Netflix co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings will step down from the company’s board in June, ending a 30-year tenure leading the streaming giant, the exit comes after a failed bid to buy Warner Discovery.

The company said Hastings, 63, has chosen not to stand for re-election so he can focus on philanthropy and other pursuits. His departure comes weeks after Netflix withdrew from the biggest content deal in Hollywoods history.

Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and became chief executive in 1999, serving in the role for 25 years before handing over leadership to co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. Under his leadership, Netflix evolved from a DVD-by-mail service into a dominant force in global streaming, widely credited with reshaping how audiences consume film and television.

“Netflix changed my life in so many ways,” Hastings said in a statement. “A special thanks to Greg and Ted, whose commitment to Netflix’s greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things.”

Netflix said Hastings currently serves on the boards of Bloomberg and artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, as well as several educational non-profit organisations. He is also a major donor to the Democratic Party in the United States.

Shares in Netflix fell more than 9% following news of his planned departure.

Also contributing was that in the current quarter Netflix forecast earnings per share of 78 cents, was less than the 84 cents predicted by Wall Street.

Revenue projections for the current quarter were also soft.

In March, Netflix raised its subscription prices across its plans in the U.S.

 

The announcement came alongside the company’s latest earnings report, which showed strong financial performance. Netflix posted quarterly revenue of US$12.25 billion, up 16.2% from a year earlier, while net income rose nearly 83% to US$5.28 billion. The company attributed the gains to subscriber growth, higher subscription prices and increased advertising revenue.

The results marked Netflix’s first earnings update since it abandoned its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and television assets, including the HBO Max streaming service. The company withdrew after a rival bid led by Paramount offered $31 per share, valuing Warner Bros. Discovery at $81 billion, which its board deemed superior.

Netflix said the potential acquisition would have represented a shift from its long-standing strategy of organic growth. The company’s shares have risen since it exited the bidding process.

Sarandos said Hastings’s decision to step down was unrelated to the failed deal. “Reed was a big champion for that deal,” Sarandos said in an earnings interview. “He championed it with the board.”

“Warner Bros. would have been a nice accelerant for our strategy, but only at the right price,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.

Paramount footed the bill for the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner owed Netflix as a result of accepting Paramount’s offer. The breakup fee helped push Netflix’s earning per share to $1.23 for the first quarter, up 86% from the same quarter a year earlier.

Netflix on Thursday said its mission remains “ambitious and unchanged.” The company also laid out three areas of focus for its business strategy going forward: entertainment value, using technology to bolster its service and improving monetization.

Popular programming during the quarter included new seasons of “Bridgerton” and “One Piece,” the company said.