New York, Jan 18, 2026, 11:07 ET — Market closed.
Netflix (NFLX.O) shares slipped 0.1% to close at $88 on Friday, after fluctuating between $87.82 and $88.65. Around 48 million shares traded hands. The stock enters a holiday-shortened week under renewed scrutiny over its Warner Bros Discovery deal, following a Reuters report that U.S. President Donald Trump bought up to $2 million in Netflix and Warner bonds shortly after the companies announced their roughly $83 billion merger.
U.S. stock markets remain closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, shortening the window for investors to adjust positions and shifting most of this week’s price action to Tuesday and later.
Analysts forecast Netflix’s holiday-quarter revenue to climb 16.82% to $11.97 billion, driven by strong originals like the final “Stranger Things” season and Christmas Day NFL games. Visible Alpha estimates net subscriber growth around 10 million, despite Netflix halting subscriber disclosures a year ago. “The earnings will be overshadowed by what Netflix says about the deal,” noted Paolo Pescatore at PP Foresight. The stock has slipped about 6% this year after four straight months down, with nearly a third of analysts cutting price targets since the Warner announcement. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance has tabled a rival $108.4 billion bid for all of Warner Bros Discovery. Reuters reports Netflix is readying a shift from its cash-and-stock proposal to an all-cash offer as regulators in the U.S. and Europe step up scrutiny. Reuters
Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment have signed a multi-year global agreement giving Netflix exclusive streaming rights to Sony’s films for the first 18 months following their theatrical and video-on-demand releases — the key revenue period for studios. After this window, the movies will shift to Disney platforms. The rollout kicks off later this year, with full global availability slated for early 2029. Financial details were not disclosed.
In December, Netflix struck a deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery’s TV and film studios along with its streaming business for roughly $72 billion, pushing the total valuation, including debt, to $82.7 billion. Warner shareholders will get $23.25 per share in cash plus about $4.50 in Netflix stock. Netflix forecasts annual cost savings between $2 billion and $3 billion by the third year post-close. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos called the acquisition a “rare opportunity,” a notable move for a company usually focused on organic growth. Reuters
Last week, Paramount Skydance filed a lawsuit against Warner in Delaware, demanding details on the Netflix deal while announcing plans to nominate directors — a clear escalation of its hostile bid. Paramount insists its all-cash offer is financially stronger and is pushing investors to tender their shares before the current offer, which can be extended, expires on Jan. 21. “If they want Warner Bros bad enough, raise the bid. Money talks,” said Craig Huber, analyst at Huber Research Partners. Reuters
A Form 4 filing revealed that Netflix director Bradford L. Smith exercised stock options and sold shares on Jan. 15, following a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan set up on Feb. 10, 2025. This pre-established schedule is designed to avoid insider-trading claims. The filing also referenced Netflix’s 10-for-1 stock split, which took effect after market close on Nov. 14, 2025.
Netflix’s next move hinges on whether it flags higher costs to lock in Warner or delays the timeline amid regulatory scrutiny over competition. A slip in the outlook, or a bigger-than-anticipated cash demand for the deal, would probably reignite concerns about growth and capital control.
Netflix will release its fourth-quarter results and business outlook on Tuesday, Jan. 20, around 1:01 p.m. Pacific time (4:01 p.m. ET) on its investor relations website. Later, at 1:45 p.m. Pacific, the company’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, along with CFO Spence Neumann and finance chief Spencer Wang, will appear in a live video interview. They’ll field questions from sell-side analysts.
