Overview
- Netflix said Thursday that co-founder Reed Hastings will not seek re-election at the June annual meeting to focus on philanthropy, completing a handover to co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters that began in 2023.
- The company posted first-quarter revenue of $12.25 billion and earnings of $1.23 per share, results boosted by a $2.8 billion fee from the terminated Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
- Shares fell about 8% to 9% after management forecast second-quarter revenue and profit below some Wall Street expectations despite keeping its full-year outlook.
- Executives said Hastings' exit was unrelated to the failed Warner pursuit and outlined near-term growth bets, including an ad business targeting $3 billion in 2026, live programming such as the World Baseball Classic in Japan, and video podcasts and games.
- Netflix highlighted new tech efforts like generative AI, pointing to its InterPositive acquisition to improve product and monetization, while leaving open how it will deploy the one-time cash windfall.