Netflix beats profit forecast as it cuts 1,000 jobs and swaps top bosses

Netflix beat Wall Street on profit while cutting about 1,000 jobs and pushing out its top television and film bosses.

The streamer reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $12.87 billion, up 11.8% on a year earlier, and net income of $3.66 billion, up from $2.55 billion a year ago, according to its report published on 20 October Variety. That revenue figure matched the average analyst expectation. Growth was slower than the 17% top-line growth recorded a year earlier.

Earnings per share, meaning profit divided by each share, were 87 cents. Analysts had expected 82 cents on average, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. Operating margin, the share of revenue left after operating costs, was 34.6%, against 33.2% expected.

The results landed after a difficult run. Netflix had been expected to post its slowest third-quarter revenue growth in three years Reuters. Its stock was down roughly 25% in 2026 ahead of the report Yahoo Finance.

The cuts run deep. Netflix laid off about 1,000 staff, about 6% of its workforce. That October cut was its biggest since 2022, as earlier reported Reuters.

Netflix also removed chief content officer Bela Bajaria and named Peter Rice as her replacement. It dismissed head of film Dan Lin and his deputy Doug Belgrad, along with director of original series Carolina Garcia.

Looking ahead, Netflix projected fourth-quarter revenue of $13.4 billion, an increase of 11.5%. That was just below Wall Street's prior expectation of $13.5 billion. It now expects full-year 2026 advertising revenue of about $2.7 billion, down from its earlier forecast of $3 billion, blaming a slightly slower than expected rollout of some ad product capabilities.

It projected fourth-quarter operating margin of 26.0%, including a 120 basis point hit from layoff costs. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. That compares with 24.5% in the same quarter last year.

What makes this stand out is the split screen. Profit is up and margins beat forecasts. At the same time, about 1,000 roles are gone and the executives who greenlit series and films have changed. For viewers, the shows keep streaming. For the crews and writers rooms behind them, the people deciding what gets made next are new.