New York, Jan 22, 2026, 16:51 (ET) — After-hours
- Netflix shares dropped roughly 2% after hours, weighed down by concerns over the Warner Bros. deal.
- Paramount pushed its hostile offer window for Warner Bros. Discovery out to Feb. 20, ramping up the pressure on Netflix’s cash bid.
- Traders are eyeing the Senate hearing set for next month and the shareholder vote scheduled for April.
Netflix shares dropped 2.2% to $83.54 in after-hours trading Thursday, deepening the decline sparked by its bid for key Warner Bros. Discovery assets and a cautious 2026 outlook.
This stock shift is significant because the Warner deal could instantly reshape Netflix’s cash flow, capital returns, and spending outlook. Investors are weighing the potential boost from acquiring HBO Max and a broader studio catalog against the expenses involved in pulling it off.
The calendar is shifting rapidly. What started as a takeover battle has become a series of deadlines and regulatory checkpoints, each with the potential to move the share price on a daily basis, not just every quarter.
Paramount Skydance pushed back the deadline for its hostile tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery to Feb. 20 on Thursday, holding firm on its $30-a-share bid. The move aims to sway shareholders away from Netflix’s competing offer. A tender offer involves a direct proposal to buy shares from investors at a set price. 1
Washington has entered the fray. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is set to testify in February before a U.S. Senate committee reviewing the proposed Warner deal, Bloomberg reported via Reuters. 2
Netflix and Warner announced Tuesday they’ve shifted their deal to an all-cash structure, maintaining the offer at $27.75 per Warner share. The move is designed to hasten the shareholder vote. “Our revised all-cash agreement will enable an expedited timeline to a stockholder vote and provide greater financial certainty,” Sarandos said. 3
A recent filing revealed that Netflix’s revised merger plan depends on spinning off Warner’s cable-network business into a separate entity, followed by a distribution to Warner shareholders before the deal closes. The filing also showed Netflix raised its senior unsecured bridge term-loan commitments to $42.2 billion from $34 billion to cover the cash portion of the deal. Bridge loans are short-term borrowings used to fund transactions until long-term financing is secured. 4
Netflix topped Wall Street’s revenue and earnings forecasts for the holiday quarter, yet its shares fell as the Warner bidding war stole the spotlight. “Netflix has not shied away from doing what’s right for long-term growth,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. 5
Netflix revealed in its SEC filing that it aims for a 31.5% operating margin by 2026, factoring in around $275 million in acquisition-related costs. The company also expects content amortization—a charge that allocates the cost of shows and films over time—to rise about 10% that year. 6
The downside is straightforward: a drawn-out deal battle could push for a higher bid, delay regulatory approval, or drive up integration and content expenses—tightening margins precisely when Netflix aims to expand advertising and live programming.
The competitive landscape remains fierce. Netflix is ramping up its ad-supported offerings and live events, going head-to-head with streaming giants like Disney and Amazon. Adding Warner assets would bring valuable premium franchises into the mix, potentially tipping the scales in content negotiation and distribution leverage.
Concrete catalysts loom: Paramount’s tender deadline on Feb. 20, an anticipated Senate hearing that same month, and a Warner shareholder vote the firms say could come by April. After that, traders will eye any new SEC filings on the split and look for hints the timeline might shift.
