Technology
The world's leading streaming platform with over 300 million subscribers, transitioning toward advertising revenue and live content.
View forensic reportOperating margins expanded to 29.5%, free cash flow hit $9.5 billion, and the advertising tier is scaling ahead of expectations. The capital return thesis is stronger than ever.
Free cash flow crossed $7 billion in 2024 and is on track for $10 billion in 2025. The buyback programme is now meaningful enough to move EPS.
The Nasdaq's extended rally has lifted Netflix, but the real story is four distinct signals in the data that point to a structural earnings inflection the market is only beginning to price.
With revenue up 16% to $45.2 billion, free cash flow surging to $9.5 billion, and 32 of 48 analysts now rating Buy or Strong Buy, Netflix's upgrade from Goldman Sachs may be the catalyst that resets the multiple.
While hardware and chip stocks spent April repricing trade war exposure, Netflix had no supply chain to worry about. The real question is whether the margin transformation from 17.8% to 29.5% in three years justifies a 40x multiple.
With $9.5 billion in free cash flow and operating margins pushing toward 25%, Netflix's live sports investment is a calculated bid for the highest-value advertising inventory in media.
Dominant platform, disciplined margins, aggressive buybacks. But at 38x earnings, the stock prices in almost everything going right.
From negative free cash flow to $9.5 billion in four years. The streaming debate is over. The real question is how to value what Netflix has become.
Netflix's financials are genuinely strong. The bear case is not about whether the business works. It is about whether 37x earnings correctly prices a business approaching saturation.
Netflix returned 96% of its free cash flow via buybacks in 2025. That discipline is admirable, or a sign the company has no better use for capital.