- HSBC downgraded Netflix to Hold from Buy and cut its price target 21% to $76 from $96, citing intensifying competition from YouTube and a higher projected content-spending burden.
- YouTube captured a record 14.2% of U.S. TV time in July while Netflix dropped to 7.8%, its lowest share in several years.
- Wells Fargo downgraded Netflix to Underweight with a $57 price target, flagging an 8% decline in viewing time per subscriber per day and a 21% year-over-year drop in hours watched for the platform's top 100 original titles.
- Wells Fargo's base case assumes Netflix's top 100 original hours will fall 21% year over year in H2 2026 as the content slate weakens.
- A potential $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance would create a significantly larger streaming rival.
- Netflix shares have fallen over 19% year to date while the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) gained nearly 21% over the same period.
Quotes
“intensifying competition from YouTube”
“higher projected content-spending burden”
“look worrying”
“YouTube captured a record 14.2% share of U.S. TV time in July”