Topline
The most valuable pure entertainment company in the world got a little less valuable Monday, as shares of California-based streaming giant Netflix fell following President Donald Trump’s announcement he’d slap a high penalty on films produced abroad.
Netflix’s Spain headquarters. The streaming service had previously been hailed by Wall Street as a … More
Key Facts
Netflix stock fell 4% to $1,113, tracking toward its worst daily loss since April 4.
The slide followed Trump’s Sunday evening proclamation he’d slap a 100% tariff on “any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands,” declaring films produced outside the U.S. are a “National Security threat.”
Also struggling were shares of Disney (-2%), Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-3%), Paramount Global (-2%) and Universal Pictures parent Comcast (-1%), all outpacing the less than 1% loss for the S&P 500 baseline stock index.
Big Number
$20.4 billion. That’s how much market capitalization Netflix lost Monday. That’s almost exactly the same as Warner Bros. Discovery’s $20.5 billion total valuation.
What We Don’t Know: How Trump’s Movie Tariffs Would Work
Unlike goods on which officials collect duties when entering U.S. ports, movies are services with a more complicated tariff structure. “Is it just movies, or also streaming series? Is it visual effects, co-productions, international film financing? There’s a huge degree of uncertainty,” Henning Molfenter, the former head of the German Babelsberg Studio with producer credits on “The Pianist” and “Captain America: Civil War,” told The Hollywood Reporter.
Key Background
Just more than half, or 51%, of Netflix’s 2024 content spending went to content from outside of North America, according to market research firm Ampere Analysis. About 70% of the streamers’ paid subscriptions come from outside the U.S. and Canada. Some of Netflix’s most popular recent programs among American audiences include shows filmed outside the U.S., including the British period series “Bridgerton” and the South Korean “Squid Game.”
Contra
Prior to Trump’s Sunday announcement, Netflix stock was hailed by many as a relative safe haven compared to other stocks in the crosshairs of tariff choppiness. Bank of America analysts’ note following Netflix’s earnings report was titled “Predictable in an unpredictable world.” Through Friday trading, Netflix stock returned 30% in 2025, far outperforming the returns of Facebook parent Meta (2%), Amazon (-13%), Apple (-18%) and Google parent Alphabet (-13%), the other members of the “FAANG” grouping of high-growth technology stocks.
