Netflix stock hits all-time high

Netflix, which launched its ad-supported service option in November 2022, said it closed advertising partnerships for the upcoming seasons of "Squid Game," "Wednesday," "Outer Banks," "Ginny & Georgia," and "Love Is Blind," in addition to live events such as "WWE Raw" in 2025, and this year's Christmas Day NFL games.

Netflix announced that its second year of upfront negotiations with advertisers led to a 150% surge in ad sales commitments compared to the previous year. These commitments encompass a range of sectors, including consumer products, technology, entertainment, automotive, retail, and fast-food.

In a blog post, Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, noted that the increased ad sales commitments aligned with the company’s expectations. However, Netflix did not disclose specific financial figures.

Netflix stock breaks out on ad report

"Over the last few months, we've hit great milestones for our ads business, including closing another successful Upfront market, building and implementing an expanded programmatic suite, enhancing our global measurement capabilities, and securing impactful global ad campaigns," Reinhard wrote.
She added, "We'll continue to improve the Netflix ads plan to ensure our members are delighted by the experience while simultaneously creating solutions that deliver results for our marketers, putting brands at the center of the best shows and films in the world, to a highly valuable and engaged audience."

On the stock market today, Netflix stock rose 1.5% to close at 698.54. Earlier in the session, Netflix stock hit an all-time high of 711.33. That eclipsed its previous high of 700.99 from November 2021.

With the move higher Tuesday, Netflix reached a buy point of 697.49 from a late-stage cup base, according to IBD MarketSurge charts. Further, Netflix stock is on the IBD 50 list of elite stocks.

Getting ad-technical

Alongside the successful upfront negotiations, Amy Reinhard shared an update on Netflix’s efforts to develop its in-house ad technology. The new tech platform will begin testing in Canada this November and is slated for a global launch in 2025.

Furthermore, Reinhard revealed that marketers can now establish private one-to-one marketplace deals directly with Netflix via platforms such as The Trade Desk, Google’s Display & Video 360, or Microsoft’s Xandr. Netflix is also working to expand its capabilities to include various buying options, such as programmatic guarantees, starting in November.

In September, Netflix’s ad-supported plan will be available in Barb’s Advanced Campaign Hub, allowing U.K. advertisers to better plan campaigns, and Netflix will extend its campaign performance measurement suite into Nielsen One, Lucid (or Cint), EDO, NCSolutions, Kantar, and Affinity Solutions for all buy types in the fall.

New partnerships

Netflix touted 278 million member households, and through subscription fees and ad revenue, made $9.6 billion in the quarter ending June 30, the company shared in its Q2 earnings.

The platform has slowly built out its advertising business, which it first introduced in 2022, initially selecting Microsoft to exclusively handle the tech and sales side of the business. A year later, the duo reworked the partnership to lower ad prices, the Wall Street Journal reported. Netflix has since signed deals with some of the largest ad-tech companies, including Google, Magnite, and The Trade Desk, to expand its programmatic offerings, and is looking to roll out its own in-house ad server by 2025.

Presumably, the newly announced partnerships will offer advertisers more tools in their digital toolbox, and new ways to reach audiences.