Netflix is kicking off earnings season for the media industry on Thursday, and for the first time in months, the conversation has nothing to do with a blockbuster acquisition and everything to do with what comes next.
The streaming giant will report its first-quarter 2026 results after markets close Thursday, with an investor call set for 4:45 p.m. ET. According to analyst estimates compiled by LSEG, Wall Street is projecting earnings per share of 76 cents and total revenue of $12.18 billion for the quarter.
It is a report that arrives at an unexpectedly pivotal moment. Just a few months ago, analysts expected this earnings call to be dominated by updates on Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Instead, that deal is dead and the company is charting a very different course.
The WBD deal that wasn’t
Netflix made headlines in early 2026 when it pursued Warner Bros. Discovery, seeking to absorb the company’s streaming and film assets. But the deal collapsed in February after Paramount Skydance stepped in with a superior offer for the entirety of WBD, prompting Netflix to withdraw.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank noted in a recent research note that by walking away, Netflix avoided taking on significant new debt, sidestepped a lengthy regulatory review process, and eliminated what would have been a highly complex integration effort. In short, the exit may have been the right financial move even if it left unanswered questions about the company’s long-term ambitions in the broader media landscape.
Since pulling out of the deal, Netflix stock has surged more than 25%, a rally that signals investor confidence but also raises new expectations for the company to perform on its own terms.
A more crowded streaming market ahead
With the WBD chapter closed, attention turns to what Netflix faces going forward. Analysts and industry observers agree that the streaming landscape is likely to get more competitive at the top, particularly as media consolidation continues to reshape the field.
The key question Netflix must now answer is how it maintains its dominant position without the scale that a WBD acquisition would have provided. Analysts expect Thursday’s call to offer clues about strategy, growth targets, and how the company plans to defend its lead.
Advertising is finally pulling its weight
One of the most closely watched metrics this quarter will be the performance of Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier, which launched in late 2022. After a slow start, the cheaper option has picked up meaningful momentum.
Netflix disclosed that it generated more than $1.5 billion in advertising revenue throughout 2025 roughly 3% of its total full-year revenue. The company has projected that figure will double in 2026, a bold target that would make advertising a much more meaningful part of the business. Thursday’s update will be the first significant checkpoint on whether that trajectory is holding.
Price hikes add another revenue layer
Netflix raised its subscription prices again in late March, a move analysts expect to contribute meaningfully to overall revenue growth in 2026. Price increases have become a reliable lever for the company as it focuses more on profitability than raw subscriber growth.
That shift in focus has been deliberate. After reporting its first subscriber loss in a decade back in 2022, Netflix along with most of its peers moved away from treating subscriber counts as the primary measure of success. Fewer companies now publicly report membership numbers in the same prominent way they once did.
Where subscribers stand now
Netflix did offer a subscriber update during its January earnings call, disclosing that it had reached 325 million global paid customers a new milestone. That figure had not been reported in the prior year, making it a notable benchmark.
Whether the company provides further membership details Thursday remains to be seen. But with advertising revenue, pricing power, and competitive positioning all now at the forefront, subscriber numbers may once again play a supporting role rather than the starring one.
