Topline
Netflix’s stock is trading down for the second consecutive day after Elon Musk’s call for users to cancel their subscriptions to the popular streaming service, urging the cancellations after a director of a canceled Netflix animated series seemingly scrutinized late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Netflix shares sank 1.2% after opening Thursday before paring losses to 0.8% drop, reaching $1,161 at 2:15 p.m. EDT.
The streamer’s stock has fallen about 2.4% since Musk’s Tuesday tweet in which he said he canceled his Netflix subscription, responding to a post from another user who said they were canceling their subscription after Hamish Steele, director of a canceled Netflix animated series, “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” blasted Kirk in an apparent tweet.
Musk has doubled down on his boycott calls against the streamer, telling his followers to “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids” and boosting a post accusing Netflix of pushing a “transgender woke agenda.”
Netflix shares are down 4.4% in the last five days of trading.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, is pacing for its fifth-straight day of gains.
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The calls for cancellations boosted by Musk are rooted in an apparent tweet from Hamish that is no longer publicly accessible, as the director has since made his X account private. In a tweet from right-wing account Libs of TikTok, a post seemingly posted by Hamish criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tweet mourning Kirk’s death, with Hamish calling Kirk a “d—head” and a “random nazi.” A summary of Hamish’s show describes it as a “spooky-but-sweet series” following “a diverse group of employees at a haunted theme park, complete with vengeful spirits, a talking pug and LGBTQ+love.”
“I have mostly been very ok today and found it all quite funny, while really appreciating everyone who has reached out, but the extremely nasty weird [homophobic] and antisemitic emails have started rolling in and it is getting a little scary so I apologise if I take longer to respond to stuff,” Hamish said in a Bluesky post about the backlash.
Musk’s calls to cancel Netflix subscriptions has been a small bump in an otherwise successful year for Netflix’s stock and revenues. The streamer’s shares are up 30% since the start of the year, when they traded around $886. In Netflix’s quarterly earnings report from July, the company posted a 16% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching $11 billion. Net profit also spiked 46% in the same time period to $3.1 billion. Netflix raised subscription prices by at least $1 for each of its plans in January.
Musk Doubles Down On ‘Cancel Netflix’ Calls Over Trans Character And Director’s Charlie Kirk Post (Forbes)