Netflix headquarters in Silicon Valley, Calif.

Erik Gruenwedel

January 19, 2023

Netflix Jan. 19 said it added 7.66 million new subscribers worldwide in the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2022, topping management’s projection of 4.5 million new subscribers. Netflix ended 2022 with 231 million  global subscribers, up from almost 222 million subs at the end of 2021. The streamer lost 919,000 net North American subscribers in 2022 to end the year with more than 74 million.

But the big news that had tongues wagging was a major leadership shakeup in which co-founder Reed Hastings is ceding the co-CEO spot he’s held for nearly three years to chief operating officer Greg Peters, who now shares that title with Ted Sarandos. Hastings becomes executive chairman.

Also, Bela Bajaria, formerly head of global TV, becomes chief content officer, and Scott Stuber is chairman of Netflix Film. Peters had previously doubled as COO and chief product officer; Sarandos had been chief content officer in addition to co-CEO.

“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last 20 years,” Sarandos said in a statement. “We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come. Since Reed started to delegate management to us, Greg and I have built a strong operating model based on our shared values and like-minded approach to growth. I am so excited to start this new chapter with Greg as co-CEO.”

Meanwhile, Netflix continues to hit fiscal home runs, generating $31.6 billion of revenue in 2022, up almost 6.4% from $29.7 billion in 2021. The streamer generated $5.6 billion in operating income, $2 billion of net cash from operating activities and $1.6 billion of free cash flow. In 2023, Netflix expects to generate at least $3 billion of free cash flow, assuming no material swings in foreign exchange.

“2022 was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter finish,” co-CEOs Peters, Sarandos and CFO Spencer Neumann wrote in the shareholder letter. “We believe we have a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue growth: continuing to improve all aspects of Netflix, launching paid sharing and building our ads offering. As always, our north stars remain pleasing our members and building even greater profitability over time.”

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