Netflix subscribers worldwide

Costco's annual revenue and Netflix's worldwide subscriber count maintained a 0.97 correlation from 2012 to 2023, which seems almost philosophically appropriate: one sells entertainment in bulk, the other sells bulk products as a form of entertainment. Both operate on the membership model, both grew through the same prosperous decade of consumer spending, and both discovered that Americans respond very well to the concept of getting a large quantity of something for a flat fee. The economist notes the parallel. The anthropologist weeps quietly.

Costco revenue grew from roughly $99 billion in 2012 to $238 billion by 2023, while Netflix global subscribers grew from 33 million to over 260 million in the same period. Both companies benefit from the same middle-class consumer spending trends and both operate subscription or membership models that create sticky, recurring revenue. The 2010s were characterized by rising consumer confidence, growing disposable incomes in key demographics, and a shift toward subscription-based consumption — a cultural and economic moment that simultaneously favored warehouse retail and streaming entertainment. The pandemic briefly turbocharged both before each faced its own version of a growth plateau.

The subscription economy created a cohort of businesses that all grew together through the 2010s. Their correlations are a portrait of a business model's golden decade rather than any relationship between bulk toilet paper and prestige television.