iWorld
Netflix crashes briefly as Stranger Things finale draws global rush
CALIFORNIA: On the night of January 1, 2026, all hell broke loose in Hawkins and the Upside Down (parallel dimension in Stranger Things) when Vecna rose from the ashes. In the real world, Netflix faced its own moment of disruption as viewers across the world rushed to stream the finale of Stranger Things, the platform’s flagship sci-fi drama that has defined its ‘Netflix Originals’ era, causing the servers to crash. The series features an ensemble cast led by Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard and Sadie Sink.
Some users reported difficulty logging in around the time the final episode dropped, with the service displaying an error message accompanied by imagery from Nailed It!. The disruption lasted roughly a minute and was resolved after a few refreshes, according to news reports.
The incident echoed a similar outage during the season five premiere on November 26, when Netflix was unavailable for about five minutes as the first four episodes were released.
Despite the hiccup, Stranger Things continued its blockbuster run. Between December 22 and 28, the final season clocked 34.5 million views globally, its second-best weekly performance. The season debuted in November with 59.6 million views, marking Netflix’s biggest-ever opening week for an English-language title.
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, Stranger Things debuted in 2016 and became a cultural phenomenon, blending 1980s nostalgia with supernatural horror. The series follows a group of teenagers in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, as they confront forces unleashed from the Upside Down.
Ahead of the finale, Ross Duffer reflected on the decade-long journey in a social media post, calling the ending “emotional and cathartic” and thanking audiences for enabling the creators to conclude the story on their own terms.
The finale cements Stranger Things as one of Netflix’s most valuable franchises, even as the streamer grapples with the growing technical pressures of appointment viewing at global scale.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
