By Harshita Mary Varghese
April 23 (Reuters) - Netflix said on Thursday its board has authorized an additional $25 billion share repurchase program, resuming capital returns after the streaming giant walked away from a $72 billion deal to buy Warner Bros Discovery's assets.
Its shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading.
The new authorization is on top of a buyback approved in December 2024 and has no expiration date. Netflix had about $6.8 billion remaining under its previous buyback plan as of March-end.
Netflix shares fell about 9% last year after the Warner Bros deal was announced, but have climbed about 10% since the company walked away from it in February.
In the two months since it scrapped its pursuit of Warner Bros, Netflix has rolled out a series of growth initiatives, including acquiring Ben Affleck's AI film-tech firm InterPositive, raising subscription prices in the U.S. and launching a gaming app for kids.
Analysts expect the company to refocus on growth areas including advertising, live programming and sports, as it looks to scale its ad-supported tier, which is seen as key for future revenue growth.
Last week, Netflix provided a tepid forecast for the second quarter and said its co-founder and Chairman Reed Hastings will exit the company in June.
The company had previously said it planned to resume share repurchases while investing about $20 billion this year in films and television.
"Netflix's buyback provides some answers on what it plans to do following it's WBD breakup fee collection," Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes said.
"But it still doesn't entirely show where the company will reinvest runs."
Netflix received a $2.8 billion termination fee from Paramount Skydance, which agreed to pay it as part of its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
