NEW YORK, December 28, 2025, 18:52 ET — Market closed.
- Netflix shares last closed up 0.9% at $94.47; after-hours trading ended slightly lower.
- U.S. stocks enter the final trading days of 2025 near records, with Fed minutes due Tuesday.
- Investors remain focused on financing and regulatory risk around Netflix’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery studio-and-streaming deal ahead of Netflix’s next earnings update on Jan. 20.
Netflix shares rose 0.9% to $94.47 at Friday’s close, in the last U.S. session before markets shut for the weekend.
The stock’s modest move comes as investors head into the final trading days of 2025 weighing two near-term drivers for big media and tech names: the interest-rate outlook and deal risk tied to Netflix’s planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets.
Major U.S. indexes are near record peaks, with the S&P 500 about 1% from the 7,000 level, in what has been a strong year for stocks.
“Momentum is certainly on the side of the bulls,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management. Reuters
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 9-10 meeting are due Tuesday, and year-end portfolio adjustments can add volatility when light holiday volumes exaggerate price swings, Reuters reported.
Netflix outperformed several media peers in the latest session. Walt Disney shares fell 0.8% and Warner Bros. Discovery slid 1.4%, while Amazon.com was little changed.
Deal-related headlines have kept Netflix in focus since it agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV studios and streaming assets, including HBO and HBO Max, in a transaction valued at about $72 billion in cash and stock, filings and prior reports showed.
Netflix has said the deal would close after Warner’s planned separation of its Global Networks cable unit in the third quarter of 2026.
The company has also started reshaping its takeover financing. In an SEC filing, Netflix said it replaced part of its bridge loan — short-term funding meant to be refinanced — with a more permanent structure.
That included a $5 billion revolving credit facility and two delayed-draw term loans of $10 billion each, which allow the borrower to tap the money later, the filing showed.
Investors are also watching the rival Paramount Skydance bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, which has added uncertainty around the outcome and timing of Netflix’s proposed transaction.
Before Monday’s session, traders will be looking for any fresh signals on rates after the Fed cut its benchmark rate by 75 basis points (0.75 percentage point) over its last three meetings of 2025 to 3.50%-3.75%, and as investors wait for President Donald Trump’s pick for the next Fed chair, Reuters reported.
For Netflix, the next scheduled catalyst is its fourth-quarter report. The company said it plans to post results and its business outlook on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, at about 1:01 p.m. Pacific Time, followed by an earnings interview later that afternoon.
Chart-watchers often use recent highs and lows as signposts for short-term momentum. Netflix traded between $93.27 and $94.68 in Friday’s session and finished near the top of that range.
