Netflix (NFLX) shares fell Friday, cementing their biggest weekly decline since April 4. The stock dropped nearly 5% over the 5-day trading period ending Friday as Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk continued to urge consumers to boycott the streaming giant.
The stock has lagged the broader market, which has climbed about 2% to new record highs over the past week, and has also trailed Big Tech peers like Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META).
The drop comes as Musk amps up calls for a boycott, urging his 227 million followers on X to cancel their Netflix subscriptions and accusing the streamer of pushing alleged transgender messaging in kids’ shows.
Over the past several days, Musk has posted or reposted a series of messages criticizing Netflix’s programming: “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids,” Musk wrote on Tuesday.
Netflix did not respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment.
Musk’s campaign comes as the streamer prepares to report third quarter earnings later this month. Since the company no longer discloses subscriber numbers on a quarterly basis, the short-term impact of any boycott may be difficult to quantify.
In its most recent earnings report, Netflix topped Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year revenue outlook, although the results failed to clear what many analysts described as a high bar for performance.
The company expects third quarter revenue of $11.53 billion and EPS of $6.87, both above initial consensus estimates. For the full year, Netflix now sees revenue between $44.8 billion and $45.2 billion, reflecting solid growth in its ad-supported tier, foreign exchange tailwinds, and steady user engagement.
Executives have said ad sales are on pace to roughly double to $3 billion next year, while new seasons of flagship shows like “Wednesday,” “Stranger Things,” and “Squid Game,” alongside expanding live sports offerings, should help sustain momentum.
This isn’t the first time Netflix has found itself at the center of a social media firestorm. In 2020, the streamer faced bipartisan backlash following the release of the French coming-of-age film “Cuties,” which critics accused of over-sexualizing young girls.
At the time, subscription analytics firm Antenna reported cancellations surged fivefold, while YipitData found churn hit a multiyear high. The hashtag #CancelNetflix also trended for days. Still, the company weathered that controversy with little long-term damage to its subscriber base.
