Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

The balance sheet provides creditors, investors, and analysts with information on company resources (assets) and its sources of capital (its equity and liabilities). It normally also provides information about the future earnings capacity of a company assets as well as an indication of cash flows that may come from receivables and inventories.

Liabilities represents obligations of a company arising from past events, the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow of economic benefits from the entity.

Netflix Inc., consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity

US$ in thousands

	Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020
Current content liabilities	4,393,681)	4,466,470)	4,480,150)	4,292,967)	4,429,536)
Accounts payable	899,909)	747,412)	671,513)	837,483)	656,183)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	2,156,544)	1,803,960)	1,514,650)	1,449,351)	1,102,196)
Deferred revenue	1,520,813)	1,442,969)	1,264,661)	1,209,342)	1,117,992)
Short-term debt	1,784,453)	399,844)	—)	699,823)	499,878)
Current liabilities	10,755,400)	8,860,655)	7,930,974)	8,488,966)	7,805,785)
Non-current content liabilities	1,780,806)	2,578,173)	3,081,277)	3,094,213)	2,618,084)
Long-term debt	13,798,351)	14,143,417)	14,353,076)	14,693,072)	15,809,095)
Other non-current liabilities	2,552,250)	2,561,434)	2,452,040)	2,459,164)	1,982,155)
Non-current liabilities	18,131,407)	19,283,024)	19,886,393)	20,246,449)	20,409,334)
Total liabilities	28,886,807)	28,143,679)	27,817,367)	28,735,415)	28,215,119)
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; no shares issued and outstanding	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Common stock, $0.001 par value	6,252,126)	5,145,172)	4,637,601)	4,024,561)	3,447,698)
Treasury stock at cost	(13,171,638)	(6,922,200)	(824,190)	(824,190)	—)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	362,162)	(223,945)	(217,306)	(40,495)	44,398)
Retained earnings	31,300,917)	22,589,286)	17,181,296)	12,689,372)	7,573,144)
Stockholders’ equity	24,743,567)	20,588,313)	20,777,401)	15,849,248)	11,065,240)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	53,630,374)	48,731,992)	48,594,768)	44,584,663)	39,280,359)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).

The financial data over the five-year period reveals several notable trends and shifts in the company’s liabilities, equity, and overall financial position.

Current Liabilities: Current content liabilities remained relatively stable, fluctuating between approximately 4.3 billion and 4.5 billion USD, with a slight decrease in 2024 compared to 2023. Accounts payable increased steadily from about 656 million USD in 2020 to nearly 900 million USD in 2024, indicating possibly higher operational or supplier payables. Accrued expenses and other liabilities have shown a consistent upward trend, rising from around 1.1 billion USD in 2020 to over 2.1 billion USD in 2024, suggesting increased short-term obligations. Deferred revenue rose steadily as well, from approximately 1.1 billion USD to 1.5 billion USD, reflecting growing prepaid customer balances or subscription services. Short-term debt exhibited volatility, increasing from around 500 million USD in 2020 to almost 1.8 billion USD in 2024, after a dip in 2022 where data is missing; this suggests a rising reliance on short-term borrowing in recent years. Overall, total current liabilities climbed from approximately 7.8 billion USD to 10.8 billion USD, showing a sizeable increase in short-term obligations over the period.
Non-current Liabilities: Non-current content liabilities displayed a declining trend, dropping steadily from about 2.6 billion USD in 2020 to 1.8 billion USD in 2024, which could signify amortization or reduction in outstanding content obligations. Long-term debt decreased moderately from roughly 15.8 billion USD to 13.8 billion USD, demonstrating gradual debt repayment or refinancing. Other non-current liabilities showed a moderate increase, rising from approximately 2 billion USD to 2.5 billion USD, indicating additional long-term obligations or accruals. Consequently, total non-current liabilities declined from around 20.4 billion USD to 18.1 billion USD, reflecting overall improvement in long-term obligations.
Total Liabilities: Total liabilities fluctuated modestly but ultimately increased from about 28.2 billion USD in 2020 to 28.9 billion USD in 2024, reflecting a balance between decreasing long-term liabilities and increasing current liabilities.
Stockholders’ Equity: Common stock value rose steadily from approximately 3.4 billion USD to 6.3 billion USD, indicating capital raises or stock issuances. Treasury stock at cost exhibited a significant increase in negative value starting in 2021, from around -824 million USD to over -13 billion USD in 2024, suggesting extensive stock repurchases or buybacks. Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) showed volatility, with a loss recorded between 2021 and 2023 but recovering to a positive figure of about 362 million USD by 2024. Retained earnings increased substantially, almost quadrupling from around 7.5 billion USD to 31.3 billion USD, implying strong accumulated profitability and reinvestment. Overall, stockholders’ equity grew significantly from about 11.1 billion USD to 24.7 billion USD, indicating a strengthening equity base despite large treasury stock deductions.
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity: The sum of liabilities and stockholders' equity rose markedly from approximately 39.3 billion USD in 2020 to 53.6 billion USD in 2024, demonstrating strong growth in the company’s total capitalization over the period analyzed.

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Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity