Netflix Raises Full-Year Forecast After Revenue Rises to $11B in Q2

Netflix reported its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday, with revenue rising 16% to $11.08 billion and an operating income of $3.8 billion. In turn, the streaming giant updated its full-year revenue forecast to be between $44.8 billion and $45.2 billion, up from the previous range of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion, citing “healthy” member growth and ad sales as reasons why. Netflix also opted not to reveal its subscriber numbers for the second consecutive quarter.

Bad Bunny continues to make streaming history, with his project Un Verano Sin Ti becoming the first-ever album to surpass 20 billion streams on Spotify. The Grammy-nominated album has been breaking records since its release in 2022, becoming the first Latin album to surpass 10 billion Spotify streams and the most-streamed album on the platform in both 2022 and 2023.

A new podcast from Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston is set to premiere on July 30, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday. Called Post Moves, the retired legend and current Indiana Fever player will recap All-Star Weekend in the premiere episode, featuring personal stories from Boston’s third All-Star appearance and special moments from Parker’s annual party. Future episodes will feature the two Adidas athletes breaking down WNBA highlights, sharing locker room stories, and offering real-life advice.

Uber is entering the robotaxi game, partnering with EV maker Lucid and self-driving startup Nuro to deploy over 20,000 driverless cars over the next six years. As part of the agreement, Uber is investing $300 million into Lucid, whose stock rose more than 36% on Thursday in the wake of the news. While the companies didn’t disclose where, the plan is for the first launch to take place in a major U.S. city next year.

This year’s Wimbledon Championship generated an overall media impact value of $1.1 billion, a 23% year-over-year jump, per data from Launchmetrics. Ralph Lauren, who is the tournament’s official outfitter since 2006, had the highest media presence of all brands with $22.5 million, a 20% hike from 2024’s grass-court Grand Slam. Meanwhile, men’s singles champion Jannik Sinner triggered a $9.1 million media impact valuation. Roughly $4.7 million of that came from Rolex after he lifted The Challenge Cup wearing the brand’s Cosmograph Daytona, with the remaining $4.4 million coming from apparel partner Nike.

You can officially own a piece of Star Wars history, but it’ll cost you some millions. Darth Vader’s lightsaber, used by David Prowse and stunt double Bob Anderson in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, is heading to auction. Hosted by Propstore in Los Angeles this September, the estimated presale value ranges from $1 million to $3 million. Ahead of the sale, the prop will visit London, New York, and Beverly Hills on a three-city press tour.

The WNBA and AT&T are teaming up to bring back the 4-point shot to this weekend’s All-Star Game, and there is an extra incentive for players to shoot from distance. For every “AT&T 4-Point Shot” made in the game, the telecoms company will make a donation to a non-profit supported by the W and select players. There will be four 4-point circles – two at each end of the court – placed above the current three-point line, 28 feet from the rim.

Led by investments from Chernin Group, Rich Paul, tech investment firm BONDS, and Skims Co-Founder Jens Grede, Substack has raised $100 million in a new funding round, valuing the company at $1.1 billion. The creator platform plans to use the capital to develop tools and a network that protects users’ independence, amplifies voices, and fosters deep and direct connections. The company is also improving functionalities in its app, which it says has been downloaded by millions.

TOGETHXR and Dear Media are teaming up to launch a “new slate of shows focused on women’s sports, culture, and identity,” the companies announced Thursday. Kicking off the partnership will be the debut of “Unsupervised,” hosted by professional women’s basketball players and friends Sydney Colson and Theresa Plaisance. The first episode is set to drop on July 24.

A group of former Manchester United marketing masterminds, whose jobs were eliminated in the new era led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have formed their own advisory agency, picking up Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur as their first client. Altius8 is led by United’s ex-commercial head, Victoria Timpson, along with several of the team’s leading women responsible for securing commercial shirt deals for ManU, including TeamViewer and SnapDragon. The 20-person firm will support the Spurs’ commercial strategy and sponsorship assets as it seeks to replicate the success they achieved at Old Trafford.