In 1997, Reed Hastings founded what was then known as DVD rental company Netflix together with Marc Randolph. 29 years later, Hastings will leave the company, Netflix announced when it announced its current financial figures. The American, who most recently served on the supervisory board, wants to devote more time to philanthropy.
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As CEO, Hastings led Netflix to become the global market leader in film and series streaming before resigning from his position in 2023 in favor of a new dual leadership team led by Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. Hastings remained on the company’s board of directors for a few more years. But he will not take part in the next vote, Netflix said.
Good quarter also thanks to Paramount payment
Meanwhile, Netflix is looking back on a strong quarter: According to its quarterly report, Netflix generated sales of $12.25 billion in the first three months of the year – an improvement of 16 percent compared to the same period last year and, according to Bloomberg, slightly above analysts’ expectations.
The bottom line is that profits rose by almost 83 percent to $5.28 billion, and earnings per share of $1.23 were also well above expectations. Netflix owes this to a one-time payment from Paramount: Because the deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. fell through due to a Paramount offer, Paramount owed Netflix a breakup fee of $2.8 billion. Paramount had promised Warner that it would pay this sum itself.
Netflix further downplayed the significance of the failed deal in a letter to shareholders. A takeover of Warner could have accelerated its own strategy, writes Netflix – but only at the right price. There are many other ways to achieve your own goals. This is consistent with previous statements by the US streamer: Warner was just a “nice to have,” Netflix wrote immediately after it exited the bidding for Warner Bros.
Disappointing profit forecast
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Meanwhile, Netflix’s profit forecast for the current quarter disappointed investors: The streaming giant predicted earnings per share (EPS) of 78 US cents for the current quarter, which fell short of analysts’ expectations. The shares temporarily fell by more than nine percent in after-hours US trading.
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Netflix has not announced any new subscriber numbers. The most recent status is from January 2026, when Netflix spoke of 325 million paying subscribers.
(dahe)
