As 2024 comes to a close, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is capturing the spotlight thanks to its impressive historical performance in the final months of the year. The streaming giant has developed a reputation for delivering robust returns during December and January.
The stock has also recently gained amid overall market strength after Donald Trump's re-election, with investors anticipating that his pro-business, tax-cutting agenda could drive increased consumer spending—especially in discretionary sectors like streaming.
The company also achieved a major milestone, announcing that its ad-supported streaming tier now reaches 70 million monthly active users—just two years after its launch.
What Seasonal Trends Have To Say: As covered by our Benzinga team and per data from Seasonax, Netflix has historically posted an average gain of 14.1% during this period, with a median return of 11%. Over the last two decades, the company has closed this two-month stretch in positive territory 80% of the time.
During its best performance from December 2012 through January 2013, Netflix shares soared by an astounding 117.42%. Even in election years—a subset of the data where markets can be unpredictable—Netflix has shown resilience, with an average gain of 34.33%.
This seasonal strength is underpinned by factors like holiday binge-watching, which boosts subscriber engagement and investor optimism for Netflix's earnings potential as the new year begins.
How To Buy NFLX Stock
By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Netflix – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.
Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy 'fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.
In the the case of Netflix, which is trading at $897.74 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.11 shares of stock.
If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to 'go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.
According to data from Benzinga Pro, NFLX has a 52-week high of $908.00 and a 52-week low of $445.73.
