New York, Jan 25, 2026, 10:54 (ET) — Market closed.
Netflix shares closed Friday up 3.1% at $86.12, after fluctuating between $83.35 and $86.30. Investors remain focused on Netflix’s ongoing bid for Warner Bros Discovery. Co-CEO Greg Peters dismissed Paramount Skydance’s competing offer as one that “doesn’t pass the sniff test,” according to the Financial Times. (Reuters)
U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, but Netflix is entering Monday trading as much a deal play as a media stock. The potential Warner merger now dominates the story — hinging on price, financing, and whether regulators choose to intervene.
This matters because the deal now hinges not just on subscriber growth and fresh content. It’s also about Netflix’s ability to maintain a flexible balance sheet while shelling out cash for a studio-heavy acquisition amid a political and regulatory environment increasingly hostile to big mergers.
On Jan. 20, Netflix and Warner announced they’d revised their deal into an all-cash transaction worth $27.75 per Warner share. Warner also filed a preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. SEC. The new arrangement aims to let Warner shareholders cast their votes by April. (Netflix)
Netflix has switched from a combination of cash and its own shares to an all-cash offer, keeping the headline price at $82.7 billion. This move removes stock-market fluctuations from the valuation. “A cash bid strips away uncertainty,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, though he cautioned that the change doesn’t resolve the antitrust concerns. (Reuters)
Netflix reported in its Jan. 20 quarterly shareholder letter that fourth-quarter revenue climbed to $12.051 billion, with diluted earnings per share hitting $0.56 after its 10-for-1 stock split. The company projects full-year 2026 revenue between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion, anticipating advertising revenue to nearly double. Its revenue forecast for the first quarter stands at $12.157 billion.
The deal is already impacting capital returns and funding choices. Netflix halted share buybacks to conserve cash for the Warner acquisition. It secured commitments for a $59 billion bridge loan, which was later upped by $8.2 billion, and disclosed roughly $60 million in costs related to arranging that financing, according to a Reuters report. (Reuters)
Since Netflix rolled out its Warner strategy in early December, the stock has been all over the place. Reuters noted the shares dropped roughly 20% from that time, as investors balanced concerns over deal risks with otherwise strong operational progress. (Reuters)
The drop in share price also stems from a mechanical shift. Netflix completed a 10-for-1 forward stock split in November, set to start trading on a split-adjusted basis on Nov. 17, following board approval in late October, according to a company statement. (Netflix)
Macro forces could still take the lead. The Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting is set for Jan. 27–28, a date that often rattles rate-sensitive growth stocks, even absent fresh company updates. (Federal Reserve)
The biggest risk still lies with the deal itself. According to Reuters, EU antitrust regulators plan to examine the competing Netflix and Paramount bids on a similar schedule. This raises the likelihood of an extended review, approval conditions, or a clearance process that could favor one bidder over the other. (Reuters)
Investors will be eyeing the ticking clock this week as Paramount Skydance pushed back the deadline for its hostile tender offer for Warner to Feb. 20. So far, just 6.8% of Warner’s outstanding shares were tendered by the original cutoff, according to Reuters. (Reuters)
