Following a dramatic C-suite reshuffle and its largest round of layoffs in years, Netflix’s top executives reassured investors Tuesday that they have a plan to keep audiences hooked.
The streaming giant announced that its third-quarter revenue grew 12% year over year, to $12.9 billion, while net income rose 48%, to nearly $3.7 billion.
“Our engagement is solid, and it will allow us to continue to grow as we have for the last several years,” co-CEO Greg Peters said on the streamer’s third-quarter earnings call, referring to the company’s performance in the U.S. “But we know that we can do better.”
Revenue increased despite upheaval at Netflix, which last week laid off roughly 1,000 employees, or 6% of its workforce, and ousted Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and top film executives Dan Lin and Doug Belgrad.
“We believe we have a responsibility to make hard trade-offs in service of our members, our partners, our employees, our investors and ultimately our long-term growth,” Peters said of the layoffs. “That was the simple thinking behind it and what motivated these recent changes.”
Over the last year, Netflix’s stock has dropped significantly, from $124.14 in October 2025 to $68.69 on Tuesday, because of slowing revenue growth.
Netflix remains the biggest subscription streaming video service in the world, with more than 325 million global subscribers. But it has struggled to boost user engagement amid increasing competition from YouTube, despite expanding its push into live sports, video podcasts and gaming.
Co-chief Ted Sarandos tapped former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice to step into Bajaria’s role, telling investors and journalists that he “understands talent relations.”
“In a competitive market, creative talent have choices of where they want to work, and we want Netflix to always be the place that they love to do the best work of their life,” Sarandos said. “Peter is the exact right person to lead those efforts in the U.S. and around the world. Now, that’s a key aspect of what I believe Peter can improve on looking forward.”
Other major Hollywood studios are also trying to reduce costs and streamline operations.
The Walt Disney Co. has cut hundreds of jobs this year under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, and David Ellison’s Skydance is expected to shrink its workforce across Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. (In February, Netflix officially pulled out of a deal to buy WBD, ceding in a bidding war to Paramount.)
Amid industry consolidation, Netflix reported slower revenue growth in the U.S. and Canada, where sales rose 11% in the third quarter, compared with 17% a year earlier.
Still, in its letter to shareholders, it stressed that its strength lies in its “differentiated, exclusive, professionally produced series, films and live events.” It singled out the performances of recent programming, including “The Last House,” “Death of the Pastor’s Wife” and an NFL game in Australia.
It also touted its upcoming slate of shows and movies, such as “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” a David Fincher-directed, Quentin Tarantino-written sequel to “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”; “The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey,” starring Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen; new seasons of its popular shows “The Diplomat” and “Nobody Wants This”; three NFL games on Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Day; and the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight.
On the earnings call, Sarandos also discussed Netflix’s recent theatrical releases, including its first disclosure of box-office results for the Spanish-language Oscar contender “La bola negra,” and upcoming IMAX releases such as Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.”
“Reminder, we are a streaming-first business. That is our core,” he said. “We start off by looking at the projects we have, asking ourselves how do we best serve movie lovers, many of whom are our members who want to see that movie in a theater, and how do we do it without actually harming the view value to Netflix.”
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