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Netflix’s underwhelming Q2 presents an excuse to consider a tantalizing hypothetical: Will anyone attempt to buy Netflix? The streaming giant is currently discounted some 70 percent from its peak valuation—a veritable bargain—but at $90 billion, there are only a handful of companies with the dry powder to make a play. Or, perhaps, is there a less conventional acquirer waiting in the wings?

Bill

The former hypothetical once seemed unfathomable, of course. But the specter of the possibility has percolated as a result not only of Netflix’s recent market vulnerability, but also its just-announced partnership with Microsoft, whose Xander technology platform will support its forthcoming ad-based tier. (Xander, once the brainchild of Randall Stephenson and John Stankey at AT&T, was orphaned off to Microsoft when the telecom divested its media assets, most notably Direct TV and WarnerMedia.) After all, Netflix is the only pure play in the newly repriced streaming market, outside of Hulu, which will likely be folded into Disney and the Disney bundle soon enough. Netflix’s repriced market capitalization is around $90 billion, and so it’s competing with companies worth ten to 25 times that amount with cash reserves in the tens, if not hundreds, of billions. These are fascinating times, indeed.

In some ways, Netflix is actually quite vulnerable to a takeover. First, of course, its stock is down about 64 percent in 2022, despite recovering a bit during the past few days...