Featured Image Credit: Wachiwit/Getty Stock Images
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Money
Britt Jones
Investing can be a good opportunity, if you know exactly what’s going to sky rocket and what’s not.
And it turns out that Netflix would have been a great thing to invest in a decade ago, before it became the powerhouse of streaming that it is today.
Once a small company that would advertise DVD rentals on television, Netflix has grown into a production engine, popping out hit after hit like never before.
It’s also been the top performer in the stock market over the last three years.
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Had you invested in it before it became what it is today, you might be living a totally different life.
While in 2022, the company’s stock fell by more than 70 percent after competition from Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video provided alternative services for viewers to opt into, it came back better than ever.
In fact, since 2022 its stock has increased by more than 500 percent, thanks to its ad-supported tier subscription service and investments in live sports and other industries.
It’s even a viewer favorite, with Nielsen reporting that it’s a hit with investors.
As of right now, as per the S&P 500, Netflix is one of the most expensive stocks, trading at 59 times its projected earnings for the year ahead. But in 2002, it was only trading at $15 per share, which is a far cry from its closing price of $1,274 on July 17, 2025.
So, what would $1000 get you today if you had invested ten years ago?
According to CNBC, if you invested 10 years ago, you would currently have $11,102 thanks to Netflix.
If you invested five years ago, you’d hope to bank $2,585, and if you had invested just last year, you’d make $1,968.
But the real money maker is if you invested when Netflix went public in May 2002, bringing you a whopping $1,189,227 return.
All of the calculations are based on Netflix’s closing price and percentages on July 17, 2025, adjusted for stock splits.
Of course, don’t go blowing your cash on stocks you think might make a good return one day in the future without some solid financial planning and backup savings.
But it’s still cool to think about just how rich you could have been had you taken the plunge on Netflix all those years ago.
As for right now, Netflix is leaving fans angry after a top-rated TV series was announced that it’s being cut from the service this month.
Amazingly, Call My Agent! was watched for more than 28 million hours between early 2023 and late 2024, even though it originally joined Netflix back in 2016, as per FlixPatrol figures.
It focuses on the lives of four talent agents at the fictional Parisian agency ASK (Agence Samuel Kerr), who need to juggle their star clients’ whims while battling issues that threaten their business after the sudden death of the agency’s founder.
With that many watched hours, it’s no surprise why Netflix is looking good to investors.