New York, February 24, 2026, 06:57 EST — Premarket
- Netflix shares were up about 0.4% in premarket trading after a 3.4% slide on Monday
- Paramount Skydance has submitted a higher offer for Warner Bros Discovery, raising pressure on Netflix’s deal price
- Political noise around Netflix director Susan Rice has kept focus on regulatory risk
Netflix shares edged up about 0.4% to $76.33 in premarket trading on Tuesday, after the stock closed down 3.4% at $76.02 in the prior session. (Investing)
The move comes as investors treat Netflix’s Warner Bros. Discovery gamble as the main driver of the stock, with politics now mixed in. Shares are down about 20% so far this year, a drop that has made deal headlines sting more than usual. (Investopedia)
Paramount Skydance has submitted a higher offer for Warner Bros Discovery in a bid to derail the HBO Max owner’s deal with Netflix, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The revised price was not disclosed, but it improves on Paramount’s initial $30-per-share bid, while Netflix has a signed $27.75-per-share offer for WBD’s studios and streaming assets and can match a superior proposal, the report said. Paramount’s earlier sweeteners included paying a $2.8 billion termination fee owed to Netflix if WBD walks, and “ticking fees” — extra cash that accrues over time if closing is delayed — while WBD shareholders are set to vote on Netflix’s bid on March 20. (Reuters)
The deal fight also drew fresh political glare after U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Netflix should fire director Susan Rice “or pay the consequences,” a post that did not spell out what he meant. (TechCrunch)
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos tried to brush it off on Monday. “This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal,” Sarandos told the BBC’s Today program, adding that the review runs through the U.S. Justice Department and regulators abroad. (Business Insider)
In a transcript filed with the SEC, Sarandos also leaned into the company’s discipline. “Our deal is super-simple — $27.75 cents a share plus the value of Discovery Global,” he said, and argued that finishing the Hart-Scott-Rodino process — the U.S. antitrust notification step — is “turning in the homework” rather than getting approval. He cited Nielsen’s “Gauge” viewing-share report and said Netflix accounts for about 9% of TV viewing, rising to about 10% when combined with HBO. (SEC)
Separate from the merger drama, Netflix is also facing a regulatory shift in Britain. The UK government said on Tuesday that Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ would be brought under rules on content and accessibility similar to those for broadcasters, giving Ofcom powers to investigate and act on breaches. (Reuters)
The stock’s dip on Monday came in a broader selloff tied to tariff and policy uncertainty. The Dow fell about 1.7%, the Nasdaq dropped about 1.1% and the S&P 500 slid about 1.0% after Trump announced higher global tariffs over the weekend, Investopedia reported. (Investopedia)
Still, Netflix’s downside case is mostly deal-shaped. A prolonged bidding war could force Netflix to pay more than investors want, while a tougher regulatory posture — or just a slower timeline — risks turning the transaction into months of dead time for the stock.
Traders will be watching for the next move from WBD’s board and whether Netflix signals it will match Paramount’s higher offer ahead of the March 20 shareholder vote. Beyond that, Netflix is scheduled to report results on April 21, another date that could pull attention back to the core business. (Tradingview)
