Netflix Q2 profit jumps 45% on ads, price hike; lifts revenue forecast for 2025

New Delhi: Netflix reported a strong second quarter for 2025, with net profit jumping 45% year-on-year to $3.1 billion, driven by subscription price increases and a rapidly expanding advertising business.

The streaming giant’s revenue climbed 16% to $11.1 billion for the quarter ended June 30, beating both analyst expectations and its own guidance.

Buoyed by these results, Netflix raised its full-year revenue forecast to a range of $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion, up from the previously announced $43.5 - 44.5 billion.

The company highlighted standout content performance during the quarter, with hits like the third season of "Squid Game" drawing 122 million views, making it Netflix’s sixth biggest season of any series to date. Other high-performing titles included "Ginny & Georgia" season three (53 million views), "Sirens" (56 million views), and the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" (80 million views), which became one of Netflix’s biggest animated releases ever.

“Korean content continues to be popular with our audience,” Netflix said in a statement, underlining the strength of its international programming.

Looking ahead, Netflix said it is optimistic about the second half of 2025, with major launches on the horizon such as the second season of "Wednesday," the final season of "Stranger Things," and new films from renowned directors Kathryn Bigelow and Guillermo del Toro. 

The company also announced plans to expand its live programming, including marquee boxing matches and NFL games.

The results indicate that Netflix’s ad-supported tier and cracks down on password sharing have worked wonders for the streaming giant. 

The company expects to roughly double its ads revenue in 2025 (without giving exact figures), and is forecasting $9 billion in ad-based revenue by 2030.

The company ended last December with over 300 million subscribers, after gaining nearly 19 million new subscriptions during the 2024 holiday season. However, Netflix has stopped disclosing detailed subscriber numbers and is now focusing on “engagement” metrics, such as total time spent watching content.

Netflix shares were up more than 40% year-to-date.