Netflix Is Perfect Stock as Tariffs Rise

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Apr 17, 9:15AM EDT

Quick Read

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is close to tariff-immune.
That may be why its stock has outperformed, and upcoming earnings could give shares another boost.

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Netflix Is Perfect Stock as Tariffs Rise — © hocus-focus / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX | NFLX Price Prediction) is a streaming business with a rapidly growing advertising business. Each is close to tariff-immune. That may be why its stock is up 14% in the past three months while the S&P 500 is down 11%. Netflix is about to announce earnings, which could give shares another boost.

Why the Stock Is So Attractive Now

Wall Street optimism and a strong revenue forecast.

One analyst described why the stock is so attractive. TD Cowen’s John Blackledge wrote, “Given macro volatility, we view Netflix as arguably the most defensive stock in our coverage universe amid any broader slowdown.” If tariffs trigger a recession, people may give up many things. A Netflix Standard subscription at $17.99 is not likely among them.

The average price target among the 48 analysts who cover Netflix is $1,066. The stock currently trades at $961. Thirty-three rate it as a “strong buy” or a “buy.”

In the most recent quarter, Netflix revenue rose 16% to $10.2 billion. The company forecast it to rise another 11% to $10.4 billion in the quarter about to be announced. In the recently reported quarter, subscribers rose 301 million from 260 million in the year-ago period. Netflix does not offer a forecast for future subscriber totals.

The company has made positive comments about its advertising business. Subscribers can get a Netflix service supported by ads, which drops the monthly cost of a subscription to $7.99 a month. Management commented, “We’re on track to reach sufficient scale for ads members in all of our ads countries in 2025. A top priority in 2025 is to improve our offering for advertisers so that we can substantially grow our advertising.”

There are no tariffs on streaming services because there is nothing to levy tariffs against. A recent Bloomberg headline read, “Netflix Defies Big Tech Slump as Wall Street Seeks Tariff Haven.”

Hefty tariffs have begun in the trade war with China. The United States may add other countries to the trade war as well. This would batter many American companies. Netflix is not among them.

Netflix Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2025-2030

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.