Netflix shares fell over 5% as revenue growth slowed to 12%

Netflix reported on Tuesday that quarterly revenue rose 12% year on year to $12.9 billion, matching analysts’ expectations, dpa said in an Oct. 21 wire-service report.

The result was Netflix’s slowest sales growth in three years, while net profit rose around 44% to $3.66 billion and shares fell more than 5% in after-hours trading after the earnings release.

Netflix’s response is to press for more viewer time on its service, according to comments from its two co-chief executives during a video conference with analysts. “We want to be the must-have entertainment service,” Ted Sarandos said.

Greg Peters, the other co-chief executive, also acknowledged room for improvement. “We know that we can do better,” he said.

The dpa report said Sarandos had recently acknowledged that Netflix was not expanding as fast as management had hoped. It also said market research firms have repeatedly reported weaker engagement among Netflix viewers in recent months, though no audience-time figure was supplied in the article.

That puts content performance back at the centre of Netflix’s investment case. The report said recent Netflix productions had struggled at awards ceremonies, while newer releases have not built the same cultural profile as “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game.”

The pressure has already produced changes inside the company. Netflix last week announced plans to cut around 6% of its workforce, affecting about 1,000 employees, and the shake-up included the departure of long-serving chief content officer Bela Bajaria, according to the report.

Film chief Dan Lin was also ousted, the report said. Peter Rice, whose career includes traditional studios such as Disney, will take over Bajaria’s role.

Rice’s appointment has raised speculation that Netflix could give more films broader cinema runs, according to the report. Sarandos has consistently resisted that model as a distraction from the streaming business, and he reiterated the priority by saying: “That is our core.”

Netflix is still making exceptions. The report said “Narnia,” directed by Greta Gerwig of “Barbie,” will receive an exclusive 45-day cinema run, following the traditional studio pattern.

Peters also suggested Netflix could extend its partnership with French broadcaster TF1, whose programming is available on the platform, to other markets.

Source: wire-service report, Daily Sabah/Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Oct. 21, 2026