Analysts fear that the Nextflix acquisition deal with Warner Bros. is dragging the streamer’s stock down as stock value fell this week to a 52-week low.
The streamer updated its offer to buy Warner’s to an $83 billion, all-cash deal, meaning Netflix will have to cut a check for the full $83 billion offer if Warner’s accepts the buyout offer. Netflix withdrew its $4.50 in Netflix stock that had been part of the original offer and is now offering $27.75 in cash for WB.
But analysts feel the dickering to buy WB is putting Netflix in a delicate position as its year-end financials show disappointing 2025 profit margins.
Netflix did end 2025 with a larger subscriber base, with more than 325 million subscribers worldwide, up from the 302 million at the end of 2024. Unfortunately, that was about ten million fewer new subscribers than the streamer had forecast at the start of the year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The mixed year-end report sent Netflix stock down to a 52-week low of $81.93. The previous low was the $82.12 seen in April.
Analyst Pivotal Research Group (PRG) warned that younger people may be less interested in standard TV fare and movies and this may be hampering all traditional entertainment options.
“While engagement rose slightly,” PRG’s Jeff Wlodarczak wrote in his analysis, “we are increasingly concerned that especially GenZ is less interested in long-form content as their time migrates to free social media platforms, which we believe will show up in slower subscriber and ARPU growth. This is exacerbated by the increasing popularity of FAST platforms, as inflation has put pressure on low-income households in particular.”
Wlodarczak added that younger people are more concerned with shortform videos seen on TikTok and Youtube than in longer form entertainment such as the episodic TV shows and movies that Netflix specializes in. This would put the Warner Bros. deal in a negative light for Netflix.
Warner’s announced in October that it was looking to accept the Netflix offer, but a week later, Paramount launched a hostile bid to knock Netflix out of the running. WB, though, ultimately rejected Paramount’s effort.
Since then, Paramount has filed a lawsuit demanding more transparency and attempting to force WB to publish more information about the sale process.
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