All eyes are on Netflix, which is set to report fourth-quarter earnings after Tuesday’s closing bell.
In the ongoing saga over whether Netflix will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the streaming giant is now offering to pay all cash for the deal, revising a previous bid that included a mix of stock with cash, according to a filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On Tuesday, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the amended agreement, which simplifies the deal for investors who no longer have to worry about Netflix’s fluctuating stock price.
The news comes as Netflix continues to stave off a hostile takeover bid from rival Skydance-owned Paramount, led by chief executive David Ellison, who has tried to blow up the deal. The acquisition deal would include Warner Bros. Discovery’s movie studio, along with HBO and HBO Max, a natural fit for Netflix. (Paramount had been offering an all-cash deal.)
The saga started about six weeks ago in early December, when Netflix initially offered to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $27.75 per WBD share ($23.25 per share in cash, $4.50 in Netflix stock) which comes out to about $72 billion stock, totaling $82.7 billion in enterprise value.
Warner has repeatedly rebuffed Paramount’s offer. “The WBD Board continues to support and unanimously recommend our transaction, and we are confident that it will deliver the best outcome for stockholders, consumers, creators and the broader entertainment community,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said in a statement.
The large scope of the mega-merger “would reshape the entertainment industry,” according to CNN. And the back-and-forth developments have had both Wall Street and investors closely watching their share prices.
Netflix (NDLX) was trading up nearly 1%, while Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) was up 0.58% to $28.74 midday on Tuesday, at the time of this writing.
Analysts are expecting Netflix will report a solid fourth quarter, with the success of new seasons of shows like Stranger Things, but investors are concerned about the high price tag for the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, which would incur debt, per Yahoo Finance.
The company has had a string of solid quarters, but missed estimates in the third-quarter of 2025, and Netflix stock price has decreased 30% since October, when rumors of the Warner Bros. Discovery deal first surfaced, CNBC reported. The financial news channel also said Wall Street has focused on Netflix’s ad revenue and whether price hikes are impacting subscriber numbers. Analysts polled by LSEG expect earnings per share to come in at 55 cents, with revenue of around $11.97 billion.