New York, May 17, 2026, 16:05 (EDT)
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) starts the week with its stock at $87.02, after a quiet move Friday when shares edged up 0.09%. That’s still under the previous week’s close of $87.49. Investors are now watching to see if the company’s ad business can pick up more slack than its latest streaming release. Nasdaq was closed Sunday. The exchange sticks to its regular trading hours, Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
Netflix is using last week’s upfronts to push its ad-supported plan deeper into the business. The streamer told marketers that its ad tier now draws over 250 million global monthly active viewers, and more than 80% of its ad subscribers watch weekly. Netflix plans to roll out the ads plan in 15 additional countries in 2027.
Wall Street is pushing harder after April. Netflix shares dropped over 10% last month after the company gave a weaker forecast and said co-founder Reed Hastings will leave the board in June, Reuters reported. Ross Benes, analyst at EMarketer, said “advertising will play a bigger role” as Netflix moves past its focus on subscriptions. Reuters
Netflix shares are now in the post-split range, a change from when the stock traded above $1,000 last year. The company said in October it would do a 10-for-1 stock split, with split-adjusted trading to start on Nov. 17, 2025. The split increases the number of shares and lowers the price, but does not change Netflix’s total value.
Netflix execs laid out their pitch for ads. Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, said this year is when they become a “formidable one” in advertising and told buyers Netflix is “ready to compete with anyone.” Nicolle Pangis, vice president of advertising, said the Netflix Ads Suite is set up as the “easiest and fastest way” to boost buying, measurement and creative formats. Netflix
Netflix remains a subscription-driven business, and it’s making money. The company reported first-quarter revenue up 16% on the year, with operating income up 18% to $4.0 billion. It kept its full-year 2026 outlook at $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion in revenue and a 31.5% operating margin. Operating margin is the percentage of revenue left after operating costs, showing how much of the growth is profit.
Netflix moved sharply throughout last week, starting with a 2.33% drop on Monday and jumping 2.59% Tuesday, then giving back gains midweek before a slight pickup Friday, according to Investing.com. The main indexes struggled Friday, with the Nasdaq down 1.54%, the S&P 500 lower by 1.24%, and the Dow off 1.07% as inflation concerns returned on crude and Treasury moves, Reuters reported.
Alphabet reported YouTube ad revenue up 11% to $9.883 billion for the first quarter. CEO Sundar Pichai said paid subscriptions across Alphabet hit 350 million, with YouTube and Google One leading growth. Disney, presenting to advertisers during upfront week, said it reaches over 200 million monthly ad-supported viewers and is selling sports, streaming, and data on one platform.
Here’s what to watch this week: traders are looking to see if Netflix’s ad pitch is enough to hold up the shares as markets deal with rates, oil, and crowded streaming ads. Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria told advertisers, “No one else has everything,” ticking off live NFL, events, and returning shows. Netflix
But the risk is ads may not translate directly into new revenue. Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin told Reuters that making more per user is the “biggest key to keeping growth high,” but said some of the ad bump could just be premium subscribers moving to cheaper plans with ads rather than new money coming in. Reuters
Macro risk is back in focus. Reuters said Sunday that investors see a risk of a bond-yield shock, citing 30-year Treasury yields topping 5% and 10-year yields over 4.5%. Kenny Polcari of SlateStone Wealth told Reuters the market was “way ahead of itself.” Higher yields can put the squeeze on growth stocks as investors want bigger returns for holding risk. Reuters
Netflix has leaned on cash returns, announcing another $25 billion in buybacks after it dropped its Warner Bros. bid in April. But just authorizing more share repurchases isn’t likely to end the debate. William Blair’s Ralph Schackart told Reuters after the last results that there was “nothing thesis-changing.” The real question now is if tweaks to the ad pitch can move the conversation. Reuters
