New York, Feb 24, 2026, 11:51 EST — Regular session
- Netflix shares fell about 3% as a rival bid for Warner Bros. Discovery escalated the takeover fight.
- Paramount Skydance submitted a revised proposal, keeping pressure on Netflix to match or walk.
- Investors are watching for the next filing, the board response at Warner Bros, and the March 20 vote.
Netflix shares were down 3.3% at $76.02 in late morning trading on Tuesday, extending a volatile stretch as investors digested a fresh challenge to the company’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The drop came after Warner Bros said it was weighing a revised offer from Paramount Skydance that would top Paramount’s prior $30-a-share cash proposal for the whole company, a move that keeps Netflix’s $27.75-per-share deal in play but raises the odds Netflix may need to pay more to secure the assets. Under the merger agreement, Netflix would get four days to respond if Warner Bros deems Paramount’s bid “superior,” Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Why it matters now: Warner Bros has already set March 20 for a shareholder vote on the Netflix transaction, compressing the timeline for any counteroffer to land and be judged. The window is narrow, and investor patience is thinner. (Reuters)
Netflix agreed in December to buy Warner Bros’ studios and streaming business in a deal Reuters valued at about $72 billion, a bet on scale and a deeper content library as growth gets harder to buy in streaming. (Reuters)
In a Feb. 20 interview transcript filed with the SEC on Monday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos leaned into the simplicity of the offer, calling it “super-simple” and portraying rival noise as a sideshow. He also said Netflix was “super disciplined” and “willing to walk away and let someone else overpay,” without addressing whether the company would raise its bid. (SEC)
Some analysts have argued the market is drifting toward a number that ends the bidding outright. MoffettNathanson said an offer around $34 a share from Paramount would likely close the debate over valuation and end the fight, according to a Reuters report syndicated by Investing.com. (Investing)
Paramount has tried to make its case with economics, offering to cover a $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner Bros would owe Netflix if it walked away, and adding what it calls a “ticking fee” — extra cash each quarter if the deal drags beyond year-end. (The Guardian)
Politics has crept in, too. U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Netflix “immediately” fire board member Susan Rice or “pay the consequences,” a threat investors read as another layer of uncertainty around an already sensitive regulatory process. (Variety)
Deal mechanics are also part of the tug-of-war: Netflix’s proposal involves Warner Bros spinning off its cable assets into a separate company, while Paramount is bidding for the full package, including the networks. That difference matters for valuation and financing, and it is one reason traders keep gaming out multiple end states. (Business Insider)
A risk scenario sits in plain view. If Netflix raises its offer meaningfully, investors may punish the stock for paying up and for integration risk; if Netflix does not, it could lose the target and still face months of headlines and second-guessing about the strategy.
Warner Bros shares were up 0.6% in the same window, while Paramount Skydance slipped about 1.3%, underscoring that the market is still assigning odds — not certainty — to how this ends.
The next catalyst is whether Warner Bros formally blesses Paramount’s bid as superior — starting Netflix’s four-day clock — and then the March 20 shareholder vote that could either clear the runway or force another turn in the bidding.
