Netflix Buys Back Record $4.7B in Stock Even as Q2 2026 Shares Slide 8.58%

Marcus Vale17/07/20264 min read

Netflix Buys Back Record $4.7B in Stock Even as Q2 2026 Shares Slide 8.58%

Netflix spent a record $4.7 billion buying back its own shares in the second quarter of 2026, even as the company’s stock tumbled after a softer-than-expected outlook for the current quarter. The buyback figure, confirmed in Netflix’s official shareholder letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, marks the largest quarterly repurchase in the streamer’s history.

Board’s $25 Billion April Authorisation Now Being Put to Work

Netflix said its capital allocation approach is unchanged, prioritising reinvestment in the business both organically and through selective M&A while maintaining a healthy balance sheet, before returning excess cash to shareholders via share repurchases, noting that in April its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $25 billion of stock on top of the $6.8 billion of capacity remaining as of the end of Q1. That April authorisation, disclosed in a separate SEC filing at the time, confirmed the Board authorized the repurchase of an additional $25 billion of common stock in addition to the repurchase program authorized in December 2024, each without an expiration date.

In Q2, Netflix bought back $4.7 billion of stock, its largest quarter of share repurchases, and the company now has $27.1 billion of capacity left in its remaining authorizations. Variety corroborated the figure independently, reporting that CFO Spence Neumann said Netflix bought back about $4.7 billion of its own stock in the quarter, its largest quarter of share repurchases.

Shares Sink 8.58% Despite an EPS Beat

The buyback news came alongside a mixed quarterly report. Netflix posted Q2 revenue of $12.56 billion, up 13.4% year over year, and net income of $3.4 billion, translating to 80 cents per share, narrowly ahead of the 79-cent consensus estimate tracked by LSEG Data & Analytics, according to Variety. Investors, however, focused on the outlook rather than the beat. The stock fell sharply in after-hours trading, falling 8.58% to $67.97 from the regular-session close of $74.35, according to an Investing.com earnings-call recap. The same report noted Netflix guided to 12% reported revenue growth and 11% FX-neutral growth for Q3 2026, a deceleration that unsettled Wall Street.

Netflix’s own guidance, cross-checked by Quartz, showed the company narrowed its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $51 billion to $51.4 billion, from a prior range of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, and maintained its full-year operating margin target of 31.5%, while guiding for third-quarter revenue of $12.86 billion and an operating margin of 33.2%.

Free Cash Flow Dented by Warner Bros. Discovery Termination Tax

The scale of the buyback is notable given a softer cash position this quarter. Quartz reported that free cash flow in the second quarter was $1.5 billion, down from $2.3 billion in the same period a year earlier, a decline the company attributed in part to higher cash tax payments tied to a termination fee related to its abandoned pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and streaming assets. Netflix’s own filing similarly flagged the tax hit, noting cash used was $2.3B in Q2’25, which included higher cash tax payments due in part to the Warner Bros. termination fee.

CNBC independently confirmed the Warner Bros. Discovery saga as ongoing context for the quarter, reporting that late last year Netflix made a play for Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and streaming business before ultimately walking away from the deal, setting off a flurry of speculation about whether Netflix is now interested in buying other assets. Despite the tax drag, Netflix reaffirmed its full-year free cash flow expectation of approximately $12.5 billion.

$14.4 Billion in Debt Against $9.1 Billion Cash Cushion

Netflix’s balance sheet still leaves room to keep buying, according to its own disclosures. The company ended the quarter with gross debt of $14.4 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $9.1 billion, and has $1 billion of debt maturing later this year, which it plans to refinance. With $27.1 billion still authorised for repurchases, Netflix has more buyback firepower queued up than it spent in the entirety of 2025, when annual repurchases totalled roughly $9.1 billion, based on separate market-data tracking of the company’s cash-flow statements.

For everyday viewers in New Zealand and Australia, the buyback itself changes nothing about a Netflix subscription price or catalogue. But the scale of capital Netflix is willing to funnel into its own stock — even after walking away from a Warner Bros. Discovery mega-deal and absorbing a termination-fee tax hit — signals a company betting that steady subscriber growth, advertising expansion and recent price rises in markets including the US, Mexico and Spain will keep justifying returns to shareholders over big swings for new assets.