TLDR
- Netflix reports Q1 2026 earnings after the bell on Thursday, April 16
- Wall Street expects EPS of $0.79, up 15% year-over-year, and revenue of $12.18 billion, up 15.5%
- Options traders are pricing in a 6.54% move in either direction post-earnings
- Netflix stock is up roughly 10% year-to-date, helped by price hikes and a $2.8 billion Warner Bros. Discovery breakup fee
- 30 of 40 analysts covering NFLX rate it a Buy, with an average price target of $115.09
Netflix heads into its Q1 2026 earnings report on Thursday, April 16, with its stock already up about 10% year-to-date and trading around $102. Results drop after the market closes.
Wall Street is expecting earnings per share of $0.79, which would be a 15% jump from the same period last year. Revenue is forecast at $12.18 billion, up 15.5% year-over-year.
Last quarter, Netflix posted revenue of $12.05 billion, a 17.6% year-on-year increase. But EPS guidance for the following quarter came in below expectations, which tempered some enthusiasm at the time.
This quarter, analysts have largely held their estimates steady over the past 30 days. That kind of stability usually signals they’re not expecting any big surprises.
Netflix enters this report as the first major consumer internet company to post earnings this season. That gives it something of a mood-setting role for the sector.
Investor sentiment in the consumer internet space has been positive lately. Stocks in the group are up an average of 6.3% over the past month. NFLX has outpaced that, gaining 11.8% in the same window.
Analyst Views
Evercore’s Mark Mahaney kept his Buy rating and $115 price target. He expects results to land roughly in line with expectations, backed by a solid content slate and recent price hike benefits.
Mahaney also thinks Netflix could maintain or slightly raise its full-year outlook, pointing to steady subscriber growth and pricing momentum as the key drivers.
Wedbush analyst Alicia Reese also held her Buy rating and lifted her price target to $118 from $115. She pointed to global advertising growth and price increases as factors that could boost profitability through the rest of 2026.
Deutsche Bank’s Bryan Kraft kept a Hold rating, nudging his price target up to $100 from $98. He acknowledged that Netflix dodged risk by walking away from the Warner Bros. Discovery deal and landing a $2.8 billion breakup fee in the process.
Kraft flagged that long-term growth could slow, and that the stock may already be pricing in much of the near-term good news.
Options Market Positioning
Options traders are currently pricing in a 6.54% move in either direction following the earnings release. That’s based on the at-the-money straddle of options closest to expiration after the announcement.
That range puts a potential upside target around $109 and a downside around $95 from current levels, depending on how results land.
Of the 40 analysts covering the stock, 30 rate it a Buy and 10 rate it a Hold. The average price target sits at $115.09, implying roughly 12% upside from where the stock is trading now.
Netflix stock was up 3.02% on Tuesday ahead of the report.
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