New York, Feb 17, 2026, 11:20 EST — Regular session
- Netflix shares fell about 1% as investors tracked fresh deal headlines around its planned Warner Bros Discovery transaction
- Warner Bros set a March shareholder vote and got a short waiver from Netflix to engage rival bidder Paramount
- Traders are watching for a higher bid and the next steps in antitrust review
Netflix Inc (NFLX) shares fell about 1% to $76.11 on Tuesday, as investors weighed new uncertainty around the company’s agreed deal for Warner Bros Discovery’s studios and streaming business. The stock traded between $75.34 and $77.97 in the session.
The situation matters now because the Warner transaction has become the main near-term swing factor for NFLX. A rival bid can push the price up, stretch the timeline out, or force Netflix to decide whether it still wants the assets at a higher cost.
Warner Bros Discovery said it will hold a special shareholder meeting on March 20 to vote on the Netflix merger and that Netflix granted a limited seven-day waiver allowing WBD to engage with Paramount Skydance through Feb. 23. WBD CEO David Zaslav said the board’s “sole focus” was maximizing value and certainty, while board chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. said it still backs the Netflix deal and pointed to regulatory visibility and downside protections; WBD also said Netflix retains matching rights, meaning it can match a higher offer to keep the deal.
Paramount’s current $30-a-share approach values WBD at about $108.4 billion, while Netflix is offering $27.75 a share, or about $82.7 billion, for WBD’s studio and streaming businesses. PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said “time is running out” for Paramount and that “the ball is in Paramount’s court.” (Reuters)
Netflix, in a statement, called the agreement with WBD fully financed and said it has submitted Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filings — the paperwork that starts a U.S. antitrust review — and is engaged with regulators including the U.S. Justice Department, the European Commission and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority. (Netflix)
But the downside case is easy to sketch. A higher Paramount bid could still raise the floor on price, while regulators can take a harder line as deal terms change and political noise builds.
The broader point for the sector is messy. Streaming scale is expensive, and this kind of bidding window can turn a strategic deal into a moving target for shareholders and courts.
Investors are now watching for any revised Paramount proposal once the waiver window closes on Monday, and for the March 20 shareholder vote on the Netflix deal. (AP News)
