Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a subscription streaming service and production studio, founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD-by-mail rental business. It licenses and produces film, television, documentary, and stand-up programming for a global subscription audience across tiered plans that now include an advertising-supported option. The company ended 2025 with more than 325 million paid memberships.

Netflix has re-founded itself twice. Streaming launched in 2007 alongside the mail business and eventually replaced it; original production began in 2013, converting the company from a licensee of other studios' libraries into a studio competing directly with them — a pivot funded by years of deliberate negative cash flow that scale later resolved. The moves since have been margin moves rather than growth moves: an advertising tier introduced in 2022 now covers roughly 40% of active accounts and passed $1.5 billion in annual advertising revenue, a paid-sharing crackdown converted borrowed passwords into accounts, and in 2025 the company stopped reporting subscriber counts quarterly to redirect attention toward revenue and engagement. Its competitive set spans Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Max on premium content, and 📝YouTube on total viewing time.