Netflix Downgraded Twice in a Week as YouTube Gains Living-Room Share; Shares Down 23% YTD

HSBC downgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Hold from Buy on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, cutting its price target to $76 from $96 — the second Wall Street downgrade in under a week. The stock fell as much as 1.7% intraday and is down about 23% year to date, lagging the S&P 500's roughly 14% gain. Analyst Mohammed Khallouf said Alphabet's (GOOGL) YouTube is rapidly expanding its share of living-room screen viewing, pushing Netflix's portion of total U.S. TV watch time to a multiyear low. He added that weak reception for recent Netflix originals is benefiting YouTube and that viewer engagement is unlikely to recover near term. Wells Fargo's Steven Cahall downgraded Netflix last Friday with an equivalent Sell rating, citing a lack of major original series and its reflection in operating results. Netflix's July guidance projected a second straight quarter of slowing revenue growth, and the stock has fallen after each of its last five earnings reports, per Bloomberg. Q3 results are due October 20.