SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. streaming giant Netflix reported a nearly 44 percent year-on-year increase in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, but lowered its full-year advertising revenue forecast amid slowing revenue growth.
According to the company's latest financial report, Netflix posted net income of 3.66 billion U.S. dollars for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 44 percent from 2.55 billion dollars a year earlier.
Quarterly revenue increased 11.8 percent year on year to 12.87 billion dollars, compared with 11.51 billion dollars in the same period last year. The growth rate slowed from 13.4 percent in the second quarter.
Operating income rose 37 percent to 4.46 billion dollars, while the operating margin improved to 34.6 percent from 28.2 percent a year earlier.
Diluted earnings per share reached 87 cents, compared with 59 cents a year earlier, exceeding analysts' expectations of 82 cents per share, according to Reuters.
Netflix said its revenue growth was driven primarily by higher subscription revenue, reflecting increases in memberships and pricing, as well as growth in advertising revenue and favorable foreign exchange movements.
However, the company lowered its forecast for full-year 2026 advertising revenue to approximately 2.7 billion dollars from its previous projection of about 3 billion dollars, citing a slower-than-expected rollout of certain advertising product capabilities.
For the fourth quarter, Netflix projected revenue of 13.44 billion dollars and net income of 2.79 billion dollars, with diluted earnings per share expected to reach 67 cents, below analysts' expectations of 73 cents.
The company expects full-year 2026 revenue of approximately 51.1 billion dollars, up 13 percent year on year, with an operating margin of 31.5 percent.
