The largest US media companies have collectively shed nearly $400bn in market value this year, as recession worries, an advertising slowdown and post-pandemic audience trends ignited a “perfect storm” for Netflix and its peers.
Big US media stocks have fallen on average by 35 per cent since the start of the year, compared with a 13 per cent decline in the S&P 500 index, resulting in total losses of $380bn in market capitalisation.
Even after recovering somewhat in the past few weeks, the stock prices of the largest media groups — Disney, Netflix, Comcast, Spotify, Roku, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery, The New York Times and News Corp — have halved on average from all-time highs reached during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Financial Times analysis.