Amid a spate of rather mixed Q1 earnings, it seems that Netflix is emerging as the victor. Managing to top Wall Street expectations, the streamer has had a surprisingly successful growth spurt once again. To fill us in, we have Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake.
Impressive Q1 Earnings
While Wall Street was expecting earnings per share for the streaming giant to hit $5.66, with revenue in the $10.5B range, Netflix announced $10.543B in total revenue, with earnings per share almost a full dollar higher, at $6.61. Revenue grew by 9% in North American territories, down from 15% in the last quarter of 2024.
Of course, this is also the first time that the streaming giant has not offered subscriber numbers per quarter, instead switching to only “select data” at milestone moments. The lack of this additional info was certainly felt, despite a slight rise in share price based on the positive Q1 results. Coming off the back of a superlative Q4 in 2024, however, it was certainly welcome news to see continued strong growth.
A Least-Vulnerable Company?
As the US looks set for a turbulent economic environment in 2025, Netflix also received the dubious honor of being pegged as one of the “least vulnerable” media companies, especially given it doesn’t operate in the physical goods space. While an ad downturn is being predicted by some, Netflix’s late entry into this space makes it considerably less exposed than some other key streaming players.
Looking ahead, the company expects to see higher revenue growth in the North American area in Q2, although it stuck to its 2025 targets of total revenue upward of $43.5 billion and operating margins of 29%.
With a flurry of Q1 reporting set to hit us over the next few weeks, let’s hope to see more of the same positivity over other key entertainment companies.
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