New York, June 29, 2026, 17:04 EDT
- Netflix, Inc. NASDAQ:NFLX ended the session little changed. The Nasdaq climbed over 2%.
- The stock ended the day roughly 3% under its intraday top, and is trading just 4% higher than its 52-week low.
- Comcast’s NBCUniversal breakup chatter brought studio M&A back on screens, but cable stocks saw the bid premium.
- Netflix’s Q2 earnings are up next on July 16. That’s the next big test.
Netflix, Inc. NASDAQ:NFLX lagged the tech rally on Monday. Shares finished at $73.78, off 0.04%. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.1% and the S&P 500 rose 1.2%. The spread came as traders looked to media merger chatter, with buyers chasing likely acquisition targets and betting on cable deals, but skipping over Netflix.
| Netflix tape | Monday reading | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| Regular close | $73.78 | Shares flat as Nasdaq gains |
| After-hours quote, 5:01 p.m. EDT | $73.88 | Edges up in late trade |
| Day range | $73.73-$76.07 | Early rally faded back |
| Close vs intraday high | -3.0% | Couldn’t keep M&A boost |
| Close vs 52-week low | +4.1% | Still hovering near support |
| Close vs 52-week high | -45.0% | Premium trimmed hard this year |
| Volume | 42.11 million | Volume at 102% of average |
This is worth noting as Netflix is acting more like an earnings trade than a name following the index bounce. The Nasdaq moved up 2% but Netflix stayed pinned near its low end for the year.
Comcast Corp NASDAQ:CMCSA on Monday said it plans to break up into two public companies, spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky and keeping its connectivity business apart from its media unit, which includes Universal studios, theme parks, NBC, Peacock, and Sky. Reuters said analysts think NBCUniversal could draw takeover interest—Netflix is seen as a possible bidder after losing to Warner Bros Discovery.
Ross Benes, a senior analyst at eMarketer, thinks NBCU will be an M&A target at some point, and says Netflix would probably be interested in the studio. Craig Moffett at MoffettNathanson wrote, “We don’t see a Netflix-for-NBCU deal.” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts pushed back on talk of the split setting up new deals, saying, “Absolutely not.” Reuters
Bids at the cash close are landing around this level:
| Security | Google Finance ticker | Latest price | Monday move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | NASDAQ:NFLX | $73.78 | fell 0.04% |
| Comcast | NASDAQ:CMCSA | $24.22 | rose 4.4% |
| Charter Communications Inc. | NASDAQ:CHTR | $146.17 | jumped 9.4% |
| Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. | NASDAQ:WBD | $27.13 | added 1.4% |
| Paramount Skydance Corp. | NASDAQ:PSKY | $9.82 | up 1.7% |
| Nasdaq Composite | .IXIC | 25,820.14 | gained 2.1% |
Spread is key here. Comcast and Charter made gains on the structure and consolidation angle. Netflix didn’t see a move, even with its name in the mix as a potential buyer as the studio asset chatter returned.
Netflix’s filing sets targets for July. Back in April, it guided to Q2 revenue of $12.574 billion, a 13.5% jump, a 32.6% operating margin, and diluted EPS of $0.78. The company stuck to its 2026 revenue outlook at $50.7 billion-$51.7 billion. Netflix also said ad revenue stays on pace for about $3 billion this year.
| Netflix metric | Q1 2026 actual | Q2 2026 forecast | Market issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.250 billion | $12.574 billion | Year-on-year revenue growth tapers off, from 16.2% last quarter to 13.5% expected next quarter |
| Operating margin | 32.3% | 32.6% | Still falls short of last year’s Q2 margin of 34.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.23 | $0.78 | Q1 EPS figure was boosted by a one-time $2.8 billion payment from Warner Bros. |
| Free cash flow | $5.094 billion | Not given | Q1 cash flow also saw a lift from the Warner Bros. fee |
Bernstein’s Laurent Yoon is seeing recent engagement and subscriber trends continuing to drag through July, TipRanks reported. “While the risk-reward looks tilted higher over the medium and long term at these prices, we see more choppy trading ahead,” Yoon said. He left his Outperform rating and $110 target unchanged. TipRanks
Capital return is helping, but the stock’s been steady. Netflix bought back 13.5 million shares in Q1 for $1.3 billion and told investors it still has $6.8 billion left to deploy under its buyback plan. Shares are trading post-split after Netflix finished a 10-for-1 stock split last November. All per-share numbers have been restated.
Netflix plans to release its Q2 results and business outlook on July 16, around 1:01 p.m. Pacific, the company said. A live video interview with co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, CFO Spence Neumann and VP Spencer Wang is set for 1:45 p.m. Pacific.
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