Over the past several years, Netflix has gone from a service that delivered DVD rentals to our doorstep to a multi-media giant that is producing its own movies and creating its own original programs for children and adults. The moves have helped to rise Netflix’s stock considerably, and coupled with a recent downtick in Yahoo’s stock, has pushed the streaming service ahead of the Internet giant in total size.
It’s a little complicated to put into perspective based on how stock prices work, but in short, after the recent changes in price, Yahoo is now worth $39.12 billion, which is behind Netflix’s new all-time high of $39.21 billion. Obviously, in some ways it doesn’t really matter to Netflix’s long-term growth whether or not it’s bigger than Yahoo, but given what a giant name in the new media industry the company is, it’s perhaps the clearest sign yet that the world is changing. There’s a new player at the table, and if Netflix’s stunning growth continues, we could soon be counting it in the class of Google and Facebook.
The news comes just a few months after Netflix made similar headlines with CBS. Just a couple of months ago, Netflix was coming off a really great Quarter 1 in 2015 when it was revealed the company’s market value stood higher than that of the Peacock Network. As CBS has some of the most successful shows on television right now, as well as a wide portfolio of other interests, it was pretty impressive when Netflix eked ahead, especially for a company that once upon a time was basically a tech 2.0 version of Blockbuster.
Back in February, Netflix borrowed an obscene amount of money to make original content, and the network has already begun to make good on that investment. It’s offering a large slate of upcoming programing, including movies from the likes of Adam Sandler and Brad Pitt, as well as plenty of more traditional television style programs, including the entire Marvel slate and other projects, like Fuller House. If all goes according to plan, the investment will not only please the current subscribers and keep them forking over money, it will also attract a wide range of new subscribers who will then foot the bill for even more future content. It’s a giant numbers game, but if played correctly, it could produce billions of dollars in revenue.
We can likely expect Netflix to continue passing more and more companies over the next several years, and expect more and more subscribers to continue joining as the profits soar and the television landscape continues to evolve.
