Netflix reported fiscal 2026 third-quarter revenue of $12.87 billion, up 11.9% year over year, with operating income up 34.6% and net income up 43.9%, yet its shares fell as much as 6.7% on Wednesday morning. Barclays and Goldman Sachs cut their price targets and Needham downgraded the stock to Hold, mainly on weaker-than-expected full-year advertising revenue guidance and concerns over U.S. content comparisons. The company repurchased 63.9 million shares for $4.8 billion in the quarter, its largest buyback quarter ever, bringing year-to-date buybacks to $10.8 billion. The article argues the program follows pre-set free cash flow targets rather than signaling valuation, noting buybacks nearly dried up in 2022 when the stock was cheap and surged in mid-2026 as the price fell. Netflix has $22.3 billion of unused authorization, and as of Oct. 21 the stock was 48% below its yearly high, trading at 19 times trailing earnings.
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Original headline: The Truth About Netflix’s Massive Stock Buybacks
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