Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Investors Business Daily
Investors Business Daily
Technology
PATRICK SEITZ

Trump Tariff Threat Ends Netflix's 11-Day Winning Streak

Netflix stock fell Monday after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on foreign-made films.

Trump made his announcement on social network Truth Social on Sunday night. He claimed U.S. movie production is "dying" because foreign countries have lured away filmmakers and studios with "all sorts of incentives."

"I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands," Trump said. "We want movies made in America again!"

Trump's announcement caught Wall Street by surprise. But analysts expressed doubts that the tariffs would be implemented.

"We see this as a very low-probability outcome as the potential downside for the U.S. from adding digital goods and services into the trade war mix far outweighs the upside," TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said in a client note Monday. "The proposal lacks policy detail and is not something we expect to gain serious traction."

Netflix sources movies and TV series worldwide and has produced numerous foreign-made hits including "Squid Game" (South Korea), "Money Heist" (Spain), "Dark" (Germany) and "Alice in Borderland" (Japan).

On the stock market today, Netflix stock dropped 1.9% to close at 1,134.06. Earlier in the session, it was down as much as 4.3%.

Through last Friday's close, Netflix stock had risen for 11 consecutive trading sessions. On April 21, Netflix stock broke out of a double-bottom base at a buy point of 998.70, according to IBD MarketSurge charts.

Other stocks falling on the news included movie theater operators AMC Entertainment, Cinemark and Marcus and entertainment firms Disney, Lions Gate Entertainment, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Netflix Stock On Three IBD Lists

Cowen's Creutz thinks Trump is blustering.

"On several occasions, Trump has floated aggressive tariff policies which never materialized," Creutz said. "Recent examples include threats of 100% tariffs on BRICS nations, 200% tariffs on French champagne, and 25% tariffs on Venezuelan oil. Most faded over time without formal implementation. We view this latest tariff idea in that same category: politically charged, logistically challenging, and ultimately unlikely to advance meaningfully."

Wedbush Securities analyst Alicia Reese reiterated her outperform rating on Netflix stock with a price target of 1,200.

"Despite the headline risk, we maintain that Netflix is positioned to accelerate ad-tier revenue contribution for the next several years by adding live events, improving its advertising solutions and targeting, and broadening its content strategy," she said in a client note Monday.

Streaming video leader Netflix is on three IBD stock lists: IBD 50, Big Cap 20 and Leaderboard.

Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.