What is a stock split?
A stock split increases the number of a company's shares without changing shareholders' equity. That is how Investor.gov, the SEC's site for investors, defines it.[S1]
Shareholders' equity is the owners' part of the company on the balance sheet. A split cuts the same company into more, smaller pieces.
Unlike issuing new shares, a split does not dilute existing owners. Each holder keeps the same slice of the company.[S1]
This is Investor.gov's own example. It adds that a dividend per share also falls in proportion to the split.[S1]
Why do companies split their shares?
Investor.gov says companies often split their stock to make each share more affordable to investors.[S1]
The business itself does not change on the day of a split. Equity is the same, and only the share count and the price of each share move.[S1]
A split in the usual direction is sometimes called a "forward" split. That word separates it from a reverse split.
What is a reverse stock split?
A reverse split goes the other way. Each share is converted into a fraction of a share.[S2]
In a one-for-ten reverse split, every ten shares become one. A holder of 10,000 shares ends up with 1,000.[S2]
Investor.gov gives two reasons a company may do one. It may think its trading price is too low to attract buyers. Or it may need to meet an exchange's minimum bid price.[S2]
A reverse split can leave holders with part of a share. In some reverse splits, small holders are "cashed out": they get cash for the fraction instead.[S2]
Investor.gov also notes that prices can swing after a reverse split, and investors may lose money as a result.[S2]
Who decides on a split, and where is it disclosed?
State corporate law and the company's charter and bylaws generally govern a reverse split. They also decide whether shareholders must vote on it.[S2]
A company that reports to the SEC may announce a reverse split on Form 8-K, 10-Q or 10-K. If shareholders vote, a proxy statement (Schedule 14A) may be needed.[S2]
How did Netflix's ten-for-one split work?
Netflix's board approved a ten-for-one forward split, announced on Oct 30, 2025. It was done by amending the company's certificate of incorporation, its founding charter.[S3]
Holders of record at the close of trading on Nov 10, 2025 would get nine more shares per share.[S3]
On Nov 14, 2025, Netflix filed the amendment in Delaware. It took effect at 4:01 p.m. Eastern Time that day.[S4]
The same amendment raised the number of shares Netflix is allowed to issue, from 4,990,000,000 to 49,900,000,000.[S4]
Trading on a split-adjusted basis was expected to start when the market opened on Nov 17, 2025.[S4]
Netflix authorized common shares, before and after the split
From the 8-K filed Nov 14, 2025. Authorized means the most shares the charter allows, not the shares held by investors.
billion shares
Sources
Netflix, Inc.: Form 8-K, Item 5.03, charter amendment effecting the stock split (Nov 14, 2025) [S4]
See the numbers
The Netflix page shows 4,106.3 million (on Sep 30, 2026) shares outstanding, the count after the split.
Why do past per-share numbers change after a split?
After a split, companies restate history so that every year is measured in the same size of share. Netflix's fiscal 2025 10-K says its share and per-share amounts were "retroactively adjusted" for the split.[S5]
Earnings per share (EPS) is net income divided by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding during the year.[S8] Here is Netflix's 2023 diluted EPS in two different 10-Ks:
In the filing · Fiscal 2023 10-K, Note 3, Earnings per Share
Diluted EPS, 2023, as first filed $12.03[S8]
In the filing · Fiscal 2025 10-K, Note 3, Earnings per Share
Diluted EPS, 2023, restated for the split $1.20[S5]
Profit did not change. Only the share count behind each dollar of it did.
Cityfort stock pages follow the company's restated figures. A page's history notes the split, and older per-share numbers are shown on the post-split basis.
What do the exchanges' minimum price rules say?
Nasdaq requires listed shares to keep a minimum bid price of $1.00. A failure means a closing bid below $1.00 for 30 business days in a row.[S6]
The company then usually gets 180 calendar days to fix it. It is back in line after closing at $1.00 or more for at least 10 business days in a row.[S6]
The NYSE's test is an average closing price below $1.00 over 30 trading days in a row. A company then has six months to bring its price back above $1.00.[S7]
If the fix needs a shareholder vote, generally for a reverse split, the NYSE allows until the next annual meeting.[S7]
In January 2025 the SEC approved limits at both exchanges on repeated reverse splits:
- Nasdaq: a company that did a reverse split in the prior year now gets no compliance period if it falls below $1.00 again. Since 2020, Nasdaq has also denied one when reverse splits over two years add up to 250-to-1 or more.[S6]
- NYSE: the same applies after a reverse split in the prior year. It also applies after reverse splits adding up to 200-to-1 or more over two years.[S7]
In those cases the exchange moves straight to its delisting process. These are the rules as the January 2025 orders describe them, and exchanges file further changes with the SEC.[S6][S7]