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Netflix sinks on report that buying Warner Bros. wouldn’t drastically boost its market share since most subscribers already have HBO Max

Investors appear to have a bit more faith in Netflix’s ability to win the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery — they’re just not sure if they like the idea.

Netflix shares fell 6% on Wednesday morning following a Reuters report citing sources familiar with acquisition discussions. According to the report, Netflix (which is said to be targeting WBD’s streaming assets and studio business, but not its networks) would bundle Netflix and HBO Max, reducing costs for consumers. Sources noted that most Netflix subscribers already subscribe to HBO Max, so the merger isn’t expected to dramatically boost the streamer’s market share.

If youre lowering costs for customers and not getting many more of them, its not clear how such an acquisition would add much value.

The other two primary bidders in the WBD auction, Paramount Skydance and Comcast, have also reportedly freshened up their pitches. Paramount is said to have upped its offer with help from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, while Comcast wants to combine the TV and film departments of NBCUniversal with HBO and Warner — marrying Peacock with HBO Max.

Analysts believe the bidding war could propel Warner Bros. Discovery’s value to around $70 billion, significantly above its valuation before the acquisition talks began.

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BYND rises on elevated volumes, has now doubled in the last 10 days after product revamps

Beyond Meat soared as much as 18% in overnight trading, extending its winning streak that has seen the stock nearly double since April 10, after gaining over 41% in yesterday's session alone.

That's a significant turnaround for the alternative meat company, which just three weeks ago was tanking after issuing weak sales guidance... with the company's management laying blame on American society for its business struggles.

Beyond repair?

BYND has had two distinct moments in the sun: one as a bonafide startup stud promising to transform the food industry forever in 2020 and 2021, the other as a meme-stock, when the company suddenly found itself the center of a retail trading frenzy last October after a tumultuous few years.

Sparking this latest tick higher appears to be a new product release from last Thursday, when the company revealed that Beyond Immerse, the company's first functional beverage line, had signed a distribution agreement with Big Geyser — one of the country's largest non-alcoholic distributors. That followed an update to its breakfast sausage range on just three days before.

It's a big ask for a new sausage or protein-packed drinks with fruity flavors — both highly competitive categories — to save the company that's seen its sales sink, losses balloon, and share price cater. But the product news, combined with Beyond appeasing Nasdaq regulators by finally filing its delayed 2025 annual report, seems to be enough to reinvigorate investor interest, shaking off some concerns about a delisting.

Perhaps most importantly however, is that retail traders are once again fishing in the higher-risk, higher-reward, end of the stock market pond. Risk-on assets have ripped higher in the last few weeks as geopolitical risks calmed, bringing indexes to an all-time high and meme-like stocks soar up on speculative excitement rather than business fundamentals. Just from last week, we’ve seen Allbirds and Myseum skyrocket on a surprise AI pivot news. Retail favorites like quantum name IonQ have also caught a bid.

But, for Beyond, this ain't 2021, yet. And it's still nowhere near last October, either:

Per Bloomberg data, there's still plenty of interest in betting against the company — short interest as a percent of the equity float is at 35% — but still small compared to the 83% in its October high.

In simple volume terms, BYND traded only some $224 million as of yesterday — a tiny fraction of October's busiest day, when $11 billion changed hands.

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UnitedHealth beats Q1 estimates, raises annual outlook

UnitedHealth rose in premarket trading after it reported earnings results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year guidance.

For the full year 2026, the company now expects:

  • Annual adjusted earnings per share to be at least $18.25, up from the previous floor it set at $17.75, and higher than the $17.86 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.

For the first quarter of 2026, the company reported:

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $7.23 , higher than the $6.58 the Street was penciling in.

  • A medical cost ratio of 83.9%, lower than the 85.5% that was expected.

The company, which is the first of its peers to report earnings this quarter, was up more than 6% in early action on Tuesday. The stock is down 3.8% from the start of the year through yesterday's close.

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Alaska Air expects higher fuel costs to add $600 million in expenses in Q2

Alaska Airlines on Monday kicked off a big week for airline earnings, reporting its first-quarter results after the bell. The stock ticked down after hours.

Alaska Air reported:

  • An adjusted loss of $1.68 per share, compared to Wall Street estimates of a loss of $1.65 per share.

  • $3.3 billion in revenue, compared to estimates of $3.29 billion.

  • A 17% year-over-year increase in fuel costs to $796 million.

Looking ahead, Alaska said it expects a second-quarter loss per share of $1, deeper than the Wall Street consensus (-$0.15). The company expects April fuel costs of $4.75/gallon and for fuel across the second quarter to add $600 million in expenses.

“Absent the fuel price spike, we would have guided to a solidly profitable quarter,” the airline said in its release.

Alaska Air, like the rest of the commercial airline industry, has been pummeled by fuel costs since the beginning of the war in Iran. Along with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue, the carrier recently hiked its bag fees to offset higher fuel costs.

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