Netflix and the Endless Scroll

Netflix, ticker NFLX, reported numbers. Good numbers, even. Revenue up. Earnings per share, also up. Double digits, if you bother with those things. The stock dipped, naturally. Investors, bless their hearts, wanted more. So it goes.

They’re poking around in advertising now, and games. Advertising, a necessary evil, like taxes and death. Last year, ad revenue doubled. Games… well, that’s the curious part. They’re not trying to become a gaming company. Just dipping a toe in a $140 billion puddle. Excluding China, of course. Everything excludes China, eventually.

The idea, as near as I can tell, is to keep people glued to the screen. Longer screen time equals happier investors. It’s a simple equation, really. And a little sad, if you think about it. They’ve noticed people playing these party-style TV games. Extends the subscription, apparently. Keeps the wheel turning.

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They’re trying to distinguish themselves from Alphabet’s YouTube, the reigning champion of the endless scroll. YouTube. A vast, shimmering ocean of cat videos and political arguments. Netflix hopes to offer something… more. Or at least, different. A slightly more curated abyss. If they can capture a few extra hours of attention, they can justify a higher price. It’s all about pricing power, you see. A comforting thought for shareholders, and a quiet desperation for the rest of us.

Advertising and games are just symptoms, really. Symptoms of a larger sickness. The need to constantly grow, to constantly extract value. It’s the way of things. The valuation dipped, bringing the price-to-earnings ratio down to a reasonable 27. Attractive, they call it. As if numbers can truly capture the absurdity of it all. Double-digit growth, future opportunities… it’s a lovely story. And it will likely continue, for a time. So it goes.

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2026-02-05 15:52