Netflix Stock Pops to All-Time Highs on Subscriber Gains, Price Hikes: ‘This Is What Winning Looks Like’

The Big Red N is flexing its power. Netflix shares zoomed to new all-time highs Wednesday, to nearly $1,000 per share, after the streaming giant posted strong Q4 subscriber additions and announced a series of new price hikes.

Netflix stock opened at $997.66/share Wednesday, up 15%, giving the company a market capitalization of more than $420 billion. After market close a day prior, Netflix reported 18.9 million net new global subscribers — nearly double analyst expectations — to reach 301.6 million. It also announced fee hikes in the U.S. and other key markets, including on its ad-supported entry-level tier, demonstrating its pricing power.

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Wall Street analysts marveled at Netflix’s quarterly report — the final one for which it will report subscriber numbers — and many raised their price targets on the stock. In announcing the Q4 earnings, Netflix raised its 2025 outlook for revenue to be between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion (up $500 million from its prior forecast) and for operating margin to be 29%, up one percentage point from the prior forecast.

“This is what winning looks like,” Jeffrey Wlodarczak, internet, media, sports and communications analyst at Pivotal Research Group, wrote in a note. “In the end, our view remains unchanged that Netflix has won the global streaming race as evidenced by ‘24 results/raised ’25 guidance (especially relative to its streaming peers’ results), and this is what, in our opinion, winning looks like.” The analyst reiterated a “buy” rating on Netflix shares and raised his year-end target price from $1,100 to $1,250.

The key for Netflix going forward, Wlodarczak continued, is “to press their advantages and keep the subscriber/ARPU flywheel going because the larger they get the more leverage they have over their peers/content creators, the better their product gets (allowing them to drive subscriber/ARPU growth), the more cash they have to spend on compelling content and the bigger the moat grows around their core business model.”

In 2024, Netflix added more than 41 million subscribers — more than double the 20 million forecast by analyst firm MoffettNathanson. “This is one example, of which there are unfortunately many, in which Netflix proved us wrong,” MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman wrote in a research note.

Netflix has performed outside the bounds of “the general laws of corporate physics” and “time and time again, demonstrated it is impervious to any notion of gravity,” Fishman added. “Or, perhaps better put, Netflix has proven itself to defy any notion of how a media company operates or grows. Netflix has not operated as a media company, but rather as a tech company. And it is that growth mindset – and the subsequent financial results – that helps justify the premium multiple at which the stock currently trades.” MoffettNathanson maintains a “neutral” rating on Netflix but increased its price target to $850/share (up $180).

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