Netflix Is Planning To Spend $18 Billion on Content in 2025

Netflix is gearing up for a big year in 2025, with plans to pour around $18 billion in cash into its content offerings. According to Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann, this amount could grow even more in the future as the company sees no limit to its expansion potential yet. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Tech, Media & Telecom Conference on Wednesday, Neumann shared that Netflix is still in its early stages as a worldwide entertainment provider.

The company’s subscriber base hit 301.6 million by the end of 2024, reaching over 700 million viewers globally. Despite this growth, Neumann pointed out that Netflix still has a small slice of the entertainment pie.

It’s in about 40% of connected TV homes worldwide and accounts for less than 10% of total TV watching in places like the U.S. “We see the opportunity to grow everywhere,” he said, emphasizing that the focus is on finding the best places to invest and expand rather than slowing down.

Netflix bases its spending plans on a mix of expected revenue and set profit goals. “It’s a little art and a little science,” Neumann explained, noting that the company has a solid grasp of its income predictions thanks to its subscription model. From there, it decides how much to put into content while balancing growth and long-term investments.

For 2025, Netflix expects its revenue to land between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion, a jump of 11.5% to 14% from the previous year. It’s also aiming for a 29% operating margin, up slightly from earlier forecasts.

The content lineup for 2025 includes major English-language series like “Squid Game,” “Wednesday,” and “Stranger Things,” which Neumann called some of the company’s biggest scripted projects ever. Alongside originals, spending on licensed content and live events is also on the rise. Live programming, such as NFL games on Christmas Day and weekly WWE streams in the U.S., is a growing area.

“We loved the NFL on Christmas Day, Beyoncé Bowl, it worked,” Neumann said, though he added that a full package of regular-season sports isn’t in the near future, saying, “never say never on these things” but “it’s not on our near horizon.”

Globally, Netflix produces shows and movies in over 50 countries, aiming for stories that hit big locally first. “The most important thing for productions outside the U.S. is that they have to start with big, local impact,” Neumann noted, highlighting the need for authentic storytelling. Hits like “Squid Game” from South Korea show how these stories can sometimes break out internationally.

Competition is heating up, with YouTube pulling ahead in TV viewing time. Still, Neumann sees it as a shared challenge to grab more of the traditional TV audience rather than a direct fight. “We share in the creative and economic risk with our creators… We think we’re the home for the best creators and storytellers on the planet,” he said, setting Netflix apart from platforms like YouTube.

The company’s ad-supported plan is also gaining traction, with 55% of new signups in 2024 choosing it. After tackling password sharing to boost revenue, Netflix is now focused on making money from this growing ad tier.

Price hikes announced in January 2025—like the U.S. Standard plan jumping from $15.49 to $17.99 and the ad tier rising from $6.99 to $7.99—show confidence in its value. In the last half of 2024, viewers streamed 94 billion hours, with “Squid Game” Season 2 leading at nearly 87 million views, though no single title made up more than 1% of total watch time.

Looking ahead, Neumann stressed keeping Netflix in “growth mode versus maintenance mode as long as possible.” With a focus on delivering better entertainment value and improving the viewer experience, the company aims to stay ahead in a fast-changing industry. “We’re a learning machine. So it’s fluid, it’s iterative. We look at it every quarter, every year, and iterate,” he said, summing up Netflix’s approach to its ambitious plans.

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