Netflix Reports Q3 Earnings Under Pressure After 1,000 Job Cuts
Netflix released its third-quarter 2026 results on October 20, the most watched earnings event of the week, as the streaming giant faced slowing growth, a 25% stock slide, and its biggest round of layoffs — 1,000 jobs — since 2022.
Netflix published its third-quarter 2026 financial results on October 20, 2026, after market close — the most scrutinised earnings of the day. The release followed a difficult month for the streaming leader: on October 14, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters announced roughly 1,000 layoffs (about 6% of the global workforce), the largest since 2022, with cuts concentrated in product, technology, legal and human resources. The pair cited the need to be more 'disciplined' about resource allocation amid intensifying competition. Netflix's US television viewing share fell from 8.8% to 7.8% year-on-year, while YouTube's jumped from 13.4% to 14.2%. The stock had already dropped roughly 25% from its 52-week high of $124.86, trading around $67 after HSBC downgraded it from Buy to Hold and Wells Fargo moved to Underweight. Netflix guided for Q3 revenue of $12.86 billion — 11.7% year-on-year growth, the slowest in four consecutive quarters — and EPS of $0.82, with a 33.2% operating margin. Full-year 2026 guidance was set at $51.0–$51.4 billion in revenue. Management pointed to advertising tier growth and international markets as the primary re-acceleration levers.
