Netflix (NFLX+2.09%) continues to catch love from the stock market as a strong recession-proof play.
The stock is up over 7% as of midday Tuesday, showing a continued rise and a strong position as investors and analysts see the streaming giant as a bastion of stability amid recession fears and trade wars. The company’s shares are up 19.5% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are down 10.2% and 15.7%, respectively
Last week, Netflix delivered blockbuster first quarter earnings that had experts comparing the company with Big Tech instead of Big Media. Netflix posted nearly $3 billion in profit and a whopping 31.7% operating margin on $10.5 billion in revenue. And the streamer said it expects to hover around 30% profit margins for the rest of the year.
By comparison, Disney’s (DIS+0.20%) stock is down 22.6% year-to-date, while Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD+0.75%) stocks are down 24.9% over that same period. Paramount Global (PARA+0.51%), meanwhile, is up 3.7% on the year.
An analyst report from William Blair said Netflix is “currently not experiencing economic headwinds with stable retention” after its strong quarter. The financial services firm maintained its “outperform” rating for Netflix’s stock. Netflix announced it reaches more than 700 million people.
“Netflix is relatively more insulated from the recent market turmoil because it is not overly exposed to tariffs and will be relatively resilient in any potential future economic downturn,” analysts Ralph Schackart and Jack Brenczewski wrote in the report. “Overall, Netflix remains well positioned to remain a secular streaming winner, in our view, and we believe longer term it will continue to have pricing power.”
Netflix expects its second quarter revenue to be slightly above Wall Street’s expectation at roughly $11 billion. Its 2025 revenue is still expected to be between $43.5 and $44.5 billion.
Other analysts have shared William Blair’s optimism. JPMorgan Chase (JPM-0.63%) analyst Doug Anmuth wrote in a client note published Sunday that “Netflix [is] playing offense, while stock remains defensive.” And Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein called the company “the cleanest story in internet” following its first quarter results.
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