New York, Jan 7, 2026, 10:52 EST — Regular session
- Netflix down about 0.3% in U.S. morning trade; Warner Bros Discovery up slightly; Paramount Skydance lower
- Warner’s board urged shareholders to reject Paramount’s revised offer and stick with Netflix’s deal
- CFRA cut Netflix to “Hold,” warning the Warner deal could raise debt and drag on for months
Netflix shares slipped on Wednesday after Warner Bros Discovery urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s $30-per-share hostile bid and reaffirmed Netflix’s $27.75-a-share cash-and-stock agreement, valued at about $82.7 billion. Netflix was down 0.3% at $90.42, while Warner rose 0.2% and Paramount Skydance fell 0.5%. Warner said walking away from the Netflix deal would cost about $4.7 billion, and Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters called their offer the “superior proposal,” Reuters reported. 1
The moment matters because the Warner contest has started to trade like a referendum on Netflix’s balance sheet, not its next slate of shows. A rival bidder can change the math fast: Netflix either pays up, waits it out, or risks watching the deal unravel.
Investors are also running that debate into a known catalyst. Netflix reports quarterly results later this month, when it will have to talk about cash use, any knock-on effects on capital returns, and how it plans to navigate a regulatory review that could stretch well beyond one quarter.
CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon cut Netflix to “Hold” from “Buy” and lowered his price target to $100 from $130, citing the risks tied to the Warner pursuit and the chance a bidding war lifts Netflix’s financing costs. Leon wrote that the “overhang” from closing the Warner deal could take “18–24 months,” and said regulators in the United States and Europe could press Netflix to spin off HBO Max as part of any approval process. 2
For now, the tape is reacting to deal headlines. Traders are watching for any sign Paramount returns with a higher offer, and whether Netflix responds in kind. The other pressure point is time: the longer the process runs, the more investors start to discount the upside and focus on what the debt load might look like.
But the risks cut both ways. A drawn-out review, court fights, or a messy breakup could weigh on sentiment even if Netflix holds its price. And if Netflix raises its bid, shareholders may ask what gets sacrificed first — flexibility for content spending, buybacks, or the margin story that has driven the stock.
Next up is earnings. Netflix said it will post fourth-quarter 2025 results on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at about 1:01 p.m. Pacific, followed by a live video interview at 1:45 p.m. Pacific with Sarandos, Peters, CFO Spence Neumann and VP Spencer Wang. Any update on the Warner timeline — and how Netflix plans to fund the deal — is likely to be the first question. 3
