With first-quarter earnings season ramping up in the days ahead, investors will see updates from some revered names. This includes Netflix, Inc. (NFLX). The streaming entertainment giant is scheduled to deliver results for the first three months of 2026 on Thursday, April 16.
That could be the ideal opportunity for aggressive, short-term traders to deploy either the Direxion Daily NFLX Bull 2X Shares (NFXL) or its bearish counterpart, the Direxion Daily NFLX Bear 1X Shares (NFXS). NFXL attempts to deliver 200% of the daily performance of the communication services stock. Meanwhile, the bearish NFXS provides inverse though not leverage exposure on Netflix. Either or both of the Direxion ETFs could come into focus ahead of the Netflix quarterly update.
“When it issued its 2026 sales guidance, Netflix said price increases were incorporated, but we suspect the subsequent disintegration of its Warner Bros. acquisition altered the timing, meaning it may raise its 2026 outlook when it reports earnings,” noted Morningstar’s Matthew Dolgin.
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Is There a Case for NFXS?
Shares of Netflix have rebounded mightily since the company walked away from an effort to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Additionally, the company recently announced its second price increase in a year. It’s possible the inverse NFXS may be worth monitoring into and after the Q1 report.
It remains to be seen what the entertainment company has to say on this front. Dolgin noted Netflix may be somewhat constrained when it comes to future price increases. He said that it needs to be mindful of the pace at which it raises prices.
“With the standard plan now $20 per month, we still doubt Netflix can maintain an annual pace of increases while also consistently holding subscribers, especially with popular content increasingly being disseminated across more platforms,” said the analyst. “Another potential risk of raising prices too quickly is a bigger mix shift to ad-supported plans, which will now be $9 per month. A larger ad-supported base bolsters advertising sales opportunities, but those must also make up the $11 per subscriber per month headwind versus ad-free.”
Signs that Netflix is firming its already strong balance sheet and buying back stock could catalyze NFXL.
“Netflix is in good financial shape. It ended 2025 holding $9 billion in cash and $14.5 billion in total debt. More importantly, the years of cash burn are behind Netflix, giving it a good cash cushion after funding its content budget. Now that it won’t be acquiring Warner Bros., we expect share repurchases to accelerate,” concluded Holgin.
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