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Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Buy Netflix Stock Before July 17?
Netflix stock has been on fire over the past year, racking up gains of 91%, The company's multipronged strategy is paying off, fueling impressive revenue and profit growth. Netflix's upcoming financial report will mark a key test for the highflier. 10 stocks we like better than Netflix › When it comes to streaming video services, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) requires little introduction. From its humble beginnings mailing DVDs to customers using its signature bright red envelopes, the company has become ubiquitous as the world's largest subscription-based streaming service. Much to the delight of its shareholders, Netflix continues to find new ways to juice its revenue growth and resulting profits, even as it transitions to a more mature company. This innate ability has fueled its stock price, which has surged 614% over the past three years and 91% over the past 12 months. The company faces a key hurdle when Netflix reports its second-quarter results after market close on July 17. Given the stock's blistering run over the past year, should investors lay out their hard-earned money to get in on the action or wait until after this important financial report? Let's dig in to see what the evidence suggests. One of the defining characteristics of Netflix has been management's uncanny ability to find new avenues for growth. In the wake of the pandemic and despite heavy market penetration, Netflix struck gold and reignited its growth with the release of its ad-supported tier in late 2022. Similarly, the company defied detractors with a crackdown on password sharing. By offering users the opportunity to "share" their Netflix account with members outside their household for a nominal fee, the company struck a delicate balance between increasing revenue and alienating viewers. This two-pronged strategy has yielded impressive results. In the first quarter, Netflix generated revenue of $10.5 billion, an increase of 13% year over year, resulting in earnings per share (EPS) of $6.61, which jumped 25%. Management credited higher subscription and ad revenue for fueling the results. Netflix expects its growth streak to accelerate. For the second quarter, the company is guiding for revenue of $11.04 billion and EPS of $7.03, which would represent year-over-year growth of 15% and 44%, respectively. Wall Street is firmly onboard, as analysts' consensus estimates are calling for revenue of $11.04 billion and EPS of $7.06. This isn't simply a pipe dream, either, as evidence suggests the company's "standard with ads" tier is driving robust growth. Earlier this year, Netflix revealed that monthly active users on its ad-supported tier soared to 94 million, representing 135% growth over the past year. The company also noted that the ad-supported tier attracted 55% of new subscribers in the countries where it's available. Perhaps more importantly, the streaming giant said it reaches more 18-to-34-year-olds than any other U.S. broadcast or cable network. Furthermore, those viewers are highly engaged, watching an average of 41 hours of Netflix programming each month. This gives the company an increasing amount of leverage with advertisers and a massive opportunity in terms of future ad revenue. Netflix has a strong slate of programming lined up for the second half of 2025. The company is releasing the latest additions to some of its biggest hits, including Stranger Things, Wednesday, The Sandman, Old Guard 2, and The Witcher. Of special note is Squid Game 3, which was released just last week and shattered the record, with 60.1 million views in the first three days of its release. It's also worth noting that Netflix just forged a partnership with French broadcaster TF1, which will allow viewers to watch TF1 channels, live sports, and on-demand content directly on Netflix. This first-of-its-kind partnership could provide a template for the future of streaming. For investors wanting to capitalize on the ongoing demand for streaming, the future looks ripe with opportunity for the streaming video pioneer. This begs the question: Is it better to buy Netflix stock now, or wait until after the company reports earnings? Those with a long-term investing outlook would be best served by simply buying the stock and resisting the temptation to time the daily machinations of the stock market. To be clear, there's simply no way to know what the quarterly results will actually be or how investors will react on a given day. As such, there's no way to know whether the stock will rise or fall following the company's financial report. The underlying, and perhaps more important question, is whether Netflix stock is a buy -- and the evidence suggests there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Wall Street is also bullish, as 33 of the 50 analysts who offered an opinion in June rate the stock a buy or strong buy, and none recommended selling. Management is equally optimistic. The company has an internal goal of doubling its revenue and tripling its ad revenue by 2030, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. This would put Netflix in rarified company, nearly doubling its market cap to roughly $1 trillion. For context, there are currently only 11 companies with valuations that exceed that yardstick. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the stock's valuation, as Netflix is currently selling for 42 times next year's expected earnings. While that might seem steep, I'd suggest it's a fair price to pay for profit and revenue growth of this caliber. Given the company's track record of success, robust growth, the vast opportunity ahead, and its strong slate of programming, the evidence suggests Netflix stock is a buy. Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Netflix wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $699,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $976,677!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 Danny Vena has positions in Netflix. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy Netflix Stock Before July 17? was originally published by The Motley Fool
The Sun
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Popular Fire TV Stick app filled with free channels and movies is closing down – but some shows are moving to rival
A POPULAR Fire TV Stick app filled with free channels and movies is closing down - but some shows are moving to rival. The move is only a few weeks away from taking place. 1 Amazon Is Closing Down Their Popular App Amazon plans to shut down its stand-alone Freevee app in August, according to an in-app notice to users. The free, ad-supported streaming service is directing viewers to continue watching Freevee content on Prime Video. The notice stated: 'Prime Video is the new exclusive home for Freevee TV shows, movies and Live TV. 'The Freevee app will be accessible until August 2025. Continue watching your favorite Free Originals and our library of hit movies, shows, and live TV on Prime Video for free. "No subscription needed. Download Prime Video to get started and sign-in with your Amazon account.' The Move Was Expected Freevee content was already available through both apps and there had been murmurs earlier this year that the name could be axed after Prime introduced ads. Amazon said in a statement at the time that it had 'Decided to phase out Freevee branding. "There will be no change to the content available for Prime members, and a vast offering of free streaming content will still be accessible for non-Prime members. "Including select Originals from Amazon MGM Studios, a variety of licensed movies and series, and a broad library of FAST Channels — all available on Prime Video.' Instead of operating two separate services, the company is consolidating its streaming efforts around Prime Video. The Freevee App Launched in 2019, the Freevee app is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria. It is the company's free alternative to Prime Video, with classic and original shows including Judy Justice and the reboot of Aussie soap Neighbours. Popular original series also include Emmy-nominated reality comedy show Jury Duty, and crime show Bosch: Legacy. These shows are accessible on Prime Video under the 'Watch for Free' section. The service started out life under the IMDb brand five years ago, before becoming Freevee in April 2022. Although the app and brand is disappearing, the shows and movies are not.
Globe and Mail
25-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Should You Buy, Sell, or Hold Netflix Stock in 2025?
As of June 20, the S&P 500 index has generated a total return of 2% in 2025. After a difficult start to the year, the market has rallied in remarkable fashion to get in positive territory. A fresh all-time high could be achieved in the near future. While the broad index is in the green this year, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has climbed at a much better clip. The streaming stock is up an impressive 38% in 2025. Trade negotiations, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions continue to happen in the background, but seemingly have no effect on this business and its shareholders. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Should you buy, sell, or hold Netflix stock in 2025? Why you should buy and/or hold Netflix stock Netflix is the leader in the streaming arena, having established a powerful position in the global media and entertainment industry. It brought in $10.5 billion in revenue in the first quarter. As of year-end 2024, it had 302 million subscribers. And according to data from Nielsen, 7.5% of all daily TV viewing time in the U.S. went to Netflix. Management never rests on its laurels. It's always appearing to be playing offense. The company is finding new ways to bring on subscribers, whether that means cracking down on those who share passwords, launching a very successful ad-supported tier, or getting into live sports and events. Netflix has tremendous brand strength, and the leadership team thinks there are hundreds of millions of people who can still become members. Investors should buy this stock today is if they believe Netflix will keep generating strong financial results -- and that's not a reach. According to Wall Street consensus analyst estimates, the company's revenue and earnings per share (EPS) are projected to increase at compound annual rates of 12.3% and 23.4%, respectively, between 2024 and 2027. The same reasoning applies to existing shareholders, particularly those sitting on huge gains thanks to their Netflix positions. If you have conviction that the business will continue to perform well over the next five years and beyond, then there is no reason to sell the stock. But that's if you don't believe the current valuation is a stretch (more on this below). A richer valuation doesn't automatically mean it's time to dump your holding, especially if the company is in tremendous shape. Why it's time to sell The case to sell Netflix stock also makes complete sense. I see nothing wrong with shareholders taking some profits off the table. This might mean it's time to lower the position size Netflix commands in your portfolio to something that's a bit more comfortable. That's an even smarter move if there are other, more attractive opportunities to allocate capital to. Another obvious reason to sell is the valuation. Netflix trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 58.2 right now. That's a 147% premium to the S&P 500 index. To be clear, this is an elite business we're dealing with here. But it's a stretch in my mind to think that it commands that type of elevated valuation. There's a much greater likelihood that the P/E multiple will be much lower five years from now than that it will stay the same or go higher. The market has kept rewarding Netflix with each impressive quarterly financial report, even though the valuation has looked steep. I just think there is absolutely no margin of safety left, and it might be time to switch gears. Unsurprisingly, I personally would not be a buyer of Netflix stock at the current valuation. Between holding and selling, I lean toward the latter. For those who care less about valuation and more about owning a top-notch enterprise, I can understand why they would have a different perspective. Should you invest $1,000 in Netflix right now? Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Netflix wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $676,023!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $883,692!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is793% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to173%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025
Forbes
21-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
As Shares Skyrocket, Will Creator Deals Drive Netflix's Next Growth Run?
(Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images) Netflix has been on an epic stock market run the past year, share prices up 81% to nestle comfortably above $1,200 apiece as it reaps the rewards of definitively winning the Streaming Wars of the past several years, with analysts setting target prices as high as $1,600. Give credit to management's willingness to pivot, after a disastrous Q1 earnings call three years ago, into ad-supported tiers, a password crackdown, videogame and live events/venues initiatives, and investments in local productions in 50 centers around the world. It's paid off massively for the company and its investors. This week saw Pivotal Research set a Street-high target price of $1,600 for Netflix shares. Netflix shares have skyrocketed the past 12 months, to north of $1,200 a piece But where does the streaming giant go from here if it wants to keep driving growth? The ad tier is launched, and growing slowly, but already bringing in higher average revenue per user than Netflix's traditional ad-free offerings. The password crackdown's boost to subscriber growth is likely largely exhausted, though we won't know going forward, because the company stopped r0utinely reporting subscriber adds before the last earnings call. In that call, the company said it added a whopping 13 million subscribers to puff the global total to 301 million, far larger than any competitor. So where to go to grow? Analysts have some thoughts, mostly about the vast collection of wildly diverse talent pumping out episodes on YouTube and other social media, receiving a share of ad revenue and otherwise monetizing their productions with merchandise, sponsorships, live events and other strategies. That approach has paid off massively for Alphabet-owned YouTube. Nielsen's The Gauge estimates more than 12% of total watch time is devoted to YouTube programming. Roku released stats that were even higher, as much as 18% of view time. Wells Fargo analysts released a note earlier in the week setting a $1,500 target price for Netflix, but suggesting it find ways to be a bit more like YouTube. Wells Fargo Sr. Equity Analyst Steven Cahall said Friday in a CNBC interview that YouTube content, which costs YouTube nothing on the front end, is increasingly grabbing view time with young and even middle-aged consumers. And that's exactly the kind of programming Netflix should be adding to its portfolio. 'Some of this very, very high value, professional short-form seems like a natural in-between where it still has a big impact on consumers but it's not quite the really short, mobile-native, user-generated content,' Cahall said. To grab some of that view time back, Netflix should take a page out of its own playbook from about a decade ago, when it cut nine-figure exclusive deals with prominent showrunners in traditional television such as Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, Cahall said. The splashy deals put the industry on notice about Netflix's ambitions to create high-quality premium content that could contend with anything on broadcast or cable. 'The argument here is they can do the same thing," Cahall said. 'They can go find these really large-scale creators who put a lot of content on YouTube, get a lot of views, and make a lot of money, and they can say, 'Hey, come to Netflix, you have the same size audience. We'll pay you money, and you don't have to take a risk on advertising.' Such deals will 'take money,' though nothing like those Rhimes and Murphy deals of a decade ago. More importantly, Cahall said, 'it's not the same risk profile.' The creators bring their own audience, and deep knowledge about how to connect with and nurture that audience, removing most of the risk of partnering with them. Certainly, there are plenty of big, long-time online creators who are producing good-quality content at remarkable velocity. In recent months, I've interviewed or moderated panels with leaders from such long-time venues as Smosh, Dhar Mann Studios, Buzzfeed Studios, and Dhar Mann CEO Sean Atkins, a long-time cable TV veteran, said he gives a few tours a week of the company's extensive production studios in Burbank, Calif., just a couple of miles from the studio lots of Warner Bros., Disney and NBCUniversal. There's an 'oh, sh--' moment on the tour for most of the folks, Atkins said, when they see Dhar Mann's operations are sprawling enough to need the same golf carts to get around the grounds as on the traditional studios. At last week's StreamTV Show conference in Denver, I interviewed Trey Kennedy, an Oklahoma-based comedian who started telling six-second jokes on the long-gone social-video site Vine. Kennedy has long since migrated to TikTok and YouTube for his humor, building an audience big enough that he cut a deal with Hulu for a one-hour comedy special released in January. He has a national comedy tour set for the fall. Also at The StreamTV Show, I interviewed Laura Martin, managing director and sr. internet & media analyst for Needham & Co. To her mind, the 100-plus exhibitors and dozens of niche networks on display at the conference are largely ignored by Wall Street because they're not able to compete at a big enough scale with the two companies that matter most, Amazon and YouTube. Amazon's links between advertising and directly selling those advertised products to its couple of a hundred million or so Prime Video subscribers make it one powerful path for the future of video. And YouTube has married oceans of user-generated content with television's highest-value programming, the NFL, which is available through YouTube TV. 'On the content side, they're sort of blurring the lines, we sort of think that's where the world is going writ large,' Martin said. Wall Street looks at the smaller players and wonders, 'Why aren't you talking about short-form, omni-device and influencers, plus -premium content. There's a real disconnect." Martin said both Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery are stuck in a 'distracted' place. Paramount is trying to negotiated a lawsuit settlement directly with President Donald Trump over alleged 'election interference' for editing a Kamala Harris interview last fall on 60 Minutes. The delays in settling that suit are in danger of putting controlling shareholder Shari Redstone's National Amusements in default before it can complete an $8 billion sale to a group led by David Ellison and Skydance Entertainment. WBD, meanwhile, announced last week that it would go ahead with a widely expected split of the company, putting its legacy cable channels such as CNN, TNT, TBS, and Discovery in one unit, along with most of WBD's $34 billion in debt and a share of the spun-off Studios & Streaming unit. That latter group would include the Max (soon to be renamed HBO Max) streaming service and WBD's production studios for film, TV and games. Shepherding that split to reality will leave WBD leadership distracted for a year, Martin estimated, then will have to wait another year before doing any deals, because of tax-minimization strategies. 'I think it's the wrong strategic move,' Martin said. 'We're not going to be talk about either of those companies for the next two or three years." That leaves a 'competitive set' of serious streaming players of just four: Netflix, Amazon, Alphabet/YouTube, and Disney. 'The question will be if Disney is too small to compete,' Martin said. 'Its (market valuation) is $200 billion, Netflix is $500 billion and the rest are more than $2 trillion.' For Netflix, grabbing more content from YouTube's stable might just be a way to keep driving growth, and perhaps even slightly slowing the YouTube juggernaut, mostly by being a bit more like what YouTube has become.
The Sun
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Free streaming apps to add over 50 films this month – including award-winning stars and huge horror movie series
FREE streaming apps are proving time and time again that you don't need to be spending a fortune on TV subscriptions. Five free ad-supported television (FAST) platforms have added more than 50 films this month, with award-winning stars like Meryl Streep and popular horror movie franchise Resident Evil. 3 Here's a breakdown of all the new movies, and where you can find them: Tubi Tubi, like the other apps in this list, is free because it is supplemented with adverts. The streaming platform launched in the UK last year, after a successful start in the US. It is available on Fire TV and Roku streaming gadgets, Panasonic, Bush and Sharp branded TVs using TiVo operating software and Netgem TV boxes. Movies joining the app this month include: I Know What You Did Last Summer Resident Evil franchise Sleepless in Seattle Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday Redemption (2013) River Wild Southern Comfort Takers (2010) Bad Neighbours Bad Neighbours 2 Cuckoo Employee of the Month Julie & Julia The Dick Van Dyke Show The Munsters Walk of Shame The Devil You Know Halloween Kills Priest (2011) Raw Resurrection (1999) The Mist Remember Me (2010) Wild Mountain Thyme District 9 Elysium Red vs. Blue Fawesome Faesome is home to some of the older classics, but is receiving a selection of newer titles this month, including: Dallas 362 Strong Black Woman Vol 2 The (Dead Mothers) Club Love Sex & Kung Fu Empty Hands Time Under Fire Suspect Device Sheer Pastor Shepherd Love Translated Happy Slapping Chained Alien Paranormal: Dark Intruders and ET Enigmas Three Amigos Going East The Purpose Saint Denis Click Click Rakchham MillersThriller Far Awar Corners of the Earth Kamchatka A Corner of Earth Twas The Night The Bunny Man 3 Pluto TV Pluto TV is another big player in the free streaming world, owned by media giant Paramount. Here's a list of new titles on there this month: Push Revenge For Joy Castle Freak Incoming Very Good Girls Benji What Goes Up Cold Souls Reasonable Doubt The Man Standing Next Upside Down Sunshine Cleaning Look Away Stolen You're throwing away money on Netflix – I found three common mistakes sending your bill soaring but the fixes are easy 3
