Cathie Wood Is Buying Netflix Again. Here’s Her Rocky History With the Stock.

Quick Read

• In 2026, Netflix (NFLX) has once again attracted the attention ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, who accumulated shares during post-earnings volatility that has left the stock well below recent highs.

• Her history with Netflix illustrates conviction, patience, and willingness to adapt when a thesis changes.

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Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has attracted ARK Invest’s attention in 2026, with the fund accumulating shares during volatility that has left the stock well below recent highs. As of April 17, 2026, Netflix closed at $97.31, down 9.7% on the day following a mixed earnings report. For Cathie Wood, the dip looks familiar.

The 2026 Thesis: Buying the Dip

Netflix’s Q1 2026 revenue came in at $12.25 billion, beating consensus estimates, but per-share earnings of $1.23 fell short of the $1.34 consensus estimate. The post-earnings drop brought it below its 200-day moving average of $105.88, a level that has historically attracted growth-oriented buyers. ARK’s re-entry fits that pattern. The company reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion and raised free cash flow guidance to approximately $12.5 billion. The advertising business is accelerating: over 60% of new sign-ups in ads markets chose the ad-supported tier, and advertiser count grew 70% year-over-year to over 4,000 clients.

Era One: The True Believer (2017–2020)

Netflix aligned naturally with ARK’s disruptive innovation framework. The cord-cutting thesis, global content dominance, and linear TV’s collapse matched Wood’s worldview. Netflix shares have risen about 819% over the past decade, with significant gains occurring while ARK held the stock as a core position. The 2020 streaming boom validated the thesis, and Netflix became a flagship name in both ARKK and ARKW.

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Era Two: The Unwind (2021–2022)

ARK trimmed Netflix aggressively in 2021, with reported single-day sells of $8 million and $39 million in August 2021. The timing proved prescient: Netflix’s 2022 collapse, triggered by subscriber growth stalling, was severe. Over the five-year period ending April 17, 2026, the stock gained 78.05% from a split-adjusted $54.65, obscuring the depth of the 2022 drawdown before recovery. ARK’s exit reduced exposure before the worst crash, illustrating the difficulty of timing high-multiple growth stocks.

Era Three: The Return (2025–2026)

What brought Wood back? The business has changed materially. Netflix shifted from subscriber counts to revenue per user, advertising, and live events. Advertising revenue is on track to reach approximately $3 billion in 2026, doubling year-over-year. Live programming, including the Canelo vs. Crawford fight drawing over 41 million viewers, signals a new content layer. The stock’s trailing P/E of 31x remains elevated but sits below the 2020 multiples Wood was willing to pay.

What Investors Should Take Away

Wood’s Netflix history shows that even high-conviction investors revisit names after thesis resets. Analysts at Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Bank of America have all maintained Buy-equivalent ratings following the April earnings drop, with a consensus price target of $114.46. Retail investors should not mechanically follow ARK’s moves. Wood’s fund structure and time horizon differ from most individuals. Her Netflix arc illustrates conviction, patience, and willingness to adapt when a story changes.

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