New York, Feb 19, 2026, 15:51 (EST) — Regular session
Netflix, Inc. slipped 1.6% to $76.73 Thursday afternoon, with the stock under pressure after new deal headlines linked to its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming arm. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and rival bidder Paramount Skydance were both lower as well.
Netflix is in position to lift its $27.75-per-share bid if Paramount Skydance bumps up its own offer, according to two people familiar with the situation. Paramount is pitching $30 a share for the entire company, while Warner’s board has locked in a Feb. 23 cutoff for a “best and final” offer. Netflix, for now, retains matching rights—the ability to meet any rival bid. “Price will likely be the deciding factor,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Reuters
Regulatory pressure isn’t easing up. According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Justice Department has quietly discussed with major theater operators whether a possible Warner sale might limit film releases in cinemas—a longstanding worry with the shift toward streaming-first strategies. Both Warner Bros. Discovery and the DOJ declined to comment right away, Reuters said.
Warner has scheduled a special shareholder meeting for March 20 to put the Netflix merger to a vote, with Netflix giving a limited waiver for Paramount Skydance discussions up to Feb. 23. CEO David Zaslav stated the board wants “an actionable, binding proposal.” Board chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. called the Netflix agreement a “clear path” to regulatory approval. PR Newswire
This week, Warner turned down Paramount’s latest $30-per-share bid, telling them it still hadn’t decided if the offer could actually top Netflix’s. “Time is running out for Paramount,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. Warner signaled it’s looking for offers above $31 per share, saying its planned Discovery Global cable spinoff could be worth anywhere from $1.33 to $6.86 per share. Reuters
Netflix has filed Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger antitrust paperwork alongside Warner, according to a filing, and they’re now in talks with competition regulators: the DOJ, state attorneys general, the European Commission, and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority all included. The company called the deal “a largely vertical merger”—in other words, a tie-up of complementary businesses, not direct competitors—and took the position that Paramount’s offer would likely raise bigger regulatory hurdles. SEC
The bidding battle might not come cheap. Should Paramount push for a steeper price, Netflix could face pressure to justify to investors the value of expanding its studio-and-streaming presence—especially with regulators and theaters already eyeing the broader fallout.
The next thing traders are eyeing: will Paramount show up with a new bid by the Feb. 23 deadline? Then there’s the question of a possible response from Netflix before Warner’s shareholder vote on March 20. On top of that, attention is on whether the DOJ shifts from behind-the-scenes questions to launching a formal review.
