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Netflix Slides on Cautious Outlook as Morgan Stanley Reiterates Buy

Weak near-term guidance versus a sturdier long-term plan is now driving the debate over the stock.

Overview

  • Shares fell after the report, with the stock below $100, as Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating with a $115 target and called the drop a timing issue tied to price hikes.
  • Netflix beat expectations with $12.25 billion in revenue, up 16% year over year, and earnings of $1.23 per share.
  • Part of the quarter’s profit was a one-time $2.8 billion termination fee linked to a scrapped Warner Bros. Discovery transaction.
  • Management guided a lower second-quarter operating margin near 32.6% because content costs are being expensed faster, and its 2026 revenue and margin midpoints came in under Wall Street forecasts.
  • The company reaffirmed 2026 growth and margin goals and raised free cash flow guidance to $12.5 billion, while co-founder Reed Hastings plans to leave the board in June.