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, though the White House left some daylight on whether the movie tariffs will materialise.
Netflix’s Spain headquarters. The streaming service had previously been hailed by Wall Street as a “predictable” stock amid Trump’s unpredictable tariffs.
Europa Press via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Netflix stock fell 4% to $1,113 at market open Monday, which would have been its worst loss in more than a month.
- 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.”
- But Netflix shares recovered to a 1.9% daily loss by close, trading at $1,134 after White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Associated Press “no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made” but “the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.”
- Also struggling were shares of Disney (down less than 1%), Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-2%), Paramount Global (-2%) and Universal Pictures parent Comcast (down less than 1%).
Big Number
$20.4 billion. That’s how much market capitalization Netflix lost Monday morning. 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.
