The first-quarter 2026 earnings season is kicking off this week and, as usual, Netflix (NFLX) will be among the first tech names to report on April 16. NFLX stock is up 10% so far this year and outperforming the average S&P 500 Index ($SPX) peer. These gains could be attributable to the company’s decision to walk away from acquiring Warner Bros. Disovery (WBD) assets — a costly proposal that Netflix had failed to sell to markets.
While tech peers have whipsawed this year amid worries over Middle East tensions, NFLX stock has been relatively stable. In fact, it had the potential to outperform amid the Iran war. Indeed, NFLX stock has fared better than the broader markets over this period, although not to the extent that I had previously expected. Ahead of Q1 earnings, however, Netlfix stock looks like a buy. Let’s take a closer look.
Analysts expect Netflix to report revenue of $12.17 billion in the March quarter, a year-over-year (YOY) increase of more than 15%. These estimates are in line with guidance that the company provided earlier this year while releasing Q4 2025 earnings. Analysts are also modelling for EPS of 76 cents, which is similar to the company’s guidance.
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Notably, Netflix raised prices across its streaming plans late last month. However, the price hikes will start reflecting in the company’s revenues in the coming quarters as existing members renew their subscriptions. Netflix had last raised prices in January 2025, but the hike did not lead to much churn, and the company added 23 million subscribers last year. While that number is below the stellar growth Netflix saw in the preceding two years, that growth came on the back of the company’s password-sharing crackdown and the launch of the low-priced ad-supported tier. With that said, both stories have largely played out, even though Netflix has yet to launch its ad-supported tier in several regions.
Netflix has a decent moat in an otherwise crowded streaming industry, and the company has capitalized on that advantage to raise prices….
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