Netflix (NFLX.US) laid off 1,000 employees, and its stock price fell by more than 40%: growth anxiety or a sign of the bottom?

According to Woofun AI, Netflix (NFLX.US) suddenly announced the abolition of about 1,000 employees six days before the quarterly earnings report, which represents about 6% of its total workforce. Co-CEOs Greg Peters (Greg Peters) and Ted Sarandos (Ted Sarandos) led the largest organizational change since 2022, aimed at dealing with current market pressures through careful allocation of manpower and resources.

The layoffs mainly involved the product, technology, legal, and human resources sectors, and Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos emphasized the need for this move in an internal memorandum issued through theWrap. Although the company's fundamentals remain steady, data compiled by Woofun AI shows that Netflix (NFLX.US) expects 2026 revenue to be between US$51 billion and US$51.4 billion, generating operating profit of 31.5 cents per dollar of revenue, but growth momentum has clearly weakened. Member viewing time increased by only 2% in the first half of 2026, while YouTube accounted for 14.2% of US TV views in July, far surpassing Netflix (NFLX.US)'s 7.8%. Over the past year, $NFLX's stock price has dropped by about 41%, and the market is deeply concerned about the decline in user participation and increased competition.

Looking back at history, Netflix's (NFLX.US) stock price fell to a post-split low of $16.64 on May 11, 2022, followed by the abolition of approximately 150 and 300 jobs on May 17 and June 23, respectively. By the end of 2022, the stock price had recovered 77% from its low point, but the “Motley Fool” analysis indicated that the rebound was mainly due to lower cost packages with ads and a crackdown on password sharing, rather than the layoffs themselves. In the current difficult situation, Netflix (NFLX.US) is trying to optimize the structure by cutting costs, but the stagnation in user time and the strong rise of YouTube make it difficult to immediately reverse market sentiment by simply reducing manpower.

Looking ahead, BeInCrypto analysis on October 2 indicated that Netflix (NFLX.US) shares may show signs of rebound around $68, and the stock traded around $71 on Wednesday. As the October 20 earnings release date approaches, the market will focus on its third-quarter revenue forecast of $12.86 billion and earnings per share of $0.82. If the data is in line with expectations, it may ease investors' concerns about slowing growth, otherwise stock prices may continue to be under pressure.