Netflix performed strongly in its fourth-quarter earnings report released on Tuesday, beating Wall Street's revenue and profit expectations, pushing its stock price up more than 13% after hours. Netflix announced that its number of paying members exceeded 300 million in the fourth quarter, with a record 19 million new users. The company said the growth was driven by premium content, product improvements and the usual seasonal gains in the fourth quarter. In addition, including "additional membership accounts," Netflix estimates that its global audience exceeds 700 million.
Netflix's quarterly performance as of December 31 exceeded market expectations, with earnings per share of $4.27, higher than the expected $4.20; revenue reached $10.25 billion, exceeding the expected $10.11 billion; the number of paid members reached 301.63 million, exceeding the expected 290.9 million.
The company's net income doubled from $938 million ($2.11 per share) in the same period last year to $1.87 billion ($4.27 per share). Fourth-quarter revenue increased 16% year-over-year to $10.25 billion, which was higher than market expectations.
Netflix raised its full-year revenue forecast for 2025 to $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion, about $500 million higher than its previous forecast. This reflects improvements in the company's underlying business and the continued impact of better-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was the last time Netflix reported paid membership numbers on a quarterly basis. In the future, Netflix will release a "User Participation Report" every six months, which will be released with the second quarter and fourth quarter financial reports.
Netflix singled out the success of its fourth-quarter content, including the release of Season 2 of hit series Squidward, as well as record-breaking live sports events such as the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match and Christmas Day NFL games.
Looking forward to 2025, Netflix plans to further optimize its core business, launch more series and movies, improve user product experience, and continue to develop its advertising business. In addition, the company will further explore the field of live events and games.
In 2025, Netflix will usher in the return of two popular series such as "Stranger Things" and "Wednesday", which is expected to further attract users and drive growth.