As investors fret that Netflix‘s viewer-engagement metrics are flagging, the streaming giant reported revenue for the second quarter of 2026 that was in line with Wall Street forecasts.
Netflix reported revenue of $12.56 billion, up 13.4% year over year, and net income of $3.4 billion (translating to 80 cents per share). On average, Wall Street analysts expected $12.59 billion and earnings per share of 79 cents, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
The company said that viewing hours grew 2% in the first half of 2026 — faster than the 1.5% growth in the comparable period in 2025, “despite the competitive impact of the Winter Olympics and the World Cup this year.” Netflix released its “What We Watched” report for the first half of 2026, which it has released twice yearly. Going forward, Netflix “will shift to publishing this report annually in the first quarter, beginning in 2027.”
Per the company’s letter to shareholders: “The goal of separating the publication of the report from our earnings results is to keep the focus on our primary financial metrics -– revenue and operating profit. With this change, we will still report industry-leading title-by-title and total view hours data (including our weekly Top 10 lists for movies and series in more than 90 countries).”
“Overall, our engagement remains healthy and as with all things we do, we’re working hard to improve every day,” Netflix said.
Shares of Netflix dropped more than 8% in after-hours trading Thursday.
The Q2 results reflect recent price increases at Netflix, including for its three plans in the U.S., marking its second price hike in a little over a year.
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On April 22, Netflix’s board authorized the repurchase of an additional $25 billion of common stock, in a bid to boost the share price.
Pictured above (l. to r.): Louis Partridge as Tewkesbury, Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes, Himesh Patel as Dr. Watson in Netflix’s “Enola Homes 3”
From Variety US