If You'd Invested $10,000 in Netflix (NFLX) 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Key Points

• Netflix shares have meaningfully lagged the overall market since late September 2021.

• The investment community is likely most concerned about competition and its impact on growth.

• 10 stocks we like better than Netflix ›

With more than 325 million subscribers (as of Dec. 31, 2025) and projected 2026 revenue of $51.2 billion, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a leader in the media and entertainment space. The disruptor is a category-creating business.

Early investors have amassed small fortunes. But the story has been much different recently. If you had invested $10,000 in this streaming stock five years ago, here’s how much you’d have today.

Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Netflix shares are up just 20% in the trailing half-decade period (as of Sept. 25). By comparison, the S&P 500 index has climbed 73% during that same time. The company’s stock trades 47% below its peak from June 2025.

If you purchased $10,000 worth of shares in late September 2021, you’d have $12,000 today. That’s not an impressive gain.

To be fair, though, the business is much larger today than it was in 2021. It raked in $29.7 billion in total sales that year and had a significantly smaller membership count. However, investors are likely most worried about the competitive nature of the industry. Consumers have so many choices at their fingertips.

Going forward, Netflix’s growth is likely to continue to decelerate as it reaches maturity in its key markets. So even though the stock trades at a historically cheap price-to-earnings ratio of 22.4, investors shouldn’t automatically rush to buy the company. It’s a new chapter for the streaming pioneer.

Should you buy stock in Netflix right now?

Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Netflix wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $383,680!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,382,954!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 937% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 214% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 27, 2026.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.