and are as reported, except 2002 to 2004 revenue, which uses the restated values from the 2006 annual report.

Source: Netflix Form 10-K filings for 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2024, and the Q4 2025 shareholder letter. Growth and margins are BusinessStats calculations. The 2007 figures include a one time $7.0 million payment from the settlement of patent litigation with Blockbuster.

Two years in the table stand out for profit rather than revenue. In 2012 operating income fell to $50.0 million, a margin of 1.4 percent, as Netflix absorbed the cost of launching in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Nordic countries and of building a streaming catalogue while DVD revenue declined. In 2015 and 2016 margins sat near 4 to 5 percent while the company spent heavily on original programming and the expansion into 130 new countries in January 2016. Every year since 2017 operating income has grown, with the exception of 2022, when it fell 9.1 percent.

From DVD rentals to a subscription and advertising business

Netflix has changed what it sells three times, and each change shows up in the revenue line. Until 2007 the company earned almost all its revenue from monthly DVD rental plans in the United States. Revenue grew from $150.8 million in 2002 to $996.7 million in 2006 as subscribers rose from 857,000 to 6.3 million, according to the 2006 annual report.

The second era began with streaming in 2007 and international expansion from 2010, starting with Canada. Streaming soon became the larger business: by 2011 revenue had reached $3.20 billion, and the DVD operation was later reported as a separate, shrinking segment until Netflix closed it in September 2023. The third era, from 2016, was global scale. With the service available almost everywhere, revenue crossed $20 billion in 2019 and $30 billion in 2022.

The current era is the most diversified. Netflix now earns subscription fees on several price tiers, including a cheaper plan with advertising, extra member fees from paid sharing, and a growing advertising business sold directly to brands. Live events such as boxing matches and Christmas Day NFL games give the advertising business premium inventory. Even so, the 2024 annual report states that revenue from sources other than membership fees, including advertising, was not a material part of streaming revenue in 2022, 2023 or 2024; subscription fees remain the core of the business.

Quarterly revenue rose from $8.16 billion to $12.87 billion in 11 quarters

Quarterly figures show the recent acceleration and the 2026 slowdown more clearly than annual totals. Revenue was $8.16 billion in the first quarter of 2023 and grew only 3.7 percent that quarter. It passed $10 billion for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2024 ($10.25 billion) and $12 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 ($12.05 billion). In the third quarter of 2026, reported on 20 October 2026, revenue reached $12.87 billion, up 11.8 percent year on year.

Operating income grew much faster than revenue: between Q1 2023 and Q3 2026 quarterly revenue rose 58 percent, while quarterly operating income rose 160 percent, from $1.71 billion to $4.46 billion.

The table adds net income and free cash flow, which Netflix reports alongside revenue in the summary of every shareholder letter. The forecast row for the fourth quarter of 2026 is the company guidance published in October 2026.

Source: Netflix quarterly shareholder letters. Net income in Q1 2026 includes a $2.8 billion termination fee received after the Warner Bros. deal ended; see the section on that episode below.

Growth peaked at 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 and has eased in each quarter of 2026. Netflix attributed revenue growth in recent quarters to three sources: more members, higher prices and higher advertising revenue. Price increases introduced in early 2025 in the United States and other markets lifted growth through 2025; with those increases now in the base, and with advertising growing more slowly than planned, the year on year comparison has become tougher. Currency has also moved: in the third quarter of 2026 growth was 11.8 percent as reported and slightly lower excluding currency effects.

A record 34.6 percent operating margin in Q3 2026, and a weaker fourth quarter every year

Netflix sets an operating margin target for each year and reports progress every quarter. In the third quarter of 2026 the operating margin was 34.6 percent, the highest of any quarter Netflix has reported, ahead of 34.1 percent in the second quarter of 2025. For the first nine months of 2026 the margin was 33.5 percent, against 31.3 percent in the same period of 2025.

The fourth quarter dip is structural: Q4 margins were 16.9, 22.2 and 24.5 percent in 2023, 2024 and 2025, each well below the rest of the year, because content amortization and marketing are heaviest around the year end slate of releases.

The saw tooth pattern in the chart is predictable. Netflix spreads content costs over the expected viewing life of each title, and its biggest releases and marketing campaigns cluster in the second half of the year. The fourth quarter therefore carries the highest costs relative to revenue. Netflix expects a 26.0 percent margin for the fourth quarter of 2026, which includes about 1.2 percentage points of cost from headcount reductions announced in the third quarter letter.

The third quarter of 2025 is the one exception to a smooth upward trend. Netflix booked an expense of about $619 million for an ongoing dispute with Brazilian tax authorities, which cut the margin for that quarter by more than five percentage points. Without it, the company said, the margin would have exceeded its forecast. By BusinessStats calculation the underlying margin was about 33.6 percent.

The latest quarter: $12.87 billion in revenue and $4.46 billion in operating income

The third quarter 2026 letter, published on 20 October 2026, is the most recent primary data available. Revenue of $12.87 billion was slightly above the $12.86 billion forecast three months earlier. Operating income rose 37.3 percent to $4.46 billion, net income rose 43.9 percent to $3.66 billion and diluted earnings per share were $0.87, after the 10 for 1 stock split of November 2025. Free cash flow was $2.88 billion.

Source: Netflix Q3 2026 shareholder letter, 20 October 2026. Growth rates as published by Netflix (rounded).

Every region grew by double digits. Latin America grew fastest as reported, helped by stronger local currencies, while Asia Pacific grew fastest once currency effects are removed (15 percent). The United States and Canada, which produced 43.7 percent of the quarter revenue, grew 11 percent. For a longer regional history, see our separate page on Netflix revenue by region and the regional average revenue per membership series.

The quarter also brought the largest share buyback in Netflix history: 63.9 million shares for $4.8 billion, with $22.3 billion still authorised. The company ended the quarter with $8.2 billion in cash and $15.3 billion in gross debt, giving net debt of $7.1 billion. Netflix did not disclose an advertising revenue figure for the quarter, but it said advertising revenue grew and that the ad supported plan will launch in 15 more countries in 2027, starting in March.

Operating margin has risen from 4.5 percent in 2015 to 29.5 percent in 2025

The most important change in Netflix finances over the last decade is not revenue growth but margin. In 2015 the company kept 4.5 cents of operating profit from each dollar of revenue. In 2025 it kept 29.5 cents. Operating income rose from $305.8 million to $13.33 billion over those ten years, while revenue rose about 6.7 times.

Margins have risen in every year since 2016 except 2022. The jump from 20.6 percent in 2023 to 29.5 percent in 2025 added almost nine percentage points in two years, the fastest improvement in the company history.

Netflix management has repeatedly said it aims to raise the operating margin every year, while varying the pace. The record shows how that worked in practice. The margin target for 2023 was set at 18 to 20 percent and the actual result was 21 percent; the 2024 target was set at 24 percent in January 2024 and raised during the year, and the result was 26.7 percent; the 2025 result was 29.5 percent; and the 2026 target is 31.5 percent, which, on guidance of $51.1 billion, implies operating income of about $16.1 billion, an increase of more than 20 percent.

The margin gains come from operating leverage. Content is the largest cost and is shared by every member worldwide, so each extra subscription fee or price increase adds revenue without a matching rise in programming spend. Netflix has kept content amortization growing more slowly than revenue: amortization rose 7.3 percent in 2025 to $16.42 billion while revenue grew 15.9 percent.

Of each 2025 revenue dollar, 51.5 cents went on cost of revenues and 29.5 cents was operating profit

The 2025 income statement shows where the $45.18 billion went before tax and interest. Cost of revenues, which consists mainly of content amortization plus streaming delivery, payment processing and other costs, took $23.28 billion. Sales and marketing cost $3.30 billion, technology and development $3.39 billion and general and administrative expenses $1.89 billion. What remained was operating income of $13.33 billion.

Content dominates the cost base: content amortization alone equalled 36.3 percent of 2025 revenue, down from 39.2 percent in 2024, and that decline accounts for most of the margin gain in the year.

Source: Netflix Q4 2025 shareholder letter, consolidated statements of operations. Shares are BusinessStats calculations.

Cash spending on content was $17.10 billion in 2025, against amortization of $16.42 billion, a ratio of about 1.04 times. Netflix expects a ratio of about 1.1 times in 2026. For how this compares with other media groups, see our analysis of content spending by media and streaming companies, and for the Netflix series alone, Netflix content spend and Netflix cost of revenues. Marketing spending is tracked in a separate page on Netflix marketing expenditure.

Free cash flow swung from minus $3.27 billion in 2019 to plus $9.46 billion in 2025

Accounting profit and cash have told very different stories at Netflix. Because the company pays for new programming before the cost is amortized, years of rapid content growth produced negative free cash flow even when net income was positive. In 2019 Netflix earned net income of $1.87 billion but burned $3.27 billion of free cash flow and funded the gap with bond issues. In its fourth quarter 2020 letter it said it no longer needed to raise external financing for day to day operations.

Cash caught up with profit in 2023: after a decade in which free cash flow trailed net income, it exceeded net income in 2023, and in 2025 Netflix converted 86 percent of its $10.98 billion net income into free cash flow.

Net income reached a record $10.98 billion in 2025, up 26.1 percent, a net margin of 24.3 percent. Free cash flow was $9.46 billion, or 20.9 percent of revenue. Netflix used most of that cash to buy back its own shares: repurchases totalled $9.13 billion in 2025, after $6.26 billion in 2024. For a full history of profit see our page on Netflix net income.

In the first nine months of 2026 free cash flow reached $9.50 billion, inflated by the $2.8 billion termination fee received in the first quarter. Netflix now expects about $12.0 billion of free cash flow for the full year, down from $12.5 billion in July, mainly because a real estate transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Future cash commitments for programming are reported separately as content obligations.

The United States and Canada still produce 44 percent of revenue and supplied 42 percent of 2025 growth

Netflix reports revenue in four regions. Adding up the quarterly figures, the United States and Canada (UCAN) produced about $19.96 billion in 2025, or 44.2 percent of the total. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) produced $14.51 billion (32.1 percent), Latin America $5.36 billion (11.9 percent) and Asia Pacific $5.35 billion (11.8 percent). Asia Pacific grew fastest in 2025, by 21.3 percent, followed by EMEA at 17.2 percent, UCAN at 15.0 percent and Latin America at 10.7 percent.

Two regions did three quarters of the work: UCAN added $2.60 billion and EMEA $2.13 billion of the $6.18 billion increase in 2025, while Asia Pacific, despite the fastest growth rate, contributed $0.94 billion.

The pattern has shifted in 2026. In the first nine months, revenue grew 18.9 percent in Latin America, 15.8 percent in Asia Pacific, 14.1 percent in EMEA and 11.5 percent in UCAN, so the share of the largest region is slowly declining: UCAN produced 43.3 percent of revenue in the first nine months of 2026. Currency movements explain part of the difference; Netflix reported that Latin American growth in the third quarter was 17 percent as reported but 12 percent excluding currency effects.

Advertising passed $1.5 billion in 2025, but the 2026 target was cut to $2.7 billion

Netflix launched its ad supported plan in November 2022 in 12 countries. It does not report advertising revenue as a separate line in its financial statements, but it has given annual figures in its shareholder letters. In January 2026 the company said that advertising revenue had grown more than 2.5 times in 2025 to over $1.5 billion, in only its third year of selling ads, and that it expected advertising revenue to roughly double in 2026.

That target has since come down. In July 2026 Netflix said it remained on track for about $3 billion of advertising revenue in 2026. In October 2026 it cut the forecast to about $2.7 billion, citing a slightly slower than expected rollout of some advertising product capabilities. Even at the lower figure, advertising would equal about 5.3 percent of 2026 revenue, against about 3.3 percent in 2025. Audience numbers for the ad tier are covered in our page on Netflix monthly ad supported users.

A $2.8 billion termination fee lifted Q1 2026 net income to $5.28 billion

In December 2025 Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO and HBO Max, from Warner Bros. Discovery. By January 2026 the deal had been amended to an all cash offer of $27.75 per Warner Bros. Discovery share, backed by bridge loan commitments of $42.2 billion, and Netflix paused share buybacks to help fund it. Warner Bros. Discovery later ended the agreement and agreed instead to merge with Paramount Skydance, whose proposal it judged superior.

Under the merger agreement Netflix received a $2.8 billion termination fee, which Paramount Skydance paid on behalf of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the Warner Bros. Discovery first quarter 2026 earnings release. Netflix booked $2.85 billion of interest and other income in the first quarter of 2026, against $52 million in the second quarter, which is why net income of $5.28 billion in that quarter was far above operating income of $3.96 billion. The fee does not affect revenue or operating income, but anyone comparing 2026 net income or free cash flow with earlier years should exclude it. Netflix also guided for about $275 million of acquisition related expenses in 2026, included in its operating margin target.

Netflix expects $51.1 billion of revenue and a 31.5 percent margin in 2026

Netflix publishes a forecast for the next quarter and the full year in each letter. For 2026 the revenue range has been narrowed from $50.7 to $51.7 billion in January to a single figure of $51.1 billion in October, slightly below the earlier midpoint. The operating margin target of 31.5 percent has not changed, while the advertising and free cash flow forecasts have moved.

Source: Netflix shareholder letters for Q4 2025 (20 January 2026), Q2 2026 (July 2026) and Q3 2026 (20 October 2026). The rise in free cash flow guidance after January reflects the after tax effect of the Warner Bros. termination fee.

The fourth quarter forecast is revenue of $13.44 billion, up 11.5 percent, and an operating margin of 26.0 percent. Added to the first three quarters, that gives full year revenue of $51.13 billion and operating income growth of more than 20 percent. If Netflix meets the forecast, 2026 will be the first year with revenue above $50 billion and the third consecutive year with operating income growth above 20 percent. To see how this compares with the largest technology and media groups, read our big tech revenue comparison.

Five things to know before comparing Netflix revenue figures

With memberships no longer reported each quarter, comparing Netflix with other streaming services means using different measures for different companies. Our pages on subscribers by streaming platform and the Netflix topic overview bring those measures together.

Netflix revenue and profit in eight numbers

Questions about Netflix revenue