Netflix’s Hastings gives up CEO title; Peters named Co-Chief
Netflix Inc. co-founder Reed Hastings is stepping aside as chief executive officer of the company he's led for more than two decades, leaving the position to his two longtime associates, Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.
Sarandos, who was already co-CEO, is the company's public face in Hollywood while Peters, previously chief operating officer, has overseen its product development and push into advertising. Hastings, 62, will serve as executive chairman of the company.
“Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!),” Hastings said in a blog post. “The board and I believe it's the right time to complete my succession.”
Netflix ended the year on a high note. The company added 7.66 million subscribers in the final quarter of 2022, easily topping the 4.5 million average estimate of Wall Street analysts. Revenue, at $7.85 billion, was in line with estimates. Although it earnings, at 12 cents per share, fell well below the same period a year ago, the company forecast that its profit margin and free cash flow would improve in the year ahead.
Netflix jumped about 6% in after-hours trading after the announcement. Shares of Paramount Global, Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery also rose in late trading.
Sarandos and Peters must guide Netflix through a turbulent time in the media industry. The company just reported its slowest year of subscriber growth since 2011, the year it split its streaming business from its DVD-by-mail service. Shares in the company lost half of their value last year, while its growing frugality alienated some of the creative people who once hailed Netflix as a champion of the arts.
The programming slate was one of Netflix's strongest, however. The
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