Netflix just dropped a major surprise. In its shareholder letter for the final quarter of 2025, the company revealed it crossed 325 million paid subscribers worldwide. This update came out of nowhere. Netflix had stopped sharing subscriber numbers regularly and shifted focus to revenue and profit instead.
This was the first official subscriber update in a long time. And it showed just how big the platform has become.
Netflix earnings beat expectations in Q4 2025
Netflix reported strong numbers for the fourth quarter. The company earned 56 cents per share on revenue of $12.157 billion. Both figures beat Wall Street expectations.
Revenue jumped 17.6 percent compared to last year. One big reason was advertising. Netflix confirmed that its ad tier crossed $1.5 billion in revenue across all of 2025. This shows the ad model is no longer an experiment. It is now a real growth engine.
Operating income for the quarter reached $2.957 billion. The operating margin stood at 24.5 percent. Net income came in at $2.419 billion. Just three months earlier, Netflix had predicted lower numbers. The final results came in stronger than expected across the board.
Stranger Things and other big moves shape Netflix’s future
Netflix’s biggest driver in Q4 was Stranger Things 5. The final season, combined with the platform’s Christmas Day NFL games, delivered the biggest streaming day and month in US history.
At the same time, Netflix is making aggressive moves behind the scenes. The company is in the process of buying major parts of Warner Bros. Discovery. It recently changed its $83 billion offer into an all cash deal. Netflix also revealed its own valuation for the Discovery assets it does not want, while defending its $27.75 bid for Warner Bros. against Paramount’s higher offer.
Back in October 2025, Netflix executives downplayed the idea that any deal was essential. Yet this is the same company that once said it would never run ads or stream live sports.
Looking ahead, Netflix is projecting another strong quarter. For Q1 2026, the company expects revenue of $12.157 billion and profit of $3.264 billion. That equals about 76 cents per share.
Netflix may no longer talk often about subscriber counts. But when it does, it makes sure the numbers speak loud.
