Netflix Retail Traders Relish Beat-and-Raise Q2 But Investors Wary Of Rising Expenditure To Fund Strong Second-Half Content Slate

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) stock trended on Stocktwits early Friday, with retail traders remaining uber-bullish on the streaming giant.

The upbeat mood was despite the Netflix stock retreating in reaction to its quarterly results.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock was ‘extremely bullish’ (96/100) by late Thursday, with the message volume at an ‘extremely high’ level.

Los Gatos, California-based Netflix reported earnings per share (EPS) of $7.19 and revenue of $11.08 billion for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2025. The results exceeded the Fiscal.ai-compiled consensus estimates of $7.09 and $11.06 billion, respectively.

The revenue growth, at 16% year-over-year (YoY), also exceeded the guidance the company issued in mid-April.

Netflix’s operating margin, at 34%, expanded seven points YoY, ahead of the 33% the company had forecast.

The company attributed the revenue and operating margin upside to favorable forex impacts and the timing of expenses.

Netflix said in a letter to its shareholders that the performance came on the back of the release of hit series during the quarter, including the “Squid Game S3, Sirens, Ginny & Georgia S3, The Eternaut and Secrets We Keep.”

The streaming giant also said it has completed the rollout of its Ad Suite platform across all its markets.

Looking ahead, the company expects third-quarter revenue of $11.53 billion, marking 17.3% growth, an operating margin of 31.4% and EPS of $6.87.

Analysts, on average, estimate revenue and EPS at $11.35 billion and $6.72, respectively.

Netflix has raised its 2025 revenue guidance to a range of $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion, up from the previous range of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion. The company forecasts a forex-neutral operating margin of 29.5% versus the previous estimate of 29%. 

The company attributed the lower margin expectations to higher content amortization, and sales and marketing costs associated with its larger second-half slate.

Despite the 2025 content slate being unusually weighted toward the second half, Netflix members watched over 95 billion hours in the six months ended June, marking 1% growth.

Delving into the consumer and macroeconomic conditions over the past 90 days, co-CEO Gregory Peters said on the earnings call that, “At this point, really nothing significant to note in the metrics and the indicators that we get directly through the business,” adding that retention remained stable and engagement was healthy.

The 24-hour message volume change on Stocktwits leading up to late Thursday was about 1,000%, as retail chatter grew amid the financial results.

A watcher said they expected the pump in Netflix stock to start next week and that the stock will likely fall on Friday due to the operating expenditure.

Another user expected the stock to rise, given the price target hikes from all analysts that would follow the earnings release.

Netflix stock slipped 1.89% to $1,250.11 in overnight trading after ending Thursday’s session up nearly 2% to $1,274.11.

The stock has gained a whopping 43% year-to-date. 

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