Netflix has announced the departure of its co-founder Reed Hastings, who will officially leave the company in June after the shareholders' meeting. The current chairman of the board has decided not to seek another term, thus formalizing his complete withdrawal from the company he helped build nearly three decades ago.
In his sixties, Reed Hastings had already stepped down from an operational role in January 2023, when he left his position as co-CEO of the streaming giant. He now intends to dedicate himself to other activities, particularly in the field of philanthropy.
This announcement was met with a lukewarm reception from the financial markets. Netflix's stock price fell by approximately 8% in after-hours trading, as investors expressed concern about the departure, despite solid financial results. The company had indeed posted double-digit growth and improved profitability in the first quarter.
Reed Hastings is widely regarded as one of the key architects of the transformation of the entertainment industry. Co-founded in 1997 with Marc Randolph as a mail-order DVD rental service, the company made a major strategic shift ten years later with the launch of its streaming platform, which has become a global benchmark.
In a letter to investors, Netflix stated that its strategy remained unchanged, outlining an "ambitious" mission for the coming years. However, the company did not specify how it would use the $2,8 billion it received after abandoning a takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
On the financial front, Netflix posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter, with earnings per share of $1,23 compared to $0,66 a year earlier, and revenue up 16% to $12,25 billion.
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