LIVE
NFLX
Netflix, Inc. · Communication Services
$77.38
-13.38% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. · Communication Services
$26.20
-3.29% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
NFLX
2
WBD
3
Comparison scoreboard
WBD LEADS 3/5AI Score
NFLX 26.9
WBD ✓45.2
1Y Return
NFLX -36.61%
WBD ✓+147.64%
Fwd P/E
NFLX 20.91
WBD ✓-3711.14
Target Up.
NFLX ✓+42.08%
WBD +9.88%
Op. Margin
NFLX ✓32.30%
WBD 8.59%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
NFLX vs WBD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery are both major streaming video companies but in very different financial and strategic positions. Netflix is the profitable, debt-free streaming leader with 260M+ subscribers compounding earnings. WBD is a highly leveraged media conglomerate with excellent content (HBO, Warner Bros.) struggling to execute its streaming strategy while managing $40B+ in merger debt and declining linear TV revenue.
NFLX vs WBD is the profitable, scale-leading global streaming compounder (Netflix) versus the highly leveraged media conglomerate with premium IP but execution and debt challenges (Warner Bros. Discovery) — Netflix is a quality compounder; WBD is a distressed value/recovery bet.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
WBD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. WBD leads on both 1-year return (+147.64%) and forward P/E (-3711.14x vs 20.91x for NFLX), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. NFLX leads on both revenue growth (16.20%) and operating margin (32.30%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for NFLX (+42.08%) than for WBD (+9.88%).
Normalized 1Y performance
NFLX
WBD
Recent returns
NFLX
WBD
Analyst price targets & sentiment
NFLX · 45 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.9/5.0)
Price target range
analyst high$1,514.00
analyst mean$114.15
current price$77.38
+42.1% upside to analyst mean
WBD
Price target range
analyst mean$29.65
current price$26.20
+9.9% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
NFLX may suit investors who:
- →prefer the world's leading streaming company with 260M+ subscribers, growing ARPU, and a nascent advertising revenue layer
- →value Netflix's debt-free balance sheet and increasing free cash flow as content spending matures and subscriber scale monetizes
- →want streaming entertainment exposure with the best subscriber economics and the most comprehensive international presence
- →are comfortable with US subscriber saturation and the arms race with Disney+, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime requiring continued $17B+ content spending
WBD may suit investors who:
- →prefer a distressed media value play with exceptional IP (HBO, DC, Warner Bros., Harry Potter) at depressed valuation due to debt overhang
- →value Max's HBO premium content as genuinely differentiated from Netflix's volume-based originals in producing consistent critically-acclaimed series
- →want potential recovery upside if debt reduction allows WBD to reinvest in streaming — the IP value significantly exceeds current market cap
- →are comfortable with significant operating leverage on debt, linear TV secular decline risk, and the uncertainty of executing streaming growth while servicing merger debt
Performance & AI score
| Metric | NFLX | WBD |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 26.9 | 45.2 |
| AI rank | #2535 | #730 |
| Latest close | $77.38 | $26.20 |
| 1M return | -13.38% | -3.29% |
| 6M return | -18.37% | -7.13% |
| 1Y return | -36.61% | +147.64% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | NFLX | WBD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $6.33K (-36.7%) started 2025-06-18 | $24.79K (+147.9%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $15.57K (+55.7%) started 2021-06-21 | $8.82K (-11.8%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $82.49K (+724.9%) started 2016-06-20 | $10.04K (+0.4%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | NFLX | WBD |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $338.3B | $67.64B |
| Trailing P/E | 25.92 | 93.00 |
| Forward P/E | 20.91 | -3711.14 |
| Price/Sales | 13.15 | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 7.31 | 2.63 |
| Analyst target | $114.15 | $29.65 |
| Target upside | +42.08% | +9.88% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | NFLX | WBD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 16.20% | -1.00% |
| Earnings growth | 86.40% | N/A |
| EPS growth | +86.40% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +55.44% | +49.63% |
| Operating margin | 32.30% | 8.59% |
| Profit margin | 28.52% | -4.67% |
| ROIC proxy | 48.49% | -4.96% |
| Return on equity | 48.49% | -4.96% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | N/A |
| Beta | 1.49 | 1.55 |
| Debt/equity | 53.79 | 96.32 |
| Current ratio | 1.41 | 0.73 |
| Quick ratio | 1.18 | 0.41 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
NFLX max drawdown91.69%
WBD max drawdown21.31%
NFLX max wkly drop89.92%
WBD max wkly drop15.78%
5Y risk snapshot
NFLX max drawdown91.69%
WBD max drawdown78.49%
NFLX max wkly drop89.92%
WBD max wkly drop24.68%
10Y risk snapshot
NFLX max drawdown91.69%
WBD max drawdown91.32%
NFLX max wkly drop89.92%
WBD max wkly drop45.77%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | NFLX | WBD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -36.69% | +147.87% |
| CAGR | -36.73% | +148.19% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.85 | 2.09 | |
| Max drawdown | 91.69% | 21.31% | |
| Max daily drop | 89.81% | 8.01% | |
| Max wkly drop | 89.92% | 15.78% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +55.69% | -11.75% |
| CAGR | +9.27% | -2.47% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.43 | 0.13 | |
| Max drawdown | 91.69% | 78.49% | |
| Max daily drop | 89.81% | 19.04% | |
| Max wkly drop | 89.92% | 24.68% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +724.95% | +0.42% |
| CAGR | +23.51% | +0.04% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.37 | 0.14 | |
| Max drawdown | 91.69% | 91.32% | |
| Max daily drop | 89.81% | 27.45% | |
| Max wkly drop | 89.92% | 45.77% |
Business comparison
| Category | NFLX | WBD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Netflix, Inc. | Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Industry | Entertainment | N/A |
| Core business | Netflix is the world's leading subscription streaming service with 260M+ subscribers globally. Netflix produces original content (Stranger Things, The Crown, Squid Game) and licenses content from studios, delivered to subscribers for a monthly fee. It launched an ad-supported tier and has aggressively addressed password sharing, converting household sharees into paying subscribers. Netflix's scale advantage — spending $17B+ annually on content — creates an original content library that smaller services cannot match. | Warner Bros. Discovery was created from the merger of WarnerMedia (AT&T) and Discovery in 2022. It operates Max streaming (HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery content), Warner Bros. film studios, CNN, HBO, TNT, TBS, the Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, and other linear TV networks. WBD is attempting to create a sustainable streaming business from its Max platform while managing declining linear TV revenue and significant merger debt ($40B+) from the highly leveraged Discovery/WarnerMedia combination. |
| Investor focus | Investors track subscriber count, average revenue per membership (ARM), paid net additions, content spending efficiency, and advertising tier contribution as Netflix grows its ad-supported segment. | Investors track Max subscriber count, streaming ARPU, linear TV revenue decline, free cash flow for debt reduction, and whether Max can achieve profitability before linear TV cash flows deteriorate significantly. |
NFLX strengths
- →Global scale at 260M+ subscribers provides content investment leverage — Netflix can amortize $17B+ content spend across more subscribers than any competitor
- →Password sharing crackdown successfully converted shared accounts to paying accounts — a one-time conversion that added millions of new subscribers
- →Ad-supported tier creates a third monetization layer (subscription + engagement ads) that could generate billions in additional revenue as advertisers compete for premium audiences
WBD strengths
- →Max has exceptional content with HBO (Succession, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us) — among the highest-quality premium content brands in streaming
- →Warner Bros. film studio generates theatrical revenue (Batman, Harry Potter, DC) providing revenue diversification beyond streaming
- →Content library is among the most valuable in media — DC Comics, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones provide multi-decade IP monetization
Risks to watch — NFLX
- →Subscriber growth in the US is near saturation — international markets must provide growth but monetize at lower ARPU
- →Content spending arms race with Disney+, Max, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video requires continuous $17B+ annual content investment
- →Linear TV bundling and password crackdown benefits are one-time events — sustaining above-market subscriber growth after these tailwinds requires continued content excellence
Risks to watch — WBD
- →$40B+ in debt from the Discovery/WarnerMedia merger requires enormous free cash flow generation for debt repayment, constraining content and streaming investment
- →Linear TV decline (CNN, TNT, TBS ratings and advertising) is structurally accelerating — cord-cutting reduces the cash cow that historically funded WBD's content investments
- →Max subscriber growth has lagged Netflix and Disney+ — WBD struggles to compete on streaming investment while simultaneously servicing merger debt
Frequently asked questions
Free public comparison
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Related comparisons
More comparisons
Browse all 1,000 comparisons →