Two Downgrades In One Week
If your living room feels more YouTube than Netflix these days, Wall Street is noticing. Netflix just picked up a second ratings cut within a week, as HSBC moved the stock to hold from buy on Tuesday. Analyst Mohammed Khallouf also lowered his target to $76 from $96.
The stock slipped 1.7% Tuesday and is off about 23% for the year. By contrast, the S&P 500 has gained nearly 14% in 2026. Part of the slump traces back to July, when Netflix guided investors to another quarter where sales growth would slow relative to the prior period.
Why HSBC Turned Cautious
Khallouf flagged the growing pull of Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube on the biggest screen in the house, writing that "YouTube has been rapidly expanding its living-room footprint," and that Netflix has felt the hit. He said Netflix's share of US TV time has fallen to "a multi-year low."
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He added that YouTube is benefiting "from a declining reception to NFLX's original content," and that a "near-term recovery in engagement looks unlikely." HSBC's downgrade followed Friday's move by Wells Fargo Securities, where analyst Steven Cahall issued a sell-equivalent rating and argued Netflix "has lacked big original series and it's showing." As he put it, "We see breakout hits as a must for the stock to work again."
What's Next
Investors have been skittish around earnings too. Bloomberg data show the last five Netflix reports were met with negative reactions. The next checkpoint arrives Oct. 20, when the company is slated to release third-quarter results.
Two fresh downgrades, YouTube pressing its advantage, and a tougher reception to originals all feed into one simple question for your portfolio - does engagement recover soon enough to change the story, or does the stock keep lagging the market?
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