Netflix to report results today amid forecasts for 11.8% revenue growth and job cuts

Key Facts

Netflix plans to release its third-quarter results and business outlook today, Tuesday, October 20, 2026, according to a company announcement, alongside plans to cut staff and a change in content leadership. Analysts expect revenue to rise 11.8% year on year to $12.87 billion, according to London Stock Exchange Group data cited by Reuters on the eve of the results. Those estimates are slightly above the guidance Netflix issued with its previous quarterly results, when it forecast revenue of $12.86 billion for the July-September period. The company also forecast diluted earnings per share of 82 cents for the third quarter, according to Reuters' account of that guidance. The quarterly revenue forecasts exceed the level recorded in the second quarter, when actual revenue reached $12.56 billion.

For the full year, Netflix set its expected 2026 revenue range at $51.0 billion to $51.4 billion in its second-quarter shareholder letter. In the same letter, the company maintained its annual operating margin forecast at 31.5%, alongside its financial projections for business growth during the year. In advertising, it said it expected revenue of nearly $3 billion in 2026, among the income streams contributing to revenue growth. Netflix had attributed second-quarter revenue growth primarily to membership growth and pricing, alongside higher advertising revenue. The growth drivers identified by the company thus combined membership expansion, the impact of pricing and advertising, while its annual guidance covered both revenue and the expected operating margin.

Meanwhile, Apptopia estimated that the rate at which U.S. users canceled their subscriptions rose 16.6% year on year in the third quarter, according to Reuters' earnings preview. The firm's data also indicated a 20% decline in Netflix app downloads in the United States and Canada over the period covered by the preview. These user indicators coincide with Netflix's announcement of plans to cut about 6% of its workforce, equivalent to roughly 1,000 jobs, according to the Associated Press. Management said the company's business was strong and that the changes aimed to prioritize staff and resources while continuing to invest in growth, the agency reported. The planned job cuts are part of the reorganization announced in October, alongside the company's announced change in the chief content officer role.

According to the Associated Press, Netflix management said product and technology teams would be among those most affected by the planned job cuts. Legal and human resources teams will also be among the most affected, according to details the agency cited from management on the scope of the upcoming organizational changes. Explaining the move, management stressed the need for discipline in determining which areas of the business receive staff and available resources. It said, according to the agency, that it needed to be "disciplined in prioritizing the allocation of our people and resources," the explanation it gave for reallocating resources. Management linked this discipline to continued investment in growth, placing the allocation of staff and resources at the heart of its rationale for the announced reorganization.

In content leadership, Netflix announced the appointment of Peter Rice to succeed Bela Bajaria, who is leaving the company after about 10 years, according to its official statement. The company said Rice would lead its global content organization, including oversight of the content production activities specified in the appointment announcement. His responsibilities extend to scripted and unscripted series, within the announced remit of the role he will assume after Bajaria leaves this month. His duties also include films and live events, alongside series, according to the responsibilities detailed in Netflix's announcement of its new content leadership. The appointment places these activities under Rice's oversight, while Bajaria ends a tenure of nearly a decade at the company, according to Netflix's description of her time there.

Netflix is scheduled to release its results and business outlook at approximately 1:01 p.m. Pacific Time, according to the schedule announced by its investor relations department. The release will be followed by a live interview with management at 1:45 p.m. in the same time zone, as part of today's quarterly results program. The company said management would answer questions submitted by sell-side analysts during the interview, following the release of the results and business outlook. Today's disclosures will therefore combine third-quarter financial figures and the outlook, followed by management's answers to analysts' questions in the announced interview. After the results, Rice will take over as chief content officer on October 26, according to the date Netflix set for the start of his new duties.