NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2026, 11:05 EST — Regular session
- Netflix shares fall in late morning trade after Goldman Sachs cuts its price target
- Paramount keeps up pressure with a rival Warner Bros. bid, keeping deal risk in focus
- Investors look to Netflix’s Jan. 20 results for clearer financing and guidance signals
Netflix stock fell about 2% on Friday after Goldman Sachs lowered its price target, keeping pressure on a share price already down sharply since the last earnings report. Netflix was down $1.84 at $88.70 in late morning trade, after slipping below $90 and touching a session low of $88.33.
The timing matters because the stock has become a proxy for merger risk, not just streaming fundamentals. Paramount Skydance reiterated on Thursday that its $30-per-share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery tops Netflix’s $27.75-a-share cash-and-stock deal for Warner’s studios and streaming assets, and argued the cable-network spinoff embedded in the Netflix structure could be worth “less than nothing.” Paramount’s tender offer expires on Jan. 21, while Warner has said it would owe Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee — a breakup payment — if it walks away. Reuters
Netflix also lagged a broader market that was firmer after data showed U.S. job growth slowed in December, keeping bets on rate cuts alive. Wall Street’s main indexes edged higher after nonfarm payrolls rose 50,000, below forecasts, and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, Reuters reported.
Warner’s board has repeatedly pushed back on Paramount’s approach, calling the debt-heavy structure too risky, while some shareholders have urged it to engage. “At the moment, Paramount has a superior bid,” investor Mario Gabelli told Reuters, adding: “Netflix has to simplify their bid.” Reuters
For Netflix investors, the near-term question is whether management can keep the focus on core growth while the Warner situation stays unresolved. Traders will be listening for updates on advertising momentum, live programming economics and cash generation, alongside any hints on how Netflix would finance and integrate a deal of that size.
But the downside case is not subtle. A higher bid for Warner’s assets could force Netflix to pay up or step aside, and regulators could slow the process or demand asset sales, stretching the timeline and keeping the stock under a cloud.
Netflix has said it will post fourth-quarter results and its outlook on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at about 1:01 p.m. Pacific time, with a live video interview featuring co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and finance executives later that afternoon. That report is the next clear catalyst for the stock.
