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Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in Netflix Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

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How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to NFLX for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Netflix's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Netflix's main business drivers.

Netflix is considered a pioneer in the streaming space. The company evolved from a small DVD-rental provider to a dominant streaming service provider, courtesy of its wide-ranging content portfolio and a fortified international footprint. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, the company had 269.6 million paid subscribers globally.

Netflix has been spending aggressively on building its portfolio of original shows. This is helping the company sustain its leading position despite the launch of new services like Disney+ and Apple TV+, as well as existing services like Amazon Prime Video.

Netflix streams movies, television shows and documentaries across a wide variety of genres and languages. Domestic and international subscribers can watch them on a host of internet-connected devices, including television sets, computers, and mobile devices.

The Los Gatos, CA-based company reported revenues of $33.72 billion in 2023.

Beginning fourth-quarter 2019, Netflix started declaring revenues and membership data by regions — the Asia Pacific (APAC); Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA); Latin America (LATAM); and the United States and Canada (UCAN).

UCAN accounted for 45.1% of first-quarter 2024 revenues. At the end of the quarter, the company had 82.66 million paid subscribers in the region.

EMEA accounted for 31.6% of first-quarter 2024 revenues. Netflix had 91.73 million paid subscribers in the region at the end of the quarter.

LATAM contributed 12.4% of first-quarter 2024 revenues and had 47.72 million paid subscribers in the region at the end of the quarter.

APAC accounted for 10.9% of first-quarter 2024 revenues. The company had 47.5 million paid subscribers in the region at the end of the quarter.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Netflix a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in May 2014 would be worth $12,426.22, or a 1,142.62% gain, as of May 20, 2024. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 182.41% and gold's return of 79.53% over the same time frame.

Analysts are anticipating more upside for NFLX.

Netflix added 9.33 million paid subscribers globally in first-quarter 2024, with a rise of 1% in average revenue per subscription. The company attributed the robust top-line growth to its paid subscription-sharing offering (part of its password-sharing crackdown), recent price changes and the strength of its business in general. Netflix is expected to continue dominating the streaming space, courtesy of its diversified content portfolio, which is attributable to heavy investments in the production and distribution of localized and foreign-language content. Shares of the company have outperformed the industry year-to-date. However, stiff competition in the streaming space from the likes of Apple, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Peacock and Paramount+ is a headwind. NFLX’s leveraged balance sheet and a higher streaming obligation are concerns.

The stock is up 11.90% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 12 higher, for fiscal 2024. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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