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Netflix approves $25 billion buyback after scrapping Warner Bros bid

The streaming giant redirects capital freed by its failed acquisition bid, with shares down over 10 per cent since its latest earnings

Netflix buyback

The company ended Q1 with $12.3 billion in cash, partly because buybacks were paused during the Warner Bros process

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Highlights

  • Netflix board approved a $25bn share repurchase on 22 April, with no expiry date.
  • The move follows Netflix abandoning its $83bn bid for Warner Bros' streaming and studio assets.
  • Netflix stock has fallen more than 10 per cent since weak Q2 guidance, closing at $93.24 on 22 April.
Netflix has approved a $25 billion share buyback programme, using capital it had kept aside for its failed bid to buy Warner Bros.
The board gave the green light on 22 April, with the decision disclosed in an SEC filing the next day.
There is no expiry date on the programme. It comes on top of an existing December 2024 buyback that still had $6.8 billion left as of 31 March.

Earlier this year, Netflix pulled out of an $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros' streaming and studio assets after Paramount Skydance made a rival bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount then paid Netflix a $2.8 billion exit fee.

Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters had already said the company would restart share buybacks once the deal was off.

Netflix shares have had a rough ride. They hit an all-time high of $134.12 in June 2025, then fell more than 40 per cent when the Warner Bros deal was announced.


The stock climbed back to $107.79 on 16 April after the deal collapsed, but has since dropped more than 10 per cent following weaker-than-expected Q2 guidance in its latest earnings. Netflix closed at $93.24 on 22 April.

The company ended Q1 with $12.3 billion in cash, partly because buybacks were paused during the Warner Bros process.

"Our capital allocation approach is unchanged," the company said in its Q1 shareholder letter, adding that returning cash to shareholders through repurchases remains a key priority after reinvesting in the business.

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5 key reasons from Knight Franks' wealth report on why the UK is losing its billionaires

  • Global ultra-wealthy population jumps over 300 per cent since 2021
  • UK billionaire count drops to 156, biggest fall in 37 years
  • Policy shifts, mobility and weaker investment appeal drive the change

A fresh global wealth snapshot shows just how sharply fortunes are rising. The number of individuals worth at least $30m (£22m) has surged from 162,191 in 2021 to 713,626 now, an increase of more than 300 per cent, according to analysis by Knight Frank. The billionaire population, currently at 3,110, is projected to grow by 25 per cent to 3,915 by 2031.

This rapid expansion is being fuelled largely by technology-led wealth creation. As Liam Bailey of Knight Frank reportedly said in a news report, the ability to scale businesses faster, particularly in sectors like artificial intelligence, is accelerating how quickly large fortunes are built.

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