New York, Feb 21, 2026, 13:51 (ET) — The session has ended.
- Netflix ended Friday’s session at $78.67, up 2.2%.
- Paramount Skydance’s “best and final” bid for Warner Bros Discovery comes up against a Feb. 23 deadline, marking the next significant catalyst.
- Paramount noted the U.S. antitrust waiting period for its bid has lapsed, though regulators retain the authority to intervene and potentially block the deal.
Netflix (NFLX.O) closed out Friday on a positive note, as attention shifted to the fast-approaching deadline in the Warner Bros Discovery standoff.
U.S. markets will be closed Saturday, so attention turns to Monday. Paramount Skydance has until Feb. 23 to return with what it calls its “best and final” offer—possibly a higher one. The question also hangs over Netflix: will it need to raise its price to hold onto the deal?
The bidding war is now steering the stock’s moves in the short term. Tweaks to price, deal structure, or regulatory signals—any of those can shift the risk/reward quickly, and when that happens, NFLX is often the first to react.
Netflix finished Friday up 2.17%, ending the session at $78.67. Shares saw a range from $76.40 to $78.85, with trading volume landing at roughly 32.4 million, market data showed.
Netflix has enough cash available to bump up its bid if the situation calls for it, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. Warner, for its part, has given Paramount a deadline—by the end of Monday—for a sweeter offer. “Price is probably the deciding factor here,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Paren Knadjian, partner at Eisner Advisory Group, flagged the board’s worries over how to finance the deal and what hurdles regulators might raise. Reuters
Paramount said Friday the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period for its bid ended Feb. 19, though the Justice Department could still file suit to block the deal. But Netflix chief legal officer David Hyman fired back, accusing Paramount of “continu[ing] to mislead stockholders.” Reuters
Netflix holders are left with a direct call: does Paramount push the figure high enough to trigger a counter, or step back? Any sweeter offer from either could stir up fresh concerns—leverage, drawn-out approvals, and whether the payoff is worth the price tag all come into focus.
Another wrinkle: the bids aren’t apples to apples, muddying any straightforward “win” or “lose” call. Paramount wants the entire company. Netflix? Its proposal zeroes in on Warner’s studios and streaming operations.
Still, the risks are clear. A protracted bidding fight risks flipping the narrative—what once propped up the stock could start weighing it down. Investors may begin to factor in costlier bids, steeper regulatory hurdles, or just a drag of uncertainty with scant real-time business updates.
Here’s what’s locked in: Paramount’s deadline holds through Monday, Feb. 23. Warner Bros Discovery is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year figures on Feb. 26—a checkpoint that might shift sentiment around the target and the ongoing deal battle.
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