The number of Netflix subscribers has surpassed an astounding worldwide milestone

Some would have the world think that Netflix is in some way behind the curve in the streaming market right now, but it appears that, as they say, the rumors of the industry giant’s demise have been considerably overstated. In support of that, the platform’s fourth-quarter financial data showed that its already astounding volume of users had increased by a record 18.9 million, bringing the total number of members to over 300 million.

There are undoubtedly a number of reasons for the recent surge in subscribers (the new members accounted for nearly half of the 41 million Netflix added in 2024). These include the popular holiday season, the debut of blockbuster shows like Squid Game Season 2, the transmission of sporting events like NFL Christmas Day games and Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s fight, and films like Taron Egerton’s Carry-On, which is currently one of Netflix’s biggest-ever releases.

Since Netflix won’t be releasing quarterly subscriber counts or revenue-per-user data starting with the results of the upcoming quarter, this will probably be the last time we learn just how well the streaming service is doing in terms of subscriber numbers. However, they will still make announcements for any significant milestones, indicating that Netflix has its sights set on reaching the unthinkable milestone of half a billion users soon. Definitely not what a business that is frequently referred to as being in “trouble” is thinking.

Does Netflix Have Plans to Close?

Obviously not. Few people would genuinely accept the numerous rumors and social media assertions that Netflix is about to give up and cede the top spot to one of its increasing number of competitors, even without the support of the company’s declared $1.87 billion net profits.

Reports of Netflix significantly overpaying to acquire several well-known brands and properties have surfaced in recent years. Even though it resulted in some strict measures to monitor the value of investments, like the reported $30 million per episode budget for Stranger Things’ massive fourth season or the hundreds of millions that helped land Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot for the ridiculously expensive (but viewership-breaking) Red Notice, it doesn’t mean the streamer won’t go overboard when it knows it has a winner.

In a similar vein, Netflix has been inundated with complaints about new programs that have been canceled after only one season, with devoted viewers promising to cancel their memberships and never come back. Though it may cause some annoyance, it is precisely this type of astute decision-making that keeps revenue rising.

To put it briefly, Netflix is not having problems, closing, or thinking about stepping aside from the streaming market. Ted Sarandos and his crew are obviously doing something well, so these new figures will only encourage them to keep doing it.