Netflix falls on soft Q3 guidance after Q2 revenue miss
Netflix shares trade lower after the company reported second-quarter revenue of $12.56 billion versus $12.59 billion expected and guided third-quarter revenue to $12.86 billion versus $13.01 billion expected.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX ) stock traded lower on Monday as structural headwinds from its second-quarter guidance continued to depress the share price.
The decline comes despite a brief lift last Thursday following disclosures from Pershing Square Capital Management.
The Nasdaq is up 0.14% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.15% and Communication Services is down 0.7%. • Netflix stock is facing resistance.
Why is NFLX stock retreating? Pershing Square Discloses New Position Billionaire investor Bill Ackman re-entered Netflix, acquiring 3.15 million shares.
The new position makes up 4.9% of Pershing Square’s portfolio.
Ackman previously exited Netflix in 2022 with a $400 million loss after purchasing over $1 billion in stock at $400 per share and selling at $225 per share.
Pershing Square stated that “Netflix has since effectively won the streaming wars” and noted the stock’s “current valuation multiple represents a substantial discount.” Read Also: David Tepper Cuts Micron Stake, Exits SanDisk as Appaloosa Goes Big on These Magnificent 7 Stocks in Q2 Second-Quarter Revenue Misses Estimates On July 16, Netflix reported second-quarter revenue of $12.56 billion, missing the Street consensus estimate of $12.59 billion despite rising 13% year-over-year.
UCAN revenue hit $5.43 billion (+10%), EMEA reached $4.03 billion (+14%), LATAM generated $1.58 billion (+21%) and APAC totaled $1.51 billion (+16%).
Earnings per share came in at 80 cents, beating the Street estimate of 79 cents.
View hours grew 2% year-over-year in the first half of 2026.
Live programming accounted for 5% of 2026 content spend and 1% of view hours, while ad-related revenue remains on track to top $3 billion for 2026.
Soft Guidance Triggers Pressure Market sentiment remains tied to conservative forward guidance.
Netflix projects third-quarter revenue of $12.86 billion (12% year-over-year growth), falling below Street estimates of $13.01 billion.
Expected third-quarter earnings of 82 cents per share also lag behind the Street consensus of 84 cents.
Additionally, Netflix narrowed its full-year revenue outlook to $51 billion—$51.40 billion from $50.70 billion—$51.70 billion, compared to the Street estimate of $51.41 billion.
NetFlix Technical Levels to Watch From a trend perspective, Netflix is trying to stabilize in the short term, trading above its 20-day SMA ($73.25) and 50-day SMA ($74.75), but it remains 7.9% below its 100-day SMA ($83.54) and 13.6% below its 200-day SMA ($89.04).
That "short-term bounce inside a longer-term downtrend" setup often creates choppy tape, especially with the 20-day SMA still below the 50-day SMA (a bearish alignment).
Key Resistance: $78.50 Key Support: $71 NFLX Stock Price Activity: Netflix shares were down 2.14% at $76.49 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Pro data.
Read Also: 'Big Short' Investor Steve Eisman Says AI Has an 'Achilles' Heel' — But It's Too Early to Short the Boom Image via Shutterstock