New York, February 12, 2026, 11:14 EST — The regular session is now underway.
- Netflix shares dropped in late-morning trading, with ongoing deal uncertainty keeping investors on edge
- Activist investor Ancora announced plans to oppose Warner’s Netflix deal and support a competing bid
- Traders are keeping an eye on tender deadlines, the schedule for shareholder votes, and ongoing antitrust reviews
Netflix Inc (NFLX) shares dipped roughly 5.1% to $75.53 in late-morning trading Thursday, hitting a session low of $75.52. The stock had opened at $79.06, ending the day down $4.09 from Wednesday’s close.
This move highlighted just how tight the market’s grip is on Netflix, leaving little space to push a blockbuster deal amid ongoing uncertainty over price and timing. At this point, the stock behaves more like a bet on whether a merger will happen than a play on streaming growth.
This matters since the next move can quickly shift the calculations: how much cash Netflix ends up shelling out, the wait time involved, and the regulatory scrutiny it faces. It also caps risk appetite for the stock, even when there’s little company news coming out.
Activist investor Ancora Holdings revealed on Wednesday that it has acquired a stake in Warner Bros Discovery and intends to oppose Warner’s deal with Netflix involving its studios and streaming assets. Instead, Ancora is backing Paramount Skydance’s competing bid. According to Ancora, the Netflix-WBD agreement forces shareholders to accept “inferior value” and exposes them to “significant regulatory risk.” Warner, for its part, said it remains focused on maximizing shareholder value. Netflix and Paramount have yet to respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. (Reuters)
Netflix’s sell-off dragged down growth and media stocks. The Nasdaq-focused Invesco QQQ ETF lost roughly 1.1%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF dipped about 0.5%. Disney took a bigger hit, dropping around 5.8%, and Warner Bros Discovery shares slipped about 0.5%.
Paramount has added a “ticking fee” to its hostile bid—extra money that piles up if the deal isn’t closed by year-end. On top of that, it’s willing to pay Warner’s breakup fee to Netflix, the usual penalty meant to protect a buyer if the target pulls out.
Much of the debate now hinges on the deal’s finer details. Netflix’s plan relies on a spinoff that’s still up in the air, and critics have zeroed in on that uncertainty—things like debt distribution, equity value, and the ultimate cash component—to claim shareholders are being asked to take a leap of faith.
Netflix investors face pressure on two fronts: regulatory delays dragging on longer than anticipated, and Paramount ramping up the stakes to push the price. While a higher offer might stabilize the deal, it risks reigniting doubts over returns and financial discipline.
Paramount confirmed this week it’s holding firm on its $30-a-share cash offer for all of Warner, pushing the tender-offer deadline back to March 2. The company also promised to cover Warner’s $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix if Warner decides to exit their deal. Paramount CEO David Ellison described these “additional benefits” as a clear sign of a “strong and unwavering commitment” to delivering “full value,” with Warner and Netflix aiming for a shareholder vote by April. (Apnews)
