Netflix Cuts Advertising Forecast as Fourth-Quarter Profit Outlook Disappoints

Netflix lowered its 2026 advertising revenue forecast to about $2.7 billion from approximately $3 billion on 20 October, saying some advertising-product capabilities were taking longer than expected to roll out.

The cut came as the streaming group reported a third-quarter earnings beat but offered a weaker-than-expected profit outlook for the final quarter of the year.

Netflix expects fourth-quarter earnings of 67 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected 73 cents, Reuters reported.

Third-quarter revenue reached $12.87 billion, up 11.8% from a year earlier, according to the company's shareholder letter. Earnings were 87 cents a share, above the 82 cents analysts had forecast. Its operating margin rose to 34.6%, helped by the timing of expenses.

For the full year, Netflix now forecasts revenue of $51.1 billion and an operating margin of 31.5%.

Netflix is still expanding its advertising business, but the revised target points to a slower rollout than planned. The immediate issue for investors is delivery: how quickly new advertising tools can translate into revenue.

Sources: Netflix shareholder letter filed with the SEC, 20 October 2026; Reuters report, 20 October 2026.

Archival photo (2018): Coolcaesar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9 by Morval Universal; cropped image available under the same licence.