Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares slipped on Tuesday after HSBC became the second Wall Street firm in less than a week to cut its rating on the streaming giant, citing a shrinking share of U.S. television viewing time and a weak slate of original programming that analysts say shows little sign of improving in the near term.

The stock fell as much as 1.7% intraday, extending a dismal run that has left it down roughly 23% in 2026, a stark contrast with the S&P 500’s 14% gain over the same period.

HSBC analyst Mohammed Khallouf lowered his recommendation to Hold from Buy and slashed the price target to $76 from $96, a reduction of about 21%. The new target implies only about 3% upside from current levels. Khallouf said a “near-term recovery in engagement looks unlikely” for Netflix, pointing to what he described as a “declining reception” to the company’s recent original content.

The core of the concern is YouTube’s aggressive expansion into living-room screens. The Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) unit captured a record 14.2% share of U.S. television time in July, according to HSBC, while Netflix’s share dropped to 7.8%, its lowest level in several years. Khallouf said YouTube’s momentum is increasingly coming at Netflix’s expense as the Google-owned platform builds a larger audience on television sets.

Netflix’s own viewing data reinforces the trend. HSBC found that viewing hours for English-language shows on Netflix’s weekly Top 10 lists fell about 17% year over year in July and August. The bank expects that weakness to persist in the near term.

The pressure is also showing up in financial projections. HSBC raised its 2027 and 2028 content-spending estimates by about 2% while cutting earnings-per-share forecasts for those years by roughly 6% to 9%. The bank noted that YouTube is expected to spend about $23 billion on creator payouts in 2026, compared with Netflix’s roughly $20 billion in cash content spending — a gap that could make it harder for Netflix to compete for both content and viewer attention.

A Second Downgrade in Days

Tuesday’s move follows a similarly cautious call from Wells Fargo last week. Analyst Steven Cahall downgraded Netflix to Underweight, the equivalent of a Sell, and cut the price target to $57 from $80. Cahall said the company’s engagement trends “look worrying” and highlighted a weaker original content slate in the second half of 2026. Wells Fargo’s base case assumes Netflix’s top 100 original hours will decline 21% year over year in the period.

The two downgrades reflect separate but related pressures. HSBC is focused on viewer share shifting toward YouTube, while Wells Fargo is concerned that a softer lineup of originals could make it harder for Netflix to improve engagement in the near term. Both firms ultimately point to the same underlying challenge: Netflix needs a breakout hit to reverse the slide.

Market Context and Sentiment

Netflix’s stock has been under pressure since its July earnings report, when the company forecast that revenue growth would slow for a second consecutive quarter. The stock has posted negative reactions after each of its last five earnings releases, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 20, when investors will be watching closely for signs that new content is drawing viewers back and improving the growth outlook.

Despite the downgrades, the broader analyst community remains largely positive on the stock. Netflix carries a Strong Buy consensus rating, with 25 of 32 analysts recommending Buy, six rating it Hold, and one assigning a Sell. The average price target of $94.34 implies roughly 29% upside from current levels — a notable divergence from the more cautious views expressed by HSBC and Wells Fargo.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained bullish on Tuesday amid high message volume, even as the stock continued to lag the broader market. The Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF, which counts Netflix among its holdings, has risen nearly 21% this year, underscoring how far the streaming company has fallen behind its technology peers.

For Netflix, the path back to investor confidence runs through the content pipeline. Both downgrades make clear that until the company delivers a slate of originals that can command attention — and defend viewing time against an increasingly formidable YouTube — the stock may struggle to regain momentum.