Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2025

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Content

As of June 30, 2025, the Company had $21.0 billion of obligations comprised of $4.1 billion included in "Current content liabilities" and $1.6 billion of "Non-current content liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and $15.3 billion of obligations that are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as they did not yet meet the criteria for recognition.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $23.2 billion of obligations comprised of $4.4 billion included in "Current content liabilities" and $1.8 billion of "Non-current content liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and $17.0 billion of obligations that are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as they did not yet meet the criteria for recognition.

The expected timing of payments for these content obligations is as follows:


	As of
	June 30, 2025		December 31, 2024
	(in thousands)
Less than one year	$	10,842,959	$	11,424,696
Due after one year and through three years	7,179,966		8,113,910
Due after three years and through five years	2,273,025		2,809,834
Due after five years	671,320		900,491
Total content obligations	$	20,967,270	$	23,248,931

Content obligations include amounts related to the acquisition, licensing and production of content. Obligations that are in non-U.S. dollar currencies are translated to the U.S. dollar at period end rates. An obligation for the production of content includes non-cancelable commitments under creative talent and employment agreements as well as other production related commitments. An obligation for the acquisition and licensing of content is incurred at the time the Company enters into an agreement to obtain future titles. Once a title becomes available, a content liability is recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Certain agreements include the obligation to license rights for unknown future titles, the ultimate quantity and/or fees for which are not yet determinable as of the reporting date. Traditional film output deals, or certain TV series license agreements where the number of seasons to be aired is unknown, are examples of such license agreements. The Company does not include any estimated obligation for these future titles beyond the known minimum amount. However, the unknown obligations are expected to be significant.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, in the normal course of its operations, the Company is subject to litigation matters and claims, including claims relating to employee relations, business practices and patent infringement. Litigation can be expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict and the Company's view of these matters may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold. The Company expenses legal fees as incurred. The Company records a provision for contingent losses when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. An unfavorable outcome to any legal matter, if material, could have an adverse effect on the Company's operations or its financial position, liquidity or results of operations.

The Company is involved in litigation matters not listed herein but does not consider the matters to be material either individually or in the aggregate at this time. The Company's view of the matters not listed may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold.

Non-Income Taxes

The Company is routinely under audit by various tax authorities with regard to non-income tax matters. The subject matter of non-income tax audits primarily arises from disputes on the tax treatment and tax rate applied to our revenue in certain jurisdictions. We accrue, as operating expenses, non-income taxes that may result from examinations by, or any negotiated agreements with, these tax authorities when a loss is probable and reasonably estimable.

Similar to other U.S. companies doing business in Brazil, the Company is involved in a number of matters with Brazilian tax authorities regarding non-income tax assessments. Although the Company believes it has meritorious defenses to these matters, and a loss is not probable, there is inherent complexity and uncertainty with respect to these matters, and the final outcome may be materially different from our expectations. The Company continues to monitor developments in similar court cases that may influence its evaluation of the likelihood of incurring a loss. The cumulative current potential exposure with respect to the various issues with Brazilian tax authorities regarding non-income tax assessments, for which the loss recognition criteria has not been met, is estimated to be approximately $600 million, and is expected to increase over time.

Guarantees— Indemnification Obligations

In the ordinary course of business, the Company has entered into contractual arrangements under which it has agreed to provide indemnification of varying scope and terms to business partners and other parties with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, losses arising out of the Company’s breach of such agreements and out of intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. In these circumstances, payment may be conditional on the other party making a claim pursuant to the procedures specified in the particular contract.

The Company's obligations under these agreements may be limited in terms of time or amount, and in some instances, the Company may have recourse against third parties for certain payments. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and certain of its officers that will require it, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. The terms of such obligations vary.

It is not possible to make a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential amount of future payments under these or similar agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. No amount has been accrued in the accompanying consolidated financial statements with respect to these indemnification obligations.

NETFLIX INC 10-Q