Bitcoin ETFs post net inflows despite geopolitical tensions
Netflix’s after-hours slide came after the company issued a narrower full-year revenue forecast of $51 billion to $51.4 billion, compared with a prior range of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet project revenue of $51.38 billion, above the midpoint of Netflix’s new range. Prior to the results, BofA Securities analysts said in a note that “a beat and raise quarter could go a long way in assuaging several of these investor concerns,” given the recent pullback in shares.
The streaming company also said it will disclose certain engagement trends less frequently, shifting its “What We Watched” report from a bi-annual cadence to an annual publication starting in the first quarter of next year. Netflix said it aims to keep the focus on its primary financial metrics by separating the report from its earnings results. Engagement has become a frequent topic of discussion at the company after signs of declining subscriber engagement, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Netflix noted that view hours rose 2% in the first half versus 1.5% growth in 2025, despite competition from the Winter Olympics and World Cup. The company said live programming, which accounts for just over 5% of its content spend, has driven six of Netflix’s top 10 new member sign-up days over the last five years, even though it has only been doing live events since 2023. Non-English content again drove more than a third of all viewing hours in the first half, contributing to the more than 97 billion hours watched, with standout titles from Korea, Japan, Spain, and India.
On the payments front, PayPal shares closed up 3% at $57.19 after reports that Stripe and Advent International proposed paying $60.50 a share for the company. Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note that the acquisition “would provide shareholders with an attractive exit from a business whose strategic optionality has narrowed.” The analysts added that PayPal has limited options given competitive dynamics, technology debt, and other factors, and that the proposed deal “may be the company’s best path toward value realization.”
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor, in a CNBC interview, denied that the company seeks proprietary information from competitors, following a lawsuit by Apple claiming OpenAI employees stole its trade secrets. “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets, period, full stop,” Taylor said, adding that an investigation is underway and that he cannot comment further. On the company’s IPO plans, Taylor said, “No update on IPO plans,” reiterating that the confidential SEC filing from last month was done “so we have the option to do it when we want to, but we haven’t made a specific plan to do it.” He also touted OpenAI’s move toward custom AI hardware, saying the company’s focus on hardware is driven by a desire to “achieve our mission, which is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits humanity.”
In cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows for two straight days, with $181.1 million on Tuesday and $107.7 million on Wednesday, according to CoinGlass data. Naeem Aslam of Zaye Capital Markets said in a note that the inflows are encouraging but that “bitcoin still needs sustained spot demand and stronger institutional inflows to convert the breakout into a durable upward trend rather than a short-lived positioning move.” He also noted that efforts to move the CLARITY Act through Congress are heating up, with success potentially reflected in the movement of bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies.
Geopolitical tensions, however, kept a lid on risk appetite. Konstantinos Chrysikos of kudo.com said in a note that “traders remain cautious as geopolitical tensions continue to dominate market sentiment,” adding that “ongoing tensions in the Middle East could keep U.S. yields elevated, as prolonged energy disruptions could reignite inflation concerns.” Bitcoin was down 0.5% to $64,639, ethereum fell 1.8% to $1,889, XRP was flat at $1.11, and solana was down 1% to $76.55.