Netflix management check
NFLX · Communication Services · Movies & Entertainment · CEO Greg Peters
Filings as of
5 good · 0 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $173, against $138 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.52 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.5% of net income$53.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $11.0bn of net income.
- Flag
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 0.2 years of payThe CEO holds 120,931 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.2 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $93.3m in the last six months and none bought. 14 of 23 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.7% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
3 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters. 6 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2023.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Communication Services.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 82 | 27 | |
| Pay for performance | 76 | 76 | |
| CEO cost | 76 | 72 | |
| Skin in the game | 0 | 75 | |
| Dilution | 71 | 65 | |
| Stable leadership | 15 | 93 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Movies & Entertainment, by management score. Netflix is 10th of 18 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 16, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters | $53.9m | $55.6m | $13.0m | $173 | $138 | $11.0bn |
| 2024 | — | $61.9m | $117.1m | $14.0m | $165 | $115 | $8.7bn |
| 2023 | — | $49.8m | $57.8m | $11.0m | $90 | $87 | $5.4bn |
| 2022 | — | $51.1m | $51.1m | $16.3m | $55 | $59 | $4.5bn |
| 2021 | — | $40.8m | $40.8m | $12.1m | $111 | $98 | $5.1bn |
The board says pay is tied most to F/X Neutral Operating Margin. Its other key measures: F/X Neutral Revenue, Company TSR relative to the TSR of the companies in the S&P 500.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Gregory K Peters (Co-CEO) held 120,931 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 6, 2026, roughly $8.9m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $93.3m in the last six months and none bought. 14 of 23 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldReed HastingsDirector · 10b5-1 plan$71.2mJun 1, 2026
- SoldTheodore A SarandosCo-CEO$12.1mAug 4, 2026
- SoldGregory K PetersCo-CEO$4.4mAug 6, 2026
- SoldBradford L SmithDirector · 10b5-1 plan$2.8mJun 17, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jul 30, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 16, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 4, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 24, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 8, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 8, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 5, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $22.0bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 63% of net income, and $2.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $29.7bn | $31.6bn | $33.7bn | $39.0bn | $45.2bn |
| Net income | $5.1bn | $4.5bn | $5.4bn | $8.7bn | $11.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $403.2m | $575.5m | $339.4m | $272.6m | $368.4m |
| Buybacks | $600.0m | $0 | $6.0bn | $6.3bn | $9.1bn |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 455m | 451m | 4495m | 4393m | 4344m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.