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Starting with its 2025 first-quarter earnings report, Netflix will cease publishing quarterly updates on subscriber counts and revenue per user.
The shift was highlighted in its first quarter 2024 earnings announcement.
In its quarterly shareholder letter, the streaming giant stated that its main financial indicators will now be revenue and operating margin. User engagement (measured as time spent) will serve as a key indicator of customer satisfaction.
“Previously, membership growth was a vital measure of our prospective success when we were still growing our revenue and profit,” Netflix explained.
Netflix conveyed that given their current significant profit and free cash flow, coupled with new revenue avenues like advertising and additional member features, concentrating exclusively on membership numbers does not adequately represent the comprehensive growth of their business.
Netflix also mentioned the variation in revenue generation across its service plans as another reason for this strategic pivot. The company noted that its lowest-priced tier, which includes advertising and is restricted to lower resolution and single-device streaming, paradoxically generates more revenue due to advertising despite its limitations.
The company indicated that while stopping routine subscriber updates, it will still announce significant milestones. This approach mirrors practices by other tech giants like Apple, which reports revenue in specific categories like iPhones and iPads without disclosing unit sales.
Similarly, Google announces significant subscriber achievements for services like YouTube TV but does not provide regular updates. For example, Google announced YouTube TV reached 8 million subscribers in early 2024, a significant jump from the 5 million reported in mid-2022.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, Netflix reported having 269.6 million subscribers, an increase from 260.28 million at the end of the previous year.
This new reporting strategy aligns Netflix with other industry leaders focusing on financial health and major achievements over regular, detailed performance metrics.
