Netflix Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Alex Rivera | Last updated: June 22, 2026 | Next scheduled update: Q3 2026 (September — after Q2 2026 earnings) | License: CC BY 4.
Quick Answer
Netflix crossed 325 million paid memberships in Q4 2025 and posted $12.25 billion in Q1 2026 revenue — up 16% year over year — while its ad-supported tier reached 190 million monthly active viewers globally. The company stopped routinely reporting quarterly subscriber counts in 2025. It reports milestones instead, which means the 325 million number is a floor, not a ceiling. Per Axis Intelligence Research’s cross-source analysis of Netflix’s SEC filings, the company is on track to deliver $50.7–$51.7 billion in full-year 2026 revenue, with advertising revenue projected to roughly double from 2025’s $1.5 billion to approximately $3 billion.
Axis Intelligence Research’s analysis of Netflix’s Q1 2026 10-Q and shareholder letter finds: Netflix’s Q1 2026 revenue was $12.249 billion (+16% YoY), operating margin was 32.3%, and the company generated $5.09 billion in free cash flow — inflated by a $2.8 billion Warner Bros. termination fee. The UCAN region contributed $5.245 billion of that revenue, EMEA $3.998 billion, LATAM $1.497 billion, and APAC $1.509 billion. The ad-supported plan at $8.99/month now accounts for over 60% of all new sign-ups in ad-available countries.
Key Findings
- Per Axis Intelligence Research’s analysis of Netflix’s SEC 10-Q filing for Q1 2026, Netflix generated $12.249 billion in revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2026 — a 16.2% year-over-year increase, beating its own guidance of $12.1 billion due to higher-than-forecast membership growth and favorable FX movements.
- Axis Intelligence Research calculates that Netflix’s advertising business grew from $0 in 2022 to approximately $1.5 billion in 2025 (2.5× year-over-year growth), with a projected further doubling to ~$3 billion in 2026 — the fastest advertising revenue ramp of any major streaming platform in the medium’s history.
- According to Axis Intelligence Research’s reading of Netflix’s Q4 2025 shareholder letter published via SEC EDGAR, Netflix served an audience of “approaching one billion people” across 190+ countries with 325+ million paid memberships — making it the only streaming service with true global paid subscription scale at this level.
- Netflix’s content assets on its balance sheet reached $33.376 billion as of March 31, 2026, per its SEC 10-Q, against total streaming content obligations of $24.139 billion — a combined content footprint that exceeds the annual GDP of many European nations and represents the structural moat competitors cannot close in a single investment cycle.
- Per Axis Intelligence Research’s synthesis of Netflix Q1 2026 SEC filings and Nielsen data cited in the Q4 2025 letter, Netflix’s share of US TV viewing time reached an all-time high of 9.0% in December 2025 — yet linear TV still represents over 40% of US TV screen time, signaling the size of the addressable market still to be captured.
Netflix Subscriber Statistics 2026
Netflix Paid Memberships
I’ve tracked Netflix through three pricing cycles, two password-sharing crackdowns, and a period when every analyst confidently declared the growth story was over. The April 2022 subscriber loss — the first in over a decade — genuinely looked terminal in real time. The stock fell from $350 to below $170 in a single session. The thesis was simple and wrong: streaming had saturated, Netflix was done growing.
What followed was the most methodical turnaround in streaming history. Password-sharing enforcement, ad-tier launch, live sports, price restructuring. By Q4 2025, Netflix crossed 325 million paid memberships and management stopped reporting quarterly counts entirely — because the number had become less important than the revenue per member. That’s a tell. Companies don’t stop publishing metrics that make them look good.
The 2030 target is 430 million paid memberships, per management guidance. At Q4 2025’s pace — roughly 40 million net adds in 2024 — that’s achievable if ad-tier conversion continues to absorb price-sensitive users who would otherwise churn.
| Subscriber Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global paid memberships | 325M+ (milestone) | Q4 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Shareholder Letter (SEC) |
| EMEA paid memberships | ~101.13M | Q4 2025 | Netflix SEC filings |
| UCAN paid memberships | ~89.63M | Q4 2025 | Netflix SEC filings |
| APAC paid memberships | ~57.54M | Q4 2025 | Netflix SEC filings |
| LATAM paid memberships | ~53.33M | Q4 2025 | Netflix SEC filings |
| Net paid additions (FY 2024) | ~41 million | FY 2024 | Netflix annual filings |
| 2030 membership target | 430M | — | Management guidance |
| Total audience served (“approaching 1B people”) | ~1B | Q4 2025 | Netflix Q4 Shareholder Letter |
| Countries of operation | 190+ | 2026 | Netflix IR |
| Addressable market penetration | <45% of broadband HH | End 2025 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter |
Netflix Subscriber History
The 2022 subscriber loss was not a business failure — it was the moment Netflix discovered it had been giving away the product for free to password-sharers. Enforcing the account boundary didn’t shrink the audience. It monetized it. That insight took two years and a stock-price collapse to arrive at, but the math was always there.
| Year | Approximate Paid Memberships | Key Event |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 203M | COVID boom; +36M net adds |
| 2021 | 222M | Post-COVID deceleration; password-sharing identified |
| 2022 | 221M | First YoY decline; stock −75% peak to trough |
| 2023 | 260M | Password-sharing enforcement; ad tier launch |
| 2024 | 302M | +41M net adds; pricing restructure |
| Q4 2025 | 325M+ | Milestone disclosure; quarterly reporting stopped |
Netflix Revenue Statistics 2026
Netflix Annual and Quarterly Revenue
Netflix’s revenue trajectory since 2020 is one of the cleaner compounding stories in media. The $45.2 billion full-year 2025 revenue lands 16% above 2024, and the $50.7–$51.7 billion 2026 guidance implies the company is running at roughly $4.2 billion per month at scale — a number that would have seemed impossible when it posted $20 billion in 2019.
The Q1 2026 figure of $12.249 billion was directly sourced from Netflix’s 10-Q filed with the SEC on April 17, 2026. The 32.3% operating margin in Q1 was above guidance, driven by higher revenue and seasonally lower content spend — content amortization is expected to be front-loaded in H1 2026, with mid-to-high single-digit growth in H2.
| Revenue Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 revenue | $12.249 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) |
| Q1 2026 YoY growth | +16.2% | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) |
| Q1 2026 operating income | $3.957 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) |
| Q1 2026 operating margin | 32.3% | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) |
| Q1 2026 net income | $5.283 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (inc. $2.8B WBD fee) |
| Q1 2026 diluted EPS | $1.23 | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) |
| Q1 2026 free cash flow | $5.094 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) |
| Q2 2026 revenue guidance | $12.574 billion | Q2 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Full-year 2026 revenue guidance | $50.7B–$51.7B | FY 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Full-year 2025 revenue | $45.2 billion | FY 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| 2025 YoY revenue growth | +16% | FY 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| Full-year 2026 operating margin target | 31.5% | FY 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Full-year 2026 FCF projection | ~$12.5 billion | FY 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
Netflix Revenue by Region (Q1 2026)
The regional revenue breakdown from Netflix’s SEC 10-Q reveals a company that earns more from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa than from the United States and Canada — a distribution that would have surprised everyone who still thinks of Netflix as a US product. EMEA is now Netflix’s largest revenue region by membership, though UCAN still produces the highest revenue per member by a significant margin.
| Region | Q1 2026 Revenue | Q1 2025 Revenue | YoY Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCAN | $5.245 billion | $4.617 billion | +14% | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 |
| EMEA | $3.998 billion | $3.405 billion | +17% | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 |
| LATAM | $1.497 billion | $1.262 billion | +19% | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 |
| APAC | $1.509 billion | $1.259 billion | +20% | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 |
| Total | $12.249 billion | $10.543 billion | +16% | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 |
Netflix Ad Tier Statistics 2026
The Advertising Business That Didn’t Exist Four Years Ago
Netflix launched its ad-supported tier on November 3, 2022. At the time, co-CEO Reed Hastings had spent a decade dismissing advertising as a business model he had no interest in. By Q1 2026, the ad-supported plan — priced at $8.99 in the US — accounts for over 60% of all new sign-ups in Netflix’s ad-available countries, per the Q1 2026 shareholder letter filed with the SEC.
The 190 million monthly active viewers figure, disclosed in November 2025, is a deliberately different metric from subscriber count. Netflix defines a monthly active viewer as a subscriber account-holder who watches at least one minute of ad-supported content per month, multiplied by the estimated average number of people within that household. The methodology matters: it captures co-viewing, which means the 190 million is a reach figure, not a subscription count. For advertisers, it’s the right number.
The advertiser base grew to over 4,000 clients — up 70% year over year — as Netflix opened programmatic buying channels through Google DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP (launching Q2 2026), and Yahoo DSP. Programmatic now accounts for nearly 50% of Netflix’s non-live ad business. That’s not a niche advertising business anymore.
| Ad Tier Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad-supported tier monthly active viewers | 190 million globally | November 2025 | Netflix IR / The Wrap |
| US ad-tier household penetration | 45% of US Netflix HH | August 2025 | Comscore |
| Ad plan price (US) | $8.99/month | 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| New sign-ups on ad plan (ad-available countries) | >60% | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Advertising clients | 4,000+ | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| YoY growth in advertising clients | +70% | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Ad revenue FY 2025 | >$1.5 billion (+2.5× YoY) | FY 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| Ad revenue target FY 2026 | ~$3 billion (2× YoY) | FY 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Ads served per hour | 4–5 minutes | 2026 | Netflix IR |
| Programmatic share of non-live ad business | ~50% | Q1 2026 | Netflix / The Keyword |
| Ad-supported tier launch date | November 3, 2022 | 2022 | Netflix IR |
| Launch price | $6.99/month | November 2022 | Netflix IR |
Netflix Content Statistics 2026
Content Spend, Library, and Engagement
Netflix’s content assets on the balance sheet — $33.376 billion as of March 31, 2026 — are the number that separates it from every competitor except possibly Disney. Amazon Prime Video’s content spend is comparable but allocated across a Prime membership bundle that serves multiple purposes. Netflix’s content is the product. That’s all it is. Every dollar spent has to earn its keep through subscriber retention and acquisition.
The $17–18 billion annual content spend figure circulated for 2025, with guidance pointing to approximately $20 billion in 2026 — a 10% increase, front-loaded into H1. Total streaming content obligations (on-balance-sheet liabilities plus off-balance-sheet commitments) were $24.139 billion as of March 31, 2026, per the SEC 10-Q.
In H2 2025, Netflix members watched 96 billion hours of content — up 2% year over year, driven by a 9% increase in branded originals viewing, per Netflix’s Q4 2025 SEC shareholder letter. The Q1 2026 quality engagement metric hit an all-time high.
Top Q1 2026 titles by viewership: Bridgerton Season 4 (94 million views in first 91 days), One Piece Season 2 (40 million views), World Baseball Classic in Japan (31.4 million viewers — Netflix’s most-watched Japan event ever), BTS The Comeback Live (18.4 million global viewers, top 10 in 80 countries).
| Content Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content assets (balance sheet) | $33.376 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Total streaming content obligations | $24.139 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Content amortization Q1 2026 | $4.218 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Estimated content spend FY 2025 | ~$17–18 billion | FY 2025 | Multiple industry sources |
| Estimated content spend FY 2026 | ~$20 billion | FY 2026 | Business Stats / multiple |
| H2 2025 viewing hours | 96 billion hours | H2 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| H2 2025 viewing hours YoY growth | +2% | H2 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| Branded originals viewing growth H2 2025 | +9% | H2 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| Kids’ profiles having played Netflix games | ~10% | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Live events in Q1 2026 | 70+ | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Bridgerton S4 views (91 days) | 94 million | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| One Piece S2 views | 40 million | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| World Baseball Classic Japan viewership | 31.4 million | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| WWE Raw deal value (estimated) | ~$5B over 10 years | 2024 | Industry estimates |
Netflix Viewing Share Statistics
Netflix vs. Linear TV and Streaming Competitors
The framing matters here. Netflix is not competing primarily with Disney+ or Max — it’s competing with everything people do with a television. Linear TV still holds over 40% of US viewing time. YouTube, per Nielsen’s The Gauge data cited in the Q4 2025 letter, held 13% of US TV time. Netflix sat at 9.0% as of December 2025 — an all-time high.
The US SVOD market share picture is different from the total TV picture. Within paid streaming subscriptions, Netflix holds approximately 21%, per BusinessStats analysis, trailing Amazon Prime Video at ~22% (which benefits from Prime bundling). That 1-point gap between Netflix and Amazon disappears in almost every other dimension: content quality, engagement depth, originals investment, and advertising monetization sophistication.
| Viewing/Market Share Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix US TV viewing share (Nielsen) | 9.0% | December 2025 | Nielsen / Netflix Q4 2025 Letter |
| Netflix US TV viewing share — all-time high | 9.0% | December 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| YouTube US TV viewing share | ~13% | 2025 | Nielsen (cited in Netflix Q4 letter) |
| Linear TV US share | >40% | December 2025 | Netflix Q4 2025 Letter (SEC) |
| Netflix US SVOD market share by subscriptions | ~21% | 2026 | BusinessStats |
| Amazon Prime Video US SVOD share | ~22% | 2026 | BusinessStats |
| Netflix global streaming share | ~5% of total global TV | 2025 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Netflix account for estimated share global TV | ~5% | 2025 | Netflix management guidance |
Netflix Financial Health Statistics
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Netflix ended Q1 2026 with $12.26 billion in cash and $14.36 billion in gross debt — net debt of $2.12 billion, the strongest net leverage position in the company’s streaming history. The $5.09 billion in Q1 free cash flow includes $2.8 billion from the Warner Bros. termination fee, which landed after WBD chose Paramount Skydance’s all-cash offer over Netflix’s competing bid. Netflix declined to raise its offer and received the break fee.
The capital allocation math is clean: reinvest in content and product first, maintain liquidity, return excess cash through buybacks. During Q1 2026, Netflix repurchased 13.5 million shares for $1.3 billion, leaving $6.8 billion on its existing authorization.
| Financial Health Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | $12.260 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Gross debt | $14.361 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Net debt | $2.125 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Total assets | $61.016 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Total stockholders’ equity | $31.126 billion | March 31, 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Q1 2026 operating cash flow | $5.290 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Q1 2026 free cash flow | $5.094 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Q1 2026 shares repurchased | 13.5 million shares | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Q1 2026 buyback cost | $1.3 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Remaining buyback authorization | $6.8 billion | March 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| WBD termination fee (one-time) | $2.8 billion | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Full-year 2026 FCF guidance | ~$12.5 billion | FY 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
Netflix’s NSGI™ — Netflix Streaming Growth Index
First published by Axis Intelligence Research, June 22, 2026.
Axis Intelligence Research introduces the Netflix Streaming Growth Index (NSGI™), a composite metric scoring Netflix’s structural growth momentum across five dimensions. Unlike share price or subscriber count in isolation, NSGI™ captures whether the underlying business is building durable, compounding advantages — or managing a plateau.
NSGI™ Q2 2026 Score: 77.8 / 100
This is the highest NSGI™ reading since Axis Intelligence Research began tracking these inputs. All five dimensions improved or held from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026.
| Dimension | Weight | Score | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth Durability | 25% | 84 | +16% YoY in Q1 2026; guidance $50.7–51.7B full year; consistent beat-and-raise cadence for 8 consecutive quarters |
| Margin Expansion | 20% | 80 | 32.3% Q1 2026 op margin vs 31.7% Q1 2025; 31.5% full-year target; 3-point improvement 2024→2025 |
| Ad Business Velocity | 20% | 88 | $0 → $1.5B in 3 years; doubling to $3B 2026; 190M MAV; 4,000+ advertisers; fastest ad ramp in streaming history |
| Content Moat | 20% | 72 | $33.4B content assets; $24.1B obligations; ~$20B 2026 spend; live events scaling; gaming nascent but growing |
| Membership Depth & ARPU | 15% | 64 | 325M+ members; stopped quarterly count (ceiling concern); EMEA #1 region; ARPU uplift from ad tier and pricing |
| NSGI™ Q2 2026 Total | 100% | 77.8 | Highest reading on record; advertising and margin expansion are the structural inflection drivers |
Methodology: Dimension scores normalized 0–100, where 100 = maximum momentum historically observed in each metric. Full methodology: axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/. Updated quarterly — next update Q3 2026 after Q2 2026 earnings.
Netflix vs. Streaming Competitors Statistics
The Competitive Landscape as Netflix Defines It
Netflix’s Q1 2026 shareholder letter names its competitive set explicitly: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Disney, local media companies, Meta, Roblox, and TikTok. This is not false modesty. It’s an accurate statement of what consumes human entertainment time — and Netflix sits at roughly 5% of global TV time, which is simultaneously a leadership position and a reminder that 95% of the opportunity hasn’t been captured yet.
The comparison with Disney+ and Max is the one most analysts run. It’s also the least illuminating. Netflix competes for attention, not streaming subscriptions — and on that basis, linear TV and YouTube are the real benchmarks. Netflix at 9% of US TV time is notable. YouTube at 13% is a real competitive data point. Linear TV at 40%+ is where the next decade of viewer migration will come from.
| Competitor Metric | Netflix | Competitor | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US TV viewing time share | 9.0% | YouTube: 13% | Nielsen / Netflix Q4 2025 |
| Global paid subscriptions | 325M+ | Disney+ (~120M est.) | Netflix SEC / Disney IR |
| Annual revenue (2025) | $45.2B | Disney streaming segment ~$6B | Netflix SEC / Disney 10-K |
| Ad revenue 2025 | >$1.5B | Disney+ ads — comparable scale | Netflix SEC |
| Content spend 2025 | ~$17–18B | Amazon ~$18B (estimated, all Prime) | Multiple |
| Operating margin Q1 2026 | 32.3% | Disney streaming ~6–8% (FY2025) | Netflix SEC / Disney 10-K |
| Countries available | 190+ | Disney+: 100+ | Netflix IR / Disney IR |
| Ad-tier monthly active viewers | 190M | Disney+ comparable (est.) | Netflix IR / Variety |
Netflix Pricing Statistics
Subscription Plans and ARPU
Netflix has run four price increases in three years in the US alone. Each one was met with analyst concern about churn, and each time churn was manageable. The reason: at $8.99 for the ad-supported tier, Netflix underprices its perceived value relative to most of its competitors. The premium tier at $22.99 is the one that tests the ceiling — and it tests it comfortably.
Global average revenue per membership (ARM) is not published quarterly by Netflix since they stopped releasing subscriber counts. The last disclosed ARPU figure by region comes from the period before the reporting change. UCAN ARM was running at approximately $17–17.50/month as of Q3 2025, EMEA approximately $11–11.50, LATAM approximately $7, and APAC approximately $8.
| Pricing Metric | Value | Region | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad-supported plan (US) | $8.99/month | US | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Standard plan (US, est.) | ~$15.49/month | US | Netflix pricing page |
| Premium plan (US, est.) | ~$22.99/month | US | Netflix pricing page |
| Ad tier launch price (2022) | $6.99/month | US | Netflix IR |
| Ad plan as % of new sign-ups (ad countries) | >60% | Global ad markets | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| UCAN ARM (last disclosed period) | ~$17–17.50/month | UCAN | Netflix prior filings |
| EMEA ARM (estimate) | ~$11–11.50/month | EMEA | Business Stats |
Netflix AI and Technology Statistics
Technology Investment and GenAI Integration
Netflix has been explicit about deploying machine learning in personalization for over a decade — it pioneered the algorithmic recommendation model that now defines streaming. The Q1 2026 letter describes the next layer: using GenAI to improve content understanding for recommendations, test “conversational discovery experiences,” and expand promotional asset generation.
The acquisition of InterPositive — the filmmaking technology company founded by Ben Affleck — was completed in March 2026 for approximately $585.7 million (per the cash flow statement in the SEC 10-Q, which shows acquisitions of $585.744 million). InterPositive develops AI-powered tools for filmmakers. It’s an unusual acquisition for a streaming company: the bet is that GenAI tools can make Netflix’s content budget more productive rather than simply larger.
Netflix’s technology and development spend in Q1 2026 was $959.7 million — up 16.6% from Q1 2025’s $822.8 million.
| Technology/AI Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & development spend Q1 2026 | $959.7 million | Q1 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| YoY T&D spend growth | +16.6% | Q1 2026 | Axis Intelligence Research calculation |
| InterPositive acquisition cost | $585.7 million (est.) | March 2026 | Netflix 10-Q Q1 2026 (SEC) |
| Open Connect CDN (proprietary) | Global | Ongoing | Netflix IR |
| AI use cases deployed | Recommendations, promotional assets, conversational discovery | 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Mobile UI redesign (vertical video feed) | End April 2026 launch | Q2 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
Netflix Gaming Statistics
Games as a Retention Tool
Netflix’s gaming strategy isn’t about competing with Xbox or PlayStation. The stated goal is retention — giving members more reasons to open the app, more moments of engagement that build the habit that prevents cancellation. The launch of Netflix Playground, a standalone gaming app for kids, in April 2026 is the clearest expression of this: acquire the household by capturing the children, retain the household by giving parents content they want.
About 10% of kids’ profiles have played Netflix games, per the Q1 2026 letter. Nearly 50% of kids’ profiles view content on mobile devices and tablets — which is the same surface where casual gaming happens. Netflix’s virtual game controller app reached the top of the iOS download charts in Q1 2026.
| Gaming Metric | Value | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix Playground launch (US) | April 2026 | Q2 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Kids’ profiles playing Netflix games | ~10% | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Kids’ profiles on mobile/tablet | ~50% | Q1 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
| Game titles available | 100+ | 2025 | Netflix IR |
| Gaming strategy | Retention tool; not standalone business | 2026 | Netflix Q1 2026 Letter (SEC) |
Methodology
Axis Intelligence Research compiled this dataset through direct analysis of Netflix’s SEC filings: the Q1 2026 10-Q (filed April 17, 2026), the Q1 2026 shareholder letter (Form 8-K, filed April 16, 2026), and the Q4 2025 shareholder letter (Form 8-K, filed January 20, 2026). These are unambiguously primary sources — the financial figures in this article are GAAP-audited or filed under the disclosure requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Limitations: Netflix stopped reporting quarterly paid membership counts in 2025, replacing them with milestone disclosures. Subscriber figures from Q4 2025 onward are floors (325M+), not precise counts. Regional ARM figures are estimates derived from revenue ÷ membership count using last-available disclosed membership data — Netflix no longer publishes both simultaneously. Ad revenue is disclosed in aggregate in the shareholder letters but not broken out as a separate line item in the 10-Q. Content spend is disclosed as amortization (in the P&L) and additions (in the cash flow statement), not as a published forward budget — the $17–20B figures cited are from management commentary and industry corroboration, not a formal filing.
NSGI™ methodology: The Netflix Streaming Growth Index is an original Axis Intelligence Research composite, first published June 22, 2026. Dimension weights reflect editorial judgment on strategic importance to long-term compounding value. Full methodology: axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/.
About This Dataset
Dataset: Netflix Statistics 2026
Download: netflix-statistics-dataset.csv
License: CC BY 4.0 — Free to use with attribution
Citation: Axis Intelligence Research, “Netflix Statistics 2026,” Axis Intelligence, June 22, 2026, https://axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/
Update cadence: Quarterly (next update: September 2026, after Q2 2026 earnings)
Cite This Research
APA: Axis Intelligence Research & Rivera, A. (2026, June 22). Netflix statistics 2026: Subscribers, revenue, ad tier & streaming data. Axis Intelligence. https://axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research and Alex Rivera. “Netflix Statistics 2026: Subscribers, Revenue, Ad Tier & Streaming Data.” Axis Intelligence, 22 June 2026, axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research and Alex Rivera. “Netflix Statistics 2026: Subscribers, Revenue, Ad Tier & Streaming Data.” Axis Intelligence. June 22, 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many subscribers does Netflix have in 2026?
Netflix surpassed 325 million paid memberships during Q4 2025, per its shareholder letter filed with the SEC. The company stopped reporting quarterly subscriber counts in 2025 and now discloses only milestone numbers. EMEA is the largest region with approximately 101 million paid memberships, followed by UCAN (~90 million), APAC (~58 million), and LATAM (~53 million). Management has guided for 430 million paid memberships by 2030.
What is Netflix’s revenue in 2026?
Netflix generated $12.249 billion in Q1 2026 revenue, up 16.2% year over year, per its 10-Q filed with the SEC on April 17, 2026. Full-year 2025 revenue was $45.2 billion. Netflix’s full-year 2026 revenue guidance is $50.7–$51.7 billion, representing 12–14% year-over-year growth, with advertising revenue expected to roughly double from $1.5 billion in 2025 to approximately $3 billion.
How much does Netflix spend on content?
Netflix’s content assets on its balance sheet were $33.376 billion as of March 31, 2026, with total streaming content obligations of $24.139 billion, per the SEC 10-Q. Content amortization in Q1 2026 was $4.218 billion. Estimated annual content spend is approximately $17–18 billion for 2025, rising toward $20 billion in 2026. This represents the largest content budget in the streaming industry.
How many people use Netflix’s ad-supported plan?
Netflix’s ad-supported tier reached 190 million monthly active viewers globally as of November 2025. In the US, 45% of Netflix households use the ad-supported plan, per Comscore data from August 2025. The ad plan at $8.99/month accounted for over 60% of all new sign-ups in Q1 2026 in countries where it is available. Netflix’s advertiser base grew to over 4,000 clients, up 70% year over year.
What is Netflix’s operating margin?
Netflix’s Q1 2026 operating margin was 32.3%, up from 31.7% in Q1 2025, per the SEC 10-Q. Full-year 2025 operating margin was 29.5% — a 3-point year-over-year improvement. Netflix is targeting 31.5% operating margin for full-year 2026. For context, Disney’s streaming segment operated at approximately 6–8% operating margin in FY2025.
What is the Netflix NSGI™ index?
The Netflix Streaming Growth Index (NSGI™) is an original quarterly composite metric published by Axis Intelligence Research, first published June 22, 2026. It scores Netflix’s structural growth momentum across five dimensions: Revenue Growth Durability (25%), Margin Expansion (20%), Ad Business Velocity (20%), Content Moat (20%), and Membership Depth & ARPU (15%). Q2 2026 score: 77.8/100 — highest on record. Licensed CC BY 4.0, updated quarterly at axis-intelligence.com/netflix-statistics/.
What is Netflix’s US market share in streaming?
Netflix holds approximately 21% of the US SVOD market by subscription, slightly behind Amazon Prime Video at approximately 22%, per BusinessStats analysis. However, by total US TV viewing time (the metric Netflix itself prioritizes), Netflix had a 9.0% share in December 2025 — an all-time high per Nielsen, cited in Netflix’s Q4 2025 SEC filing. YouTube leads total US TV time at approximately 13%.
How does Netflix make money from advertising?
Netflix launched its ad-supported tier in November 2022 and generated over $1.5 billion in ad revenue in 2025 — a 2.5× year-over-year increase. The company is targeting ~$3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026. Netflix serves 4–5 minutes of ads per hour of content. Programmatic buying accounts for ~50% of non-live ad business, via partnerships with Google DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP, and Yahoo DSP. Netflix’s first-party data across 325M+ members is the primary differentiation versus linear TV advertising.
What happened with Netflix and Warner Bros.?
Netflix made a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in early 2026 but declined to raise its offer when Warner Bros. received a competing all-cash proposal from Paramount Skydance Corporation. Netflix received a $2.8 billion termination fee, which was recorded in Q1 2026 under “interest and other income” and contributed to the exceptionally high net income of $5.283 billion that quarter. Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters stated the company “has multiple ways to achieve its goals including producing, licensing, and partnering.”