{"text":[[{"start":8.99,"text":"Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chair, will step down from the company he co-founded in 1997 and built from a DVD-by-mail service into a $450bn streaming giant."}],[{"start":24.77,"text":"The stock fell in after-hours trading after Netflix announced Hastings’ plans to leave the board in June and a weaker than expected financial forecast."}],[{"start":35.72,"text":"The sell-off came despite strong first-quarter results that were boosted by the $2.8bn break fee it received from Paramount following its decision to withdraw its bid for Warner Bros Discovery."}],[{"start":50.87,"text":"Hastings’ departure after nearly 30 years at Netflix comes as the company regroups following its abortive pursuit of an $83bn deal to buy WBD’s studio and streaming business."}],[{"start":65,"text":"Acquiring Warner Bros “would have been a nice accelerant for our strategy, but only at the right price”, Netflix said on Thursday."}],[{"start":73.53999999999999,"text":"Netflix reported earnings of $1.23 a share in the first quarter, well above Wall Street’s expectations of 76 cents. "}],[{"start":82.67999999999999,"text":"Revenue was better than expected at $12.3bn while net income was $5.3bn. In addition to the boost from the break fee, Netflix said its operating income was lifted by price increases that were rolled out in the quarter."}],[{"start":100.21,"text":"However, it projected earnings per share of 78 cents in the current quarter, less than the 84 cents Wall Street expected."}],[{"start":109.74,"text":"Netflix shares had regained much of the ground they had lost after entering the bidding war for Warner Bros. But the stock dropped 9.6 per cent after-hours following the disappointing forecast and Hastings’ decision to step down."}],[{"start":125.83,"text":"Netflix said Hastings wanted to “focus on his philanthropy and other pursuits”. He began to pare back his responsibilities in 2020, when he appointed Ted Sarandos as his co-CEO. Greg Peters took Hastings’ place as co-CEO in 2023."}],[{"start":143.41,"text":"The Netflix co-founder is a big Democratic Party donor and philanthropist through the Hastings Fund, which has a focus on education and social equity issues. "}],[{"start":154.51,"text":"Sarandos said Hastings had “built a company of risk-takers and a culture where . . . nobody rests in the pursuit of excellence”. "}],[{"start":164.7,"text":"With its early DVD-by-mail business, Netflix took on Blockbuster, the video rental giant that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010. "}],[{"start":175.14999999999998,"text":"Next, it challenged the US cable television giants, which have been shedding subscribers for years due to the streaming revolution. And now Hollywood itself is being reordered due to the effect streaming has had on the movie industry."}],[{"start":192.89,"text":"Netflix’s bid to take over the century-old Warner Bros studio marked the latest sign of the company’s ascent. "}],[{"start":200.48999999999998,"text":"After it pulled out of the WBD deal in February, some investors have grown concerned about signs that Netflix’s audience engagement is slipping. "}],[{"start":210.82999999999998,"text":"“Engagement is now investors’ most focused-on metric for the company following the collapse of the WBD deal,” Raymond James analysts said in a research note published before the results. "}],[{"start":223.70999999999998,"text":"Sarandos pointed to the World Baseball Classic in Japan as an example of new ways Netflix was driving audience engagement, saying that it set records for sign-ups and advertising. "}],[{"start":237.45,"text":"“It was a proof point that all engagement is not created equal,” he said. "}],[{"start":243.54,"text":"The recent launches of video podcasts on Netflix were also driving engagement during the day, usually a quieter time on the streaming service, he said."}],[{"start":253.28,"text":"Still, Thursday’s earnings report broadly disappointed investors. Some had hoped Netflix would increase its share buybacks and raise its outlook for profit margins for 2026, said Jason Bazinet, an analyst at Citi. "}],[{"start":267.96,"text":"“However, management suggested no change to their capital allocation strategy, maintained [the 2026] outlook, and provided worse than expected [second-quarter earnings] guidance,” Bazinet said."}],[{"start":283.23999999999995,"text":"Asked about the lessons from the bid for Warner Bros, Sarandos said the company “really built our M&A muscle”. "}],[{"start":291.12999999999994,"text":"“We tested our investment discipline, and when the cost of this deal grew beyond the net value to our business and to our shareholders, we were willing to put emotion and ego aside and walk away.”"}],[{"start":312.04999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776393196_6066.mp3"}