Should You Buy Netflix Stock Before Jan. 20?

By Bram Berkowitz | January 16, 2026, 1:35 PM

Key Points

Netflix stock has struggled over the past six months.
Investors are now focused on the company's proposed acquisition of certain assets from Warner Bros. Discovery.
The acquisition faces challenges on multiple fronts.
10 stocks we like better than Netflix ›

The streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) will announce earnings results from its fourth quarter of 2025 on Tuesday, Jan. 20, after the market closes. Earnings can be a catalyst if a company produces strong results ahead of Wall Street consensus estimates or announces some kind of strong future financial guidance that is better than the market had expected.

Image source: Netflix.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »

Wall Street consensus estimates are calling for Netflix to report $0.55 earnings per share, which would be 28% higher on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, revenue is projected to increase by 17% year over year to $11.97 billion. Should you buy Netflix before Jan. 20?

Investors are not focused on earnings right now

Coming into this earnings season, I think investors are less focused on earnings and more on Netflix's pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery's (NASDAQ: WBD) film and television studios, including HBO. Netflix has proposed to acquire these assets for an enterprise value of nearly $83 billion. However, the process has been contentious, as Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ: PSKY) has mounted a hostile bid to acquire all of Warner Bros.

While Warner Bros. elected to go with Netflix's offer, Paramount is now suing Warner Bros., and also said it plans to nominate members to the company's board of directors and wage a proxy battle. For the time being, investors will be focused on how all of this drama unfolds. Additionally, Netflix may face challenges obtaining regulatory approval.

I wouldn't recommend that investors buy Netflix for a near-term earnings bump. However, I think longer-term investors should give the stock real consideration as its price has declined by over 28% in the past six months. Netflix remains a leader in the streaming space, and successfully acquiring HBO would likely take it to the next level.

Should you buy stock 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 $474,847!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,146,655!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 958% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of January 16, 2026.

Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Mentioned In This Article

Paramount Skydance Corp

WBD

+0.46%

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc

Latest News