From NFL Games to Stranger Things, Netflix Just Had Its Biggest Holiday Season Ever - And It's About To Show Up In Earnings

Streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is heading into its fourth-quarter earnings results on Tuesday with robust momentum following a record holiday season, marked by several hits across multiple categories.

Netflix Sets New Streaming Records

Christmas Day 2025 was a watershed moment for streaming, which captured 54% of all U.S. TV viewing and logged 55.1 billion minutes, the highest single-day total on record, according to Nielsen Data shared with Axios.

A bulk of this surge was driven by Netflix, with the platform streaming its first-ever Christmas Day NFL match, firmly pushing it into the sphere of large, diversified broadcasters that have dominated the media landscape over the past several decades.

Besides this, Nielsen’s weekly Top 10 for the week between Dec. 15 and 21, showed the platform’s hit series Stranger Things dominating the screen as the most-watched title in the U.S. with 2.37 billion minutes viewed.

The momentum followed September’s Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight, which attracted 41 million global viewers, underscoring how live events are expanding Netflix's audience beyond scripted programming.

Significant Runway For Growth

Since unveiling its ad-supported tier, investors remain focused on the platform’s user engagement and retention metrics, beyond just paying subscribers.

During its third-quarter earnings call a few months ago, the company’s Co-CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted that the platform still accounts for just 10% of total time spent on TV, signaling significant runway for growth.

The company's proposed $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) is expected to expand Netflix's share of viewing time by adding a deep library of franchises and the HBO Max platform, giving it a significant share of the U.S. and global streaming market, and potentially putting its viewership share ahead of YouTube.

Analysts Remain Bullish On Netflix

Netflix shares have witnessed a steady decline over the past couple of months, but analysts continue to maintain a bullish stance, with a consensus Price Target of $127.23 per share, which represents an upside of 44.58% from current levels.

Shares of Netflix were down 0.05% on Friday, closing at $88.00 per share, and are up 0.50% overnight. The stock scores high on Growth and Quality in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, but has an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms.

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