How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Netflix (NFLX) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to NFLX for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Netflix's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Netflix's main business drivers.
Netflix is considered a pioneer in the streaming space. The company evolved from a small DVD-rental provider to a dominant streaming service provider, courtesy of its wide-ranging content portfolio and a fortified international footprint. At the end of the second quarter of 2024, the company had 277.65 million paid subscribers globally.
Netflix has been spending aggressively on building its portfolio of original shows. This is helping the company sustain its leading position despite the launch of new services like Disney+ and Apple TV+, as well as existing services like Amazon Prime Video.
Netflix streams movies, television shows and documentaries across a wide variety of genres and languages. Domestic and international subscribers can watch them on a host of internet-connected devices, including television sets, computers, and mobile devices.
The Los Gatos, CA-based company reported revenues of $39 billion in 2024.
Beginning fourth-quarter 2019, Netflix started declaring revenues and membership data by regions — the Asia Pacific (APAC); Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA); Latin America (LATAM); and the United States and Canada (UCAN).
UCAN accounted for 44.1% of fourth-quarter 2024 revenues. At the end of the quarter, the company had 89.6 million paid subscribers in the region.
EMEA accounted for 32.1% of fourth-quarter 2024 revenues. Netflix had 101.1 million paid subscribers in the region at the end of the quarter.
LATAM contributed 12% of fourth-quarter 2024 revenues and had 53.3 million paid subscribers in the region at the end of the quarter.
APAC accounted for 11.8% of fourth-quarter 2024 revenues. The company had 57.54 million paid subscribers in the region at the end of the quarter.
NFLX will stop reporting paid quarterly membership and revenue per subscriber, starting with the first quarter of 2025.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Netflix a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.
A $1000 investment made in February 2015 would be worth $15,512.74, or a 1,451.27% gain, as of February 12, 2025, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
The S&P 500 rose 193.37% and the price of gold increased 127.88% over the same time frame in comparison.
Analysts are forecasting more upside for NFLX too.
Netflix’s fourth-quarter 2024 results benefited from its growing subscriber base, thanks to a robust localized and foreign-language content portfolio and healthy engagement levels with about two hours of viewing per member per day, indicating strong member retention. The launch of first-party ad tech platform in Canada and ones in the remaining ad countries in 2025 signals Netflix's commitment to maximizing this new revenue stream, with ad revenues expected to roughly double year-over-year. Raised revenue guidance for 2025 between $43.5-$44.5 billion reflects improved business fundamentals. Shares have outperformed the industry in the past year. However, stiff competition in the streaming space from Apple, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ is a headwind. NFLX’s leveraged balance sheet and a higher streaming obligation are concerns.
The stock is up 21.69% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 12 higher, for fiscal 2025. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock
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Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
