Netflix Cuts Its 2026 Ad Revenue Forecast to $2.7B — and Keeps Building Its Ads Suite With a Pixel and The Trade Desk

Netflix has trimmed its 2026 ad revenue forecast by 10%, from roughly $3 billion to about $2.7 billion. Q3 revenue rose 12% year over year to $12.9 billion, but the company also lowered full-year revenue guidance to $51.1 billion, or 13% growth. The ad business is still growing more than 80% this year — it just isn’t growing as fast as Netflix’s own aggressive target.

Why Netflix lowered its ad revenue forecast

“We set big growth targets for our ads business this year… but we are currently a bit behind our aggressive target for the year,” Co-CEO Greg Peters said on the earnings call.

The drag came from delayed product rollouts, not weak demand. Netflix kept widening programmatic access through global CTV marketplace deals and added targeting and measurement tools in Q3, but some new ad products and integrations landed late. Peters said demand remains strong and the advertiser base keeps broadening, and that the priorities haven’t changed: full-funnel optimization, new ad formats and more first-party measurement and reporting.

What’s new in the Netflix Ads Suite

A day before earnings, on Oct. 20, Netflix announced several ad suite updates:

• A new Netflix Pixel and an enhanced Conversion API, letting advertisers test first-party measurement and build audience segments from conversion data.
• The Trade Desk audiences (starting next month), so advertisers can activate any third-party data partner or their own first-party audiences on Netflix. This builds on earlier tie-ups with Yahoo DSP and Amazon Ads Agent.
• In-DSP measurement with Yahoo and The Trade Desk.
• An ads plan in 15 more countries, with Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland joining in March 2027.

The market’s read: growth is slowing

The announcements followed layoffs of about 6% of Netflix’s workforce, including Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria. Forrester’s Mike Proulx said Netflix’s growth pace is slowing and questioned how much of a reacceleration advertising can deliver after a 10% forecast cut. TransUnion’s Julie Clark said a unified view tied to measurable outcomes will decide whether advertisers keep raising their investment.

What advertisers should take from it

1. Netflix is turning CTV into a measurable performance channel. With a pixel and Conversion API, Netflix inventory will increasingly be judged on conversions. It fits the direction Netflix laid out in Netflix Moves Its Ad Pitch From Reach to Attention.
2. Check your DSP path first. If you already buy through The Trade Desk, Yahoo or Amazon, testing Netflix inventory gets easier without a separate deal.
3. A missed target is negotiating room. When a seller is behind plan, buyers can ask for better test budgets and measurement terms. For the wider fight over the living-room screen, see Netflix Is Poaching YouTubers and YouTube Answered With Penalties.