Netflix Hits 52-Week Low Near $65, Trading About 20x Forward Earnings After Failed Warner Bid

NFLX has fallen to a 52-week low near $65, capping a decline of roughly 41% over the past twelve months and about 26% so far in 2026 . The move accelerated after second-quarter results and leaves the stock trading at a valuation it has not carried in years.

The strategic setback behind much of the derating was the contest for Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix was the front-runner to acquire the business, but investors balked at the price and at the integration risk, and Paramount Skydance ultimately outbid it. Netflix did not walk away empty-handed: it collected a termination fee of roughly $2.8 billion, a meaningful cash inflow, though one the market clearly regarded as poor compensation for losing the strategic prize.

On valuation the stock now changes hands at roughly 19 to 20 times forward earnings, well below its five-year average near 36 times. That compression has happened alongside operating margins in the low thirties and a growing advertising tier, which is the crux of the disagreement: bulls argue the multiple now embeds a permanent growth slowdown that the financials do not yet show, while bears point to decelerating revenue growth as the reason the rerating is justified rather than excessive.

The items that could settle the argument are advertising revenue disclosure, subscriber and engagement trends in the largest markets, and whether content spending can be held flat while the ad business scales. Investors may also want to watch how management redeploys the termination fee, since capital allocation choices from here will signal how the company intends to compete without a transformational acquisition.

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