Netflix Faces Sell Downgrade as Disney Gains Revenue Momentum Over Comcast

Wells Fargo became the first major sell-side firm to downgrade NFLX to a sell-equivalent, rating it underweight and lowering its price target to $57 from $80 . The bank pointed to an engagement slowdown, estimating that hours per subscriber in the second half of the year will fall 4% and that viewing hours for the Top 100 Netflix Originals will decline 21% . HSBC followed this week, cutting its rating to hold and lowering its target from $96 to $76, citing YouTube's market-share gains and the disappointing performance of Netflix Originals .

The calls land with the stock down 23% year to date, putting Netflix on track for its first losing year in an up year for the S&P 500 since 2014 . Nielsen data show YouTube leading U.S. streaming video time with a 14.2% share, up 80 basis points from a year ago, while Netflix sits second at 7.8%, down 100 basis points . The broader analyst community remains more constructive: 51 analysts polled by S&P Global carry a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $92.93, according to stockanalysis.com.

Elsewhere in media, DIS posted 7% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 2026, driven by strong theme park performance . CMCSA still has higher absolute revenue, but its revenue has contracted modestly because of business divestitures, so the gap between the two is narrowing .

What to watch: whether other sell-side firms follow Wells Fargo and HSBC, Netflix engagement and download data heading into its next earnings report, and whether Disney's theme park momentum holds in coming quarters.