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Wall Street Lunch: Netflix Launches All-Cash Takeover Of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming
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Netflix makes all-cash bid for Warner studious and streaming. (0:14) Intel rallies after HSBC and Seaport upgrade ahead of earnings. (1:42) Gold prices surge past $4,700 as investors seek safety. (2:55)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast:
Our top story so far, Netflix (NFLX) is moving to further cement its acquisition of “Casablanca,” Batman, Middle Earth and, of course, The Animaniacs.
The streaming giant pulled the trigger on an all-cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) streaming and studio units at $27.75 per share.
Warner said it will hold a special meeting of shareholders to vote on the deal before April. The company highlighted that the all-cash transaction provides enhanced certainty around the value WBD stockholders will receive at closing, eliminating market-based variability.
Warner CEO David Zaslav said: “By coming together with Netflix, we will combine the stories Warner Bros. has told that have captured the world’s attention for more than a century.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the revised all-cash agreement will enable an expedited timeline to a stockholder vote and provide greater financial certainty, plus value from the planned separation of Discovery Global.
“The acquisition will also significantly expand U.S. production capacity and investment in original programming, driving job creation and long-term industry growth,” he added.
But analysts say an all-cash deal will be a drag on Netflix EPS, even if it helps avoid meaningful ownership dilution. There are also concerns the offer could bring incremental downside, “as increased upfront financing needs could pressure Netflix’s debt profile and reduce anticipated deal synergies.”
Netflix increased its borrowing capacity to $42.2B from $34B with Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas and HSBC to fund its revised offer. The company reports earnings post market today.
Among active stocks, Intel (INTC) is rallying after HSBC and Seaport Research upgraded the stock ahead of earnings.
HSBC analyst Frank Lee, who boosted the stock to Hold from Reduce, says: “We now turn more positive as we expect the traditional servers (DCAI) to get back on a growth trajectory. We expect there is an overwhelmingly increasing demand for server CPUs driven by rising agentic AI.”
Seaport analyst Jay Goldberg echoed Lee’s thoughts, upgrading Intel to Buy from Neutral, “on the back of strong signals for their PC products and an improving outlook for Intel Foundry.”
3M (MMM) issued 2026 earnings forecast that narrowly missed Wall Street expectations, highlighting the difficulty of sustaining its turnaround amid uneven economic conditions.
An EPS midpoint guide of $8.60, just a penny below consensus, suggests momentum may be moderating for CEO Bill Brown’s overhaul of the company, which has focused on boosting efficiency across its industrial footprint and reinvigorating product development.
And KeyCorp (KEY) is sliding on concerns about cautious guidance. The bank expects 2026 net interest income (taxable equivalent) to rise 8%–10% from 2025’s $4.67B, implying a midpoint of $5.09B vs. the Visible Alpha consensus of $5.07B.
In today’s trading, Gold prices surged past $4,700/oz for the first time, as precious metals rallied in response to a weaker dollar and rising fears of renewed trade tensions over Greenland.
A mix of geopolitical uncertainty and worries over the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve has spooked investors, driving flows into precious metals even after last year’s exceptionally strong performance, ING analysts said.
“Investors are favoring gold and silver over currencies and government bonds amid rising U.S. debt levels and heightened policy unpredictability,” ING said in a note.
Analyst Dan Ives said: “Being here at Davos this week on the ground…the tariff scuffle is clearly an overhang on the conference as Trump gets here tomorrow to speak to tech leaders and various world leaders. Our view is just like over the last year: the bark will be worse than the bite on this issue and tariff threats, as negotiations take place and tensions ultimately calm down between Trump and EU leaders.”
And in other news of note, OpenAI (OPENAI) appears to be on track to show off its highly anticipated artificial-intelligence-focused device later this year.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, discussed the timeline with Axios, noting that the device is one of the company’s big attractions for this year.
Though not much is known about the product, Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previewed the device in May with employees. One of the products OpenAI has spoken with manufacturing partners about resembles a smart speaker without a display. Other form factors under consideration include glasses, a digital voice recorder, and a wearable pin.
Lehane also told Axios he would have more to say on the matter “much later in the year,” and that the company is looking at something in the latter part of 2026.
