NFLX beats Q4 estimates, but rising content costs and a $6B cash flow outlook for 2026 raise fresh questions for investors.
Paramount Skydance's latest offer threatens to upend an existing deal with Netflix.
Warner Bros. Discovery logged lower revenue in the fourth quarter, driven by declines across each of its segments, as it remains in the middle of a high-stakes bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance.
Netflix trades at an attractive valuation after a sharp pullback. Original content, a 98% retention rate, and a robust advertising business underpin NFLX's growth, making a possible Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition unnecessary. NFLX is still expected to grow revenue and earnings at strong double-digit rates over the long term.
After reaching an all-time high of $134.12 in June 2025, Netflix is now trading around $78.00 per share, which is equivalent to a drawdown in excess of 40%. Meanwhile, the underlying business continues to deliver solid financial performance, with top-line growth expected at around 13% in fiscal 2026 at the midpoint of the guidance range. This will also be accompanied by significant operating leverage, meaning that I expect operating income and free cash flows to continue to grow much faster than revenues.
Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers believe Netflix's programming skews to the left and aren't looking to give it more market power.
Earlier this week President Trump demanded that Netflix remove former Obama and Biden official Susan Rice from its board of directors. In Trump's words on Truth Social, “Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences.
Your move, Netflix. A day after Warner Bros. Discovery stunned the industry and the business world by extending merger talks with Paramount, Netflix shares jumped 6% as of the final minutes of Wednesday trading.
In the latest development to the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, Paramount Skydance has submitted its best-and-final offer at $31 per share, all-cash, for 100% of the company. WBD's preliminary response is that the amended PSKY offer could "reasonably" emerge as a "Company Superior Proposal" against the current merger agreement with Netflix, Inc. Confirmation on this front would trigger a four-business-day window for Netflix to "match-or-walk," setting up the most consequential catalyst since the deal was announced in December.
As events are leaning toward David Ellison and Paramount prevailing in its $108 billion hostile-takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, almost a dozen Republican state attorneys general are insisting that the federal government heavily scrutinize Netflix's bid for the iconic studio.
Netflix is oversold after a 30% decline, presenting a long-term buying opportunity despite Warner Bros. acquisition uncertainty. NFLX maintains robust fundamentals: 325M subscribers, double-digit growth, 29.5% margins, and a strong $9B liquidity position versus $13.5B debt. Build-A-Bear Workshop offers upside with record sales, double-digit EPS growth, aggressive store expansion, and a debt-free balance sheet supporting dividends and buybacks.
The podcasts in the streamer's debut crop, including “The Pete Davidson Show,” have revived metaphysical questions about the definition of the medium.