In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said its 2025 net income was about $11 billion, up from $8.7 billion in 2024. In an earnings call that took place on January 20, Spencer Adam Neumann, Netflix’s CFO, named pricing, membership growth, and a doubling of ad revenue as the key revenue drivers for 2026.
Netflix was expected to raise prices if it acquired Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD’s) movie studios and streaming businesses (especially if Netflix started offering HBO Max’s library), so some subscribers may be disappointed to see the streaming service getting more expensive despite the deal falling through in February.
Today’s price hike doesn’t seem directly tied to the shelved acquisition, based on statements made by Gregory K. Peters, Netflix’s president and director, during January’s earnings call. He said then that the planned WBD acquisition was having “no impact or change to our approach and how we’re running the business” in regard to pricing.
It’s still possible that Netflix may show more pricing stability moving forward compared to if it bought WBD’s film and streaming businesses.
But if that’s not enough solace, disappointed subscribers can always, as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month, “cancel with one click.”