How badly did Wall Street misjudge Netflix? Over six months in 2021 and 2022, amid signs of slowing growth, investors dumped the stock en masse, erasing more than $200 billion in market valuation and sparking an industry-wide selloff in streaming companies… only for Netflix to come roaring back.
As it turned out, Netflix was the one company with the scale to emerge stronger, comparatively speaking, from the streaming wars. Paramount is a shell of its former self. Comcast’s Peacock losses hit $3 billion a year, more than triple what the company previously expected. Disney has narrowed its streaming loss to $500 million in its most recent quarter but is carrying tens of billions in debt. Max is finally making money, but Warner Discovery still carries $47.5 billion in debt. Netflix, meanwhile, is growing again and recently raised its outlook for free cash flow to $5 billion for this year.
