Netflix Shares Jump 5% as Streamer Eyes $1 Trillion Market Cap

Shares of Netflix jumped 5% on Tuesday following a Wall Street Journal report that the streaming king has set its sights on a $1 trillion market capitalization by 2030.

The Journal noted that the company is aiming to double its revenue from $39 billion last year and generate roughly $9 billion in global ad sales by 2030. Netflix executives are also looking to triple operating income from $10 billion last year and grow its subscriber base to around 410 million in that time. Per WSJ, Netflix plans to reach these targets by increasing its international subscriber base in markets such as India and Brazil.

Netflix, which currently boasts 301.63 million users globally, reported $39 billion in revenue and $10.42 billion in operating profit for 2024. Its market capitalization currently sits $419.48 billion.

“These targets underscore ample runway for continued growth driven by subscriber adds and further monetization opportunities,” Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich, who reiterated the $1,175 per share price target on the stock, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Representatives for Netflix did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on WSJ’s report.

Netflix’s lofty growth targets come as Wall Street has been rocked in recent weeks by uncertainty related to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and fears of a global recession.

“Amid recent market volatility, Netflix’s strong subscription model with critical entertainment (which historically has performed well in a recession) has made the stock a defensive choice for investors and driven outperformance versus other technology/Mag 7 companies,” Ehrlich said. “Further, Netflix’s advertising business, which is nascent, should be an incremental positive, not negative, even in a more challenging advertising backdrop.”

On Thursday, Netflix will release its earnings for the first quarter of 2025. Unlike previous quarterly disclosures, the latest report will not include quarterly subscriber or average revenue per paid member figures as Netflix shifts its focus to revenue, operating margins and engagement. However, the company previously said it would continue to provide a breakout of total revenue by region, as well as the impact of foreign exchange changes, and announce major subscriber milestones as it crosses them.

It will also hold its upfront presentation for advertisers at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City on May 14. Netflix has previously said its on track to reach “critical ad subscriber scale” in 2025. It expects ad revenue to roughly double year over year, but said it wouldn’t be a primary growth driver of overall revenue until 2026.

In the first quarter of 2025, Netflix is forecasting 11.2% year over year revenue growth to $10.42 billion, which is modestly below its full-year guidance due to the timing of price changes and seasonality in its ads business. It also expects net income of $2.44 billion, earnings per share of $5.58, operating income of $2.94 billion and an operating margin of 28.2%.

For full year 2025, the company expects revenue growth of 12% to 14% to somewhere between $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion, up $500 million from the prior forecast. As a result, it’s targeting a 29% operating margin for 2025, up from previous guidance of 28%.

Though UBS analyst John Hodulik acknowledged that the macroeconomic situation remains fluid and lowered his price target on the stock to $1,140 per share, the firm views Netflix as a “relative outperformer” in the broader media space.

“We believe the flow through of record [fourth quarter] subscriber performance and price increases will jump start growth for the year while the
return of several key franchises including ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Wednesday’ sustains momentum,” Hodulik wrote in a research note Tuesday. “While a softer ad environment could create downside to its emerging ad business, Netflix’s overall ad exposure remains low and we still see a path to double digit revenue growth even if ad takes longer to scale.”

Shares of Netflix, which are trading at $981.68 apiece as of Tuesday morning, have climbed 39% in the past six months, 10.7% year to date and 61.7% in the past year.

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