Hollywood just finished one of the messiest, most expensive fights in entertainment history.
In front of lights and cameras, two household names went to war over a third…
Three big-name stocks, duking it out on the market’s biggest stage.
Billions of dollars changed hands. One walked away humiliated, while the other walked away with a monster deal.
When that much money moves around, the market is forced to recalibrate. And in the early days of stabilization, we have a perfect opportunity to make gains.
Only one stock succeeded in the merger, but I’m watching both for trade setups.
Media Giants
The headlines ran for months.
A major streaming giant and a legacy media company threw everything they had to acquire one of the most iconic entertainment studios on the planet.
It was a legal battle for the ages:
- Lawyers and lawsuits.
- Activist investors.
- A hostile takeover attempt.
- Court involvement to force financial information.
By the time the dust settled, one company spent more than $110 billion to come out on top.
The other walked away with a $2.8 billion breakup fee (paid by the winner) and a stock price that bounced sharply once the deal was declared dead.
Two completely different outcomes. Two completely different chart setups.
And both are tradeable right now.
The Bidding War You Probably Heard About
The target was Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD).
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) had a deal locked in at $27.75 per share.
Then Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ: PSKY) came in swinging with a hostile bid, revised offers, legal filings, shareholder pressure campaigns…
Until finally, WBD’s board deemed Paramount’s $31 per share offer superior to Netflix’s.
Netflix declined to counter and walked.
That’s the condensed version of a months-long saga that had Wall Street glued to every press release.
But I don’t care about the drama.
I care about what the charts are doing now.
What NFLX Is Telling Me
When Netflix first revealed its acquisition plans, the stock dropped. Hard.
Investors didn’t love the idea of Netflix abandoning its disciplined, profitable, “builders not buyers” identity to absorb a sprawling legacy media conglomerate with significant debt.
Then Netflix walked away, pocketed a $2.8 billion breakup fee, and the stock jumped.
Right now, NFLX is consolidating sideways, digesting the rally and building a base for another push higher.
After the deal fell through, Netflix gets to keep its focus, cash flow, and a fresh injection of capital (covered by PSKY) to redeploy into its former business model.
And the recent consolidation hints at a retest of the levels it traded at before the WBD bid was announced, from back in December of 2025.
What PSKY Is Telling Me
Paramount Skydance won the deal. So why did the stock fall?
Because winning a $110 billion acquisition comes with a price tag.
Investors had questions about financing, regulatory hurdles, and the long road to closing, which WBD CEO David Zaslav said could take 6–18 months.
After an initial spike from the announcement, PSKY gave back its gains.
These kinds of post-deal pullbacks aren’t unusual. The market needs time to process the scope of what Paramount just agreed to.
But at its current level, the stock is in a position where the initial shock has worn off. The chart shows potential for at least a short-term bounce, if not the start of a new trend, as clarity around the deal emerges.
Let’s see what the deal actually means for consumers:
It brings together Top Gun, Harry Potter, HBO, DC, CBS, CNN, and Paramount+ under one roof.
That’s franchise depth that competes directly with Disney and Amazon. And the market will eventually price that in.
Right now, the chart is quietly gaining momentum.
Two Charts Worth Building a Watchlist Around
Both of these stocks deserve a spot on your watchlist.
NFLX: Watch for continuation within the consolidation range and an eventual move back to the highs from early March.
PSKY: Watch for bullish momentum from the current base. It’s below the level it spiked from when the deal was announced.
These setups don’t require us to predict the future… I use the same process over and over again to trade the market’s best setups.
And it’s a perfect strategy for small accounts.
One of my students grew their account from $600 to $3,000 in the first three weeks of using my strategy.*
That’s what happens when you apply a real process to real trade setups.
Even in choppy markets. Even with a small account.
Learn my process in just two days.
Then rinse and repeat.
Be good (and be good to others),
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results
