NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 12:42 ET — Regular session
- Netflix shares rose about 0.4% in midday trade as investors weighed the latest update in its Warner Bros. deal.
- Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to reject Paramount Skydance’s revised hostile bid, keeping Netflix’s offer in play.
- Focus now turns to the target’s board meeting next week and Netflix’s next earnings update in January.
Netflix Inc shares were up 0.4% at $94.19 in midday trading on Wednesday, after moving between $93.21 and $94.19 earlier in the session. Volume topped 10 million shares.
The stock’s direction has become closely tied to deal headlines as Netflix tries to pull off one of the biggest moves in its history: buying major studio and streaming assets from Warner Bros. Discovery.
That matters now because the transaction would reshape Netflix’s scale in film and television production and put fresh pressure on regulators weighing another major step in media consolidation.
Investors are also trying to handicap whether Netflix ends up paying more, or faces delays, if a rival bidder keeps pressing.
Warner Bros. Discovery is likely to reject Paramount Skydance’s amended $108.4 billion hostile bid despite a personal guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison, and the board is expected to meet next week, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Paramount held its $30-per-share all-cash offer but raised its regulatory reverse termination fee — a penalty paid if regulators block a deal — and extended its tender offer, which is a bid to buy shares directly from investors at a set price, Reuters reported. Under Warner’s agreement with Netflix, Warner would pay a $2.8 billion breakup fee if it walks away, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to weigh in as lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about further consolidation.
For Netflix shareholders, a clearer path for the Warner transaction can remove one near-term overhang. The flip side is that a bidding war would raise questions about price discipline, financing costs and execution risk.
Netflix agreed on Dec. 5 to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion in equity value, or $82.7 billion including debt, in a cash-and-stock deal. Warner shareholders would receive $23.25 in cash and about $4.50 in Netflix stock per share, Reuters reported. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors the company has “been known as builders, not buyers.” Reuters
Financing remains a core watchpoint. Reuters reported on Dec. 22 that Netflix refinanced part of a $59 billion bridge loan with a $5 billion revolving credit facility and two delayed-draw term loans of $10 billion each, leaving about $34 billion to be syndicated. Reuters also said the deal is expected to close after Warner spins off its Global Networks unit in the third quarter of 2026.
Bridge loans are typically short-term funding that companies later replace with longer-dated debt. For equity investors, the key issue is whether Netflix can fund the cash portion while keeping flexibility for content spending.
What traders are watching next is straightforward: whether Warner’s board formally rejects the Paramount approach, whether Paramount comes back with a higher offer, and how Washington signals its stance on another large media tie-up.
The next scheduled Netflix catalyst is earnings. Netflix said it will post fourth-quarter 2025 results and its business outlook on Jan. 20, 2026, at about 1:01 p.m. Pacific time.
Investors are expected to use that update to gauge cash generation, any guidance changes, and whether management offers a clearer timetable or risk framing around the Warner transaction.
For now, the market reaction has stayed measured, suggesting investors want a definitive board decision and cleaner visibility on regulatory and financing milestones before repricing Netflix shares more aggressively.
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