Netflix Inc. (NFLX): D. E. Shaw Is Loading Up on This Stock

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) features on the D. E. Shaw Stock Portfolio: Top 10 Stocks to Buy.

D. E. Shaw has been a long-term admirer of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). His fund first purchased a stake in the company back in the fourth quarter of 2010 when the streaming company was still not a household name. This position comprised more than 300,000 shares. The billionaire then proceeded to add to this stake, taking it as high as 106 million shares by the first quarter of 2014. Since then, however, this position has been trimmed but features consistently in the 13F portfolio of the fund. Filings for the fourth quarter of 2025 show that the fund owned nearly 11.6 million shares in the company, representing an increase of more than 48% compared to filings for the third quarter of 2025.

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Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has attracted interest from Wall Street bigwigs amid a billion-dollar opportunity as the firm shifts to its in-house ad-tech stack. Under this new model, the ad revenue for the company is projected to double from $1.5 billion in 2025 to $3 billion by the end of 2026, providing high-margin growth that is not solely dependent on adding new subscribers. The streaming giant has also shifted from a cash burner to a cash generator in recent years. It is forecasted to generate roughly $11 billion to $11.4 billion in positive FCF in 2026. For hedge funds, this cash opens the door for aggressive share buybacks or even the first-ever dividend discussions, which attracts a more stable class of institutional investors.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of NFLX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NFLX and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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