Netflix ended 2025 on a high note with a good fourth-quarter financial performance, but concerns raised by investors regarding the decline in subscriber growth and the ongoing saga of its expensive Warner Bros. deal brought the stock down.
The streaming service giant, on Tuesday, lured results that topped Wall Street expectations while at the same time showing the signs being that its rapid subscriber expansion is losing momentum. Netflix closed the year with over 325 million subscribers globally, gaining around 23 million users since 2024. The increase, while still quite high, was significantly lower than the 41 million subscribers added last year, thus generating more concerns about the growth being just a matter of time before it is flat.
The slowdown is particularly surprising given that the company was raising its subscribers after the introduction of the lower-priced, ad-supported plan in 2022, the very plan that led to the surge in sign-ups.
In spite of the cloudy future, Netflix reported great financial results for the quarter. Net profits increased 29% compared to the same period last year and amounted to $2.4 billion or 56 cents per share, while revenues jumped by 18% to slightly over $12 billion. Nevertheless, the company gave a profit forecast for the first quarter that was below the analysts’ expectations and announced that it would suspend stock buybacks as it concentrates on completing its proposed $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Netflix has nevertheless conceded that the revenue boost would drop to a range of 12–14% in 2023, a reduction from 16% in the previous year, and at the same time, the revenue from advertisements is expected to double. “This collectively indicates a difficult opening to the year,” remarked the analyst Thomas Monteiro from Investing.com.
In the wake of the future guidance, Netflix’s stock price fell almost 5% in after-hours trading, contributing to a more extensive drop in which the stock has fallen roughly 20% since the disclosure of the Warner Bros. deal last month.
The firm’s financials for the quarter were mostly overshadowed by the continuous struggle for Warner Bros. Discovery. On Tuesday, Netflix finally changed its bid into a full cash proposal, which was the aim to make the deal clearer and also to bolster its position against the competitor Paramount. Although Warner Bros. Discovery has reiterated its commitment to Netflix’s proposal, it is expected that Paramount will keep challenging the bid.
During an investor call, co-CEO Ted Sarandos struck a defiant tone, referencing Netflix’s long history of fending off competitors. “We are no strangers to competition and we are no strangers to change,” he said.
Beyond rival bidders, Netflix also faces regulatory scrutiny in the United States, where authorities will examine whether combining Netflix with HBO could limit competition and push streaming prices higher.
The uncertainty surrounding the deal is likely to persist for much of the year, as Netflix expects the acquisition to be completed only after Warner Bros. Discovery spins off its cable television business—a process estimated to take six to nine months.
“We are energized as ever to achieve our mission to entertain the world,” Sarandos said, even as markets remain cautious about the road ahead.
