NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2026, 07:23 (EST) — Market closed
Paramount Skydance on Thursday reiterated that its $108.4 billion, $30-a-share bid for Warner Bros. Discovery trumped Netflix’s $27.75-a-share cash-and-stock deal for WBD’s studios and streaming assets. Netflix (NFLX.O) shares closed down 1.2% on Friday at $89.46. “But Paramount has a point – fading TV networks aren’t appealing to most investors,” Ross Benes, a senior analyst at eMarketer, said. (Reuters)
That tug-of-war matters for Netflix now because it has pitched the Warner transaction as a cleaner, more certain route to bulk up its content and streaming footprint. A rival bidder can stretch the timetable, raise the risk of changed terms and leave investors guessing about how much debt and execution risk ends up sitting with Netflix.
Netflix agreed in December to buy Warner’s TV and film studios and streaming division for about $72 billion, offering WBD shareholders $23.25 in cash and about $4.50 in Netflix stock per share. Warner plans to spin off its cable networks into a separate company before the deal closes, Reuters reported.
A Form 4 filing showed Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters received 207,420 shares on Jan. 7 as performance-based restricted stock units were deemed earned, with 101,639 shares withheld at $90.65 each to cover taxes. Peters reported holding 227,921 shares after the transactions, the filing said. Performance-based units vest when company targets are met.
On charts, the stock sits near first support around $88.50, with initial resistance near $90.23 — levels traders use as rough markers for where buying or selling may show up. The shares are about 33% below their 52-week high of $134.12 and about 9% above the low of $82.11, and options-implied volatility — a market gauge of expected swings — stood near 46%, according to Barchart. Analysts tracked by Barchart peg fourth-quarter earnings per share at about $0.55. (Barchart)
Investors now wait for Netflix’s quarterly report for signals on cash generation and content spending, and for any detail on how the company plans to fold Warner’s library and HBO Max into its own service. Management’s cost-savings push and any talk of bundling will likely drive the next debate.
Macro can still cut through. U.S. inflation data next week could move bond yields and, with them, rate-sensitive growth stocks like Netflix. Deal headlines have made the stock choppy; that doesn’t look finished.
The risk is the deal itself. Antitrust experts have questioned Netflix’s argument that it needs Warner to compete with YouTube, and said regulators will dig into internal documents and definitions of competition. “That argument ultimately fails,” said Abiel Garcia, an antitrust partner at Kesselman Brantly Stockinger.
The next catalysts are on the calendar: U.S. consumer price index data for December is due on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 8:30 a.m. ET, and Netflix is set to release fourth-quarter results on Tuesday, Jan. 20, after the close, followed by a management Q&A. (Bls)
