Netflix

Netflix, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. It evolved from a DVD-by-mail service into a global subscription entertainment platform that offers TV series, films, and games, with an ad-supported option alongside traditional plans. Netflix states its mission as “to entertain the world.”

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The company combines licensed titles with a large slate of Netflix originals produced and commissioned across many countries and languages. Netflix reports over 300 million paid memberships across more than 190 countries, making it one of the largest paid entertainment services globally. In 2025, Netflix also shifted investor reporting away from regular quarterly subscriber updates toward revenue and engagement, including a semi-annual engagement report.

Netflix generates most of its revenue from paid streaming memberships sold in tiered plans, including an ad-supported option. At the end of 2024, Netflix reported 301.6 million paid memberships and $39.0 billion in revenue, which underlines its scale in global paid streaming.

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Core activities include:

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1. Membership streaming
   Netflix sells access to its content library through recurring subscriptions, optimized around engagement and retention rather than one-off hits. Starting in 2025, it stopped reporting quarterly subscriber numbers and shifted investor focus toward revenue and engagement reporting.
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2. Advertising as a second revenue stream
   The ad tier adds monetization on top of subscription pricing. In November 2025, Netflix said its ad-supported content reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers and it introduced a new “monthly active viewers” metric for advertisers.
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3. Content production and licensing at global scale
   Netflix invests heavily in originals and licensed content across many countries and languages, using a centralized platform to distribute global hits and local-language titles. Netflix’s CFO said the company expected to spend about $18 billion in cash on content in 2025.
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4. Product and distribution advantage
   Personalized recommendations, a stable streaming experience across devices, and broad global availability support usage depth. Netflix’s engagement reports reinforce that strategy by publishing viewing data at scale.
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In market positioning, Netflix sits at the top of paid streaming by membership scale, with a large content budget and global production footprint. Competition remains intense from Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and other regional services, which pushes Netflix to defend attention through a steady release cadence, stronger ad monetization, and selective moves into live events.

Netflix does not offer its streaming service in mainland China as of January 2026. Netflix’s own help center lists China among the territories where the service is not available.

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Instead of operating locally, Netflix’s China exposure has come through indirect routes such as content licensing and cross-border production. A notable example is the 2017 licensing agreement with iQiyi that brought a subset of Netflix original series to a Chinese platform under China’s rules for imported online video content.

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The market itself is dominated by domestic streaming platforms, led by iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku, which combine local content pipelines with China-specific distribution and compliance.

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For investors, this means Netflix has limited direct upside from China today, while China’s streaming growth largely accrues to local incumbents operating inside the regulatory perimeter.

Netflix’s growth plan is shifting from pure subscriber scale toward higher monetization per member, driven by advertising, live programming, and product improvements. In Q3 2025, Netflix reported 17% year-on-year revenue growth and pointed to membership growth, pricing, and ad revenue as the main drivers.

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Key growth drivers include:

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1. Advertising scaling into a real second revenue stream
   Netflix said its ad-supported offering reaches over 190 million monthly active viewers and it introduced this viewer-based metric to improve advertiser measurement. Netflix also outlined dynamic ad insertion for live streams, starting with WWE and expanding to other live events.
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2. Live events that build habit and improve ad inventory
   Netflix is adding more live programming, including NFL Christmas Day games and major boxing events highlighted in its Q3 2025 shareholder letter. WWE Raw is also part of the live strategy, with Netflix as the new home beginning in 2025.
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3. Content engine plus localization
   Netflix continues to fund originals and licensed titles across many countries, aiming to lift engagement and retention. Its engagement reports are now a core part of investor communication.
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4. Product, AI, and gaming as engagement levers
   Netflix reported a new TV interface rollout to most TV devices, ongoing work on AI-driven discovery like conversational search, and a growing slate of games designed for TV and mobile.
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Challenges ahead include content cost inflation and a crowded attention market. Netflix’s CFO said the company expects about $18 billion in cash content spend in 2025, and Netflix competes for time against other streaming services plus social video and gaming.