Netflix (NFLX) reported first-quarter earnings Thursday night that beat expectations, solidifying its defensive position in an industry dealing with economic uncertainty related to President Trump’s trade war, Wall Street analysts said.
Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein called Netflix “the cleanest story on the internet” in a note to clients following the earnings release.
“Netflix is winning the global streaming race, and these results further prove that,” added Jeff Wlodarczak of Pivotal Research in a separate note Thursday. “NFLX is likely to be highly resilient even in a global recession, given that the price/performance ratio of its service remains very attractive.”
Both analysts raised their price targets on Netflix shares following the earnings release. Shares of the streaming company rose 3.3% in after-hours trading Thursday; the market was closed on Friday for Good Friday.
This year, rising costs, regulatory pressures, tariffs and a potential slowdown in advertising revenue have weighed on the shares of many large technology companies, and these factors combined to make the stock stand out in the tech sector for its resilience.
During the earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company is watching consumer sentiment closely amid tariff-related uncertainty but hasn’t seen a major change in its business performance.
“We’re obviously watching consumer sentiment closely and the overall economy closely,” Peters said. “But based on where we’re actually operating right now, there’s nothing major to watch.”
Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich said Netflix remains “predictable in an unpredictable world.”
The analyst maintained her “buy” rating and $1,175 price target, noting the company has positive subscriber and earnings momentum, as well as evolving growth opportunities in advertising and live events.
Netflix expects revenue to be above Wall Street expectations for the current quarter and reiterated its full-year 2025 revenue growth forecast of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion.
Peters noted that retention remains “solid and strong,” that there has been no significant increase in cancellations, and that there has been no significant increase in subscribers moving to lower-cost ad-supported plans following recent price increases in major markets such as the U.S. and Canada. On Thursday, the company also announced a price increase in France.
Peters added that the entertainment industry in general has been resilient during tough economic times, and that “Netflix in particular has been quite resilient.”
Earlier this year, the company raised U.S. prices for its streaming plans, including its ad-supported plans, and its $7.99 per month price remains one of the cheapest on the market.
Netflix is currently one of the strongest performers among large tech companies, with its stock up 9.2% this year as of Thursday’s close.
That’s in stark contrast to big tech companies such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), which have seen big declines of 17% or more. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is expected to fall about 10% through 2025.
