Netflix Q3 EPS Up 49% to $0.87; 2026 Revenue Guidance Trimmed to $51.1B
NFLX is trading near its 52-week low of $65.08 (5.7% above the low).
Summary
Netflix delivered Q3 revenue of $12.87B (+12%) and EPS of $0.87 (+49%), but trimmed 2026 revenue guidance to $51.1B and free cash flow to ~$12.0B as ad revenue tracks below plan. Q4 margin guidance absorbs a ~120bps hit from the October layoffs.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · NFLX
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Q3 Revenue $12.87B, EPS $0.87
Revenue grew 12% YoY (+11% F/X neutral) to $12.874B, in line with forecast. Operating income rose 37% to $4.459B and diluted EPS jumped 49% to $0.87 from $0.59.
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2026 Guidance Trimmed; Ad Revenue Light
Full-year revenue guidance is now $51.1B (+13%), 0.2% below the prior midpoint, as 2026 ad revenue is expected at ~$2.7B versus ~$3B previously. Operating margin guidance is 31.5%.
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Free Cash Flow Cut to ~$12.0B
2026 FCF forecast lowered from $12.5B, primarily due to the expected closing of a real estate transaction slipping into Q4. Q3 FCF was $2.88B versus $2.66B a year ago.
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Layoff Cost Quantified in Q4 Margin
Q4 operating margin is guided to 26.0%, including a ~120 basis point negative impact from the recently announced headcount reductions; the full-year margin guide absorbs ~30 basis points.
Analysis · NFLX · Trade & Services
Profitability beat the forecast — operating margin of 34.6% versus 28.2% a year ago — but the forward numbers are what move the stock. Full-year revenue guidance came down slightly to $51.1B, with advertising revenue now expected at ~$2.7B instead of ~$3B because some ad product capabilities are rolling out slower than planned, and 2026 free cash flow was cut to ~$12.0B from $12.5B. The Q4 margin guide of 26.0% carries a ~120 basis point hit from the ~1,000 job cuts announced in mid-October, so the cost of the restructuring is now quantified. Against that, the company bought back a record $4.8B of stock in the quarter and still has $22.3B of authorization left, which supports the share count decline (4.195B diluted shares versus 4.340B a year ago).
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 20, 2026, 37.4% of the 952 measured filings Wiseek scored 8 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.87%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, NFLX was trading at $68.77 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $286B. The 52-week trading range was $65.08 to $124.86. This filing was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.