Netflix shares have roughly doubled in the past year, setting a high bar for future growth as the company's market capitalization overtakes the valuations of rivals Disney, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Global combined. To meet soaring expectations, the company will have to deliver on one of its priorities for 2025—selling more ads.
Recent signs are promising. Many of the record 19 million subscribers Netflix added in the final three months of 2024 are choosing to watch hit series like Squid Game, Bridgerton, and Nobody Wants This through the company’s cheaper, ad-supported offering. On an earnings call following Netflix's impressive beat Tuesday, co-CEO and president Gregory Peters agreed with an analyst that the growth of the company’s ads business is moving from “crawl to walk.”
