Erste Group Bank Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Netflix

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank decreased their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Netflix in a research report issued on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the Internet television network will post earnings of $3.14 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $3.15. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Netflix’s current full-year earnings is $24.58 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Netflix’s FY2027 earnings at $3.85 EPS.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Netflix had a return on equity of 43.26% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $12.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Netflix from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Netflix from $149.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Netflix from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $125.00 target price on Netflix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Huber Research raised Netflix from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.22.

Netflix Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NFLX stock opened at $102.05 on Thursday. Netflix has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month high of $134.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.67.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other Netflix news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total transaction of $2,273,450.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,166,933.60. The trade was a 18.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cletus R. Willems sold 3,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.67, for a total value of $259,253.12. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,543,023 shares of company stock valued at $141,145,842 over the last ninety days. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,521,322 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $46,183,983,000 after purchasing an additional 142,238 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 837.2% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,380 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $10,443,000 after purchasing an additional 99,496 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1,021.9% during the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd now owns 9,031 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,226 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1,379.8% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 25,512 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after purchasing an additional 23,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1,031.4% during the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 7,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

More Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets are boosting sentiment — Goldman Sachs (new $120 target), Morgan Stanley (raised to $115, overweight) and Oppenheimer (raised to $135, Outperform) have been positive on NFLX, citing profitability and price-hike/ad-revenue tailwinds. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 expectations point to an earnings beat: UBS and other outlets expect results modestly above Netflix’s guidance due to recent price increases and accelerating ad business; that outlook is a near-term catalyst ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Deal risk removed — Netflix walking away from the Warner Bros. Discovery deal has been framed as net positive by analysts (clears acquisition overhang, leaves cash and ad momentum intact), supporting upside case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product & ecosystem moves (e.g., Netflix Playground kids app, sports/dining partnerships) widen engagement and new monetization paths—supporting revenue diversification. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market shows “sawtooth” volatility implying a strong post‑earnings move — this signals bigger price swings after results (direction depends on beat vs. miss). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst notes and features (comparisons with Disney, founder-led company profiles) underscore Netflix’s steady revenue growth vs. peers but offer mixed valuation signals — useful context but not immediately catalytic. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market calendar: multiple outlets flag April 16 (earnings) as the key date — expect elevated newsflow and volatility into the print. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/refund risk in Europe — an Italian court ordered refunds over repeated price hikes; although appeal is possible, the ruling introduces regulatory/consumer-risk uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet nuance: coverage points to roughly $7.4B of stock-option-related obligations that can act like hidden leverage — investors should monitor dilution/financial flexibility implications. Read More.

Netflix Company Profile

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming of films, television series, documentaries and other video content. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, the company began as a DVD-by-mail rental service and introduced streaming video in 2007. Netflix later expanded into producing and distributing original programming, beginning notable original hits in the 2010s, and now operates a content production and distribution ecosystem alongside its licensing activity.

The company’s primary product is its on-demand streaming service, which can be accessed on a wide range of internet-connected devices and delivered through a suite of apps and web platforms.