New York, February 13, 2026, 07:25 EST — Premarket
Netflix stock was trading at $75.86 before the bell on Friday, following a 4.7% drop in the previous session. The latest jolt? A fresh boardroom angle in its potential Warner Bros Discovery deal. Paramount Skydance has spoken with Matthew Halbower—he’s the founder of hedge fund Pentwater Capital Management—about possibly seeking a Warner board seat to challenge the merger plans. Pentwater owns roughly 50 million Warner shares. “I want the board of Warner Bros to exercise their fiduciary duties and negotiate with Paramount,” Halbower told Reuters, but added that neither he nor Paramount had reached a final decision. 1
Netflix shareholders now have bigger worries than just if the streamer is eyeing Warner’s assets. The real questions: how drawn out will this battle get, how much cash will be on the line, and will Netflix shell out even more just to hold the agreement together?
Proxy fights can drag out for months, with each new filing able to jolt the market. Paramount has been offering up some deal sweeteners: a “ticking fee” for buyers if closing is pushed back, and a breakup fee if the other side backs out — essentially, it’s a cost for waiting and for uncertainty.
Stocks took a rough turn Thursday. The Nasdaq slid roughly 2%, pressured by a deepening tech selloff as AI-driven disruption kept nerves on edge. “We see this as a ‘prove it’ year for AI,” said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone Funds. 2
Chasing Warner has tightened Netflix’s belt on cash. Last month, executives said buybacks would be put on hold, freeing up money for the Warner play. Since the bid surfaced in early December, Reuters reported Netflix shares have dropped roughly 20%. 3
U.S. stock index futures barely budged early Friday, with investors holding off ahead of inflation numbers that might shake up Federal Reserve rate cut bets, according to Reuters. 4
The risk story around Netflix is simple enough—if the bidding war drags out, the calendar stretches, and shares end up stuck moving to the rhythm of deal rumors, not business numbers. A prolonged boardroom fight? That just ups the chance for either camp to adjust their offers again, setting off fresh debates over what the company’s really worth.
Economists polled by Reuters are looking for a 0.3% bump in the January consumer price index, the same as December’s print, while annual inflation is forecast to cool to 2.5%. “Firms tend to raise prices at the beginning of the year,” said Morgan Stanley’s Diego Anzoategui. 5
The Labor Department drops January CPI numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 13—a release known to jolt rate-sensitive growth stocks. Once that’s out, Wall Street will be watching for new statements or filings from Netflix, Paramount, or Warner to see if this board battle is more than posturing. 6
