Let's Get Real About Netflix's Numbers

When people assess the financial health of big companies, it's easy to get lost in numerical minutiae. Let me point out just two numbers for Netflix Inc.: $28 billion and $279 million.

The former is the amount of cash Netflix is obligated to pay in coming years for its streaming video programming, to repay money the company has borrowed, to make lease payments for its offices and more. That sounds like a lot, and it is. Sure, other media and entertainment companies are on the hook for far more money, largely for the expensive endeavor of creating or buying television programming or movies. Walt Disney Co., for example, has committed to spending $92 billion in coming years, mostly to repay debt and from payments it owes sports organizations to televise games.