Los Angeles – Netflix forecast a second consecutive quarter of slowing sales growth, feeding investor anxiety about the streaming giant’s future.
The company projected revenue of US$12.9 billion (S$16.6 billion) in the current quarter and earnings of 82 US cents a share, both a little shy of analysts’ expectations. The shares fell as much as 9 per cent in after-hours trading.
Second-quarter results were in line with Wall Street’s consensus, but most of the attention has been on future performance.
Shares in Netflix have sunk more than 40 per cent over the last year, as the company’s pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery and subsequent financial results have caused investors to worry that the leader in streaming has lost momentum. While Netflix still has more subscribers and viewership than any other paid streaming service, growth in sales and hours spent on the service has been slowing.
Netflix endured a months-long drought of new hits in the first half of 2026, during which many returning shows struggled to retain viewers in the new seasons. That dry spell ended with I Will Find You, an adaptation of a Harlan Coben novel, which was Netflix’s most-viewed new original series this year.
The company sought to reassure restive investors by outlining a plan to sustain growth in the coming years. It is investing in new kinds of programming, such as live sports and video podcasts. Podcasts are attracting more viewers during the day and on mobile devices while live programming has helped attract a lot of customers relative to its actual share of viewing, the company said.
Netflix has announced a flurry of new details with popular social media personalities in recent weeks, including YouTube stars Alan Chikin Chow and Nick DiGiovanni, and even touted its use of generative artificial intelligence on about 300 shows.
“We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods,” the company wrote in its letter to shareholders. Netflix has resumed offering free trials in select markets as a test.
The amount of time people spend on Netflix grew 2 per cent in the first half of 2026, a slight improvement over a year ago. The company said that was good, especially given the competition from the World Cup and Winter Olympics, which aired on other networks.
Netflix also said it will now release its What We Watched report on show viewership annually, rather than twice a year. BLOOMBERG
