{"id":705768,"date":"2025-12-30T19:30:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T16:30:54","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-12-30T19:30:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T16:30:54","slug":"wall-streets-hollywood-stock-picks-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wall-streets-hollywood-stock-picks-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Wall Street\u2019s Hollywood Stock Picks for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tAdvertising market worries, questions over the future trajectory of streaming profits, and competition from technology<\/a> giants have remained key elements of the narrative around media<\/a> stocks in recent years. Joining it over the past year have been actual and rumored mega-deals (Warner Bros. Discovery, anyone?) and other M&A chatter. So, what does all that mean for Hollywood investors and the stocks they should pick?<\/p>\n

\n\tWall Street experts have their thoughts. And, as always, analysts differ in their recommendations for where to put your money in 2026 now that 2025 has wrapp<\/a>ed up. What many have in common is that they see many Hollywood conglomerates as challenged investments.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere is\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u2019<\/em>s rundown of stocks that media and entertainment analysts have started name-checking as their top picks for the new year \u2014 from the big dogs to the smaller companies and the specialized players.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Craig Moffett, MoffettNathanson
Pick:<\/strong> Charter Communications
Why:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever seen a cheaper stock than Charter Communications,\u201d the analyst tells THR<\/em>. \u201cInvestors have left cable for dead, with an expectation that the telephone companies will crush them with fiber overbuilds and fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Moffett says that they are missing something. \u201cIt\u2019s the cable companies, not the telcos, that hold the advantage as the market moves towards converged offers of mobile and broadband, and, out of nowhere, Charter\u2019s video offering is showing signs of life, too,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n

And he points to the planned mega-deal for Cox Communications. \u201cAs capital expenditure comes down over the next few years, and as Charter buys back stock as part of the Liberty Broadband merger (which will close before the Cox deal closes in 2026), we\u2019ve got Charter generating more than $100 per share of free cash flow,\u201d Moffett concludes. \u201cThat\u2019s mind-boggling for a stock that\u2019s trading in the range of $200 today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, the expert recommends Charter\u2019s stock with a \u201cbuy\u201d rating and a stock price target of $700.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Doug Creutz, TD Cowen
Picks:<\/strong> Take-Two Interactive Software
Why:<\/strong> Take-Two is \u201ca top-tier operator in the global video game<\/a> market with the best long-term track record in its peer group,\u201d Creutz highlighted, touting the release of\u00a0Grand Theft Auto VI<\/em>, now expected for November 2026, and \u201ca pipeline of other titles\u201d as catalysts.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cOngoing strong performance from mobile and\u00a0NBA 2K<\/em>\u00a0is also an important value driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the new GTA<\/em> release is key. \u201cOne of the most dominant trends in the AAA gaming industry for the last decade plus has been the tendency of the biggest franchises to get bigger,\u201d emphasized the analyst. \u201cThe market share of the largest titles is roughly three times what it was 20 years ago. We expect that trend to continue over the next decade, and we expect\u00a0GTA<\/em>\u00a0to be a significant beneficiary \u2013 perhaps the most significant beneficiary \u2013 of that trend.\u201d The analyst has a \u201cbuy\u201d rating with a $284 stock price target.<\/p>\n

If it wasn\u2019t for Grand Theft Auto VI<\/em>, Creutz would designate two music giants as his best picks for 2026. \u201cWe believe 2026 is going to be a good year for the record labels,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe expect contract escalators, new revenue sources from AI, and company-specific catalysts to help both Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) outperform the market in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Benjamin Swinburne, Morgan Stanley
Pick:<\/strong> Spotify, Disney, Netflix, Live Nation
Why:<\/strong> \u201cIn our work across streaming, music, and live entertainment, we find that AI tends to reinforce scaled platforms, while also exposing areas of the value chain \u2013 particularly creative labor, copyright, and content commoditization \u2013 to potential disruption,\u201d the analyst wrote in a recent report. \u201cAs a result, we maintain a preference for exposure through operators of scaled streaming platforms, notably \u2018overweight\u2019 Netflix and \u2018overweight\u2019 Spotify.\u201d Both streaming giants should be \u201clong-term structural beneficiaries of AI-driven personalization, product velocity, and operating efficiency \u2013 yet AI uncertainty even here is material, and we explicitly incorporate that into our debates.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a separate recent report, entitled \u201cOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood\u2026,\u201d Swinburne evaluated the big Warner Bros. deal struck by Netflix, on which he lowered his stock price target by $30 to $120. \u201cIn acquiring Warner Bros. and HBO, Netflix is making the bet that the combination of WB\u2019s content and Netflix\u2019s distribution can create value above and beyond the purchase price,\u201d he concluded. \u201cIt is a bold move with clear risks, but one that, in success, could further strengthen its streaming leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another separate recent report, the Morgan Stanley expert highlighted that at Spotify, even though he lowered his price target by $25 to $775, \u201cproduct innovation is driving faster top of funnel user growth and increased engagement, supporting our view of durable low to mid teens revenue growth, margin expansion, and 40 percent-plus earnings before interest and taxes growth through \u201928.\u201d He added that the music and audio streamer has \u201caccelerated the pace of innovation, bringing more new products to users year-to-date [2025] than in past, driving higher engagement and supporting pricing power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Disney, with a price target of $140, \u201cshould benefit from streaming market repair as it invests in technology and international content to accelerate the growth of Disney+ and scale up ESPN\u2019s streaming service,\u201d Swinburne argued. \u201cIts recent agreement with OpenAI\u2019s Sora is a first step towards leveraging AI to better engage fans broadly and evolve Disney+ into more of an open creator platform. We also see experiential entertainment assets, especially Disney\u2019s Experiences segment, as insulated from AI disruption risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Live Nation, on which the analyst has a $170 stock price target, is also relatively safe from AI pain due to the appeal of in-person experience. \u201cA healthy touring outlook in \u201926 should support solid earnings growth despite ticketing headwinds,\u201d Swinburne said. \u201cNear-term fan growth should be supported by a bounce-back in amphitheater activity in \u201926.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Peter Supino, Wolfe Research
Pick:<\/strong> Live Nation Entertainment, Spotify, Disney
Why:<\/strong> Live Nation is Supino\u2019s \u201ctop idea\u201d after a not-so-smooth 2025. There was a \u201csupply road bump in 2025,\u201d he acknowledged, but emphasized that the \u201clong-term supply\/demand dynamics are robust.\u201d <\/p>\n

And he emphasized that the company\u2019s market value of \u201c12.5 times next 12 months EBITDA [is] too cheap for an industry leader.\u201d The vote of confidence comes as the expert rates the overall live entertainment sector \u201coverweight\u201d and Live Nation \u201coutperform\u201d with a price target of $175.<\/p>\n

Supino tells THR<\/em> that he also likes two other stocks heading into the new year. One is music streamer Spotify, which will experience some headwinds, but none the analyst doesn\u2019t see outweighed by upside. \u201c2026 gross margins pressures from music costs and tech investments [will be] more than offset by pricing benefits and sustained volume growth,\u201d he wrote in a recent report. His bullishness for the stock comes amid enthusiasm for the broader music space, which he rates \u201coverweight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supino\u2019s final pick is Disney, and that even though he only has a \u201cmarket weight\u201d rating on diversified entertainment players. \u201cHollywood\u2019s biggest stocks look complicated,\u201d he highlighted in a recent report. But he touted that Disney\u2019s \u201cdirect-to-consumer (DTC) integrations help long-term DTC trajectory, new cruise ships support confidence.\u201d And he says: \u201cDisney\u2019s theme park and cruise revival is something we are bullish about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Michael Morris, Guggenheim
Pick:<\/strong> Roku
Why:<\/strong> While not explicitly described as a \u201ctop pick\u201d or \u201cbest idea,\u201d the analyst raised his Roku stock price target by $5 to $115, with a \u201cbuy\u201d rating, in early December.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe Roku has the core connected TV (CTV) building blocks and incremental revenue drivers into 2026 that will result in above-consensus growth and further investor confidence,\u201d Morris touted in raising his financial forecasts, citing \u201cincreased confidence in CTV advertising demand, contribution from an expanding group of digital service provider partners (now including Amazon) and revenue sources (including data fees on off-platform inventory) and continued cost discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond underlying growth drivers, he also mentioned \u201cthe potential for an incremental contribution related to the Winter Olympics,\u201d as well as benefits from political and soccer World Cup-related engagement and ad spend.<\/p>\n

The Warner Bros. Discovery auction may have hit Roku shares, Morris also suggested, writing: \u201cWe believe that the stock has been negatively impacted by recently reported detail that Netflix may emerge as an acquirer of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), though we do not expect the potential consolidation of WBD to have a material impact on distribution, display or video advertising revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Lance Vitanza, TD Cowen
Pick:<\/strong> TKO Group
Why:<\/strong> Touting TKO as one of his firm\u2019s \u201cbest ideas 2026,\u201d with a \u201cbuy\u201d rating and stock price target boosted by $15 to $245, the analyst highlighted the company\u2019s \u201cexposure to rising sports rights value supported by contracted revenue, expanding margins, and strong free cash flow conversion.\u201d And he added: \u201cRecent UFC\/WWE renewals and new initiatives like boxing strengthen the growth outlook, while pricing power and sponsorship support sustained profitability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling TKO \u201can iconic sports and entertainment company with a large global fan base,\u201d he estimated that its two key properties, UFC and WWE, reach roughly 1 billion households each, \u201cwith respective fan bases of over 700 million and 1.2 billion.\u201d Their appeal lies in the fact that they \u201ccreate a significant amount of live, original, and arguably must-watch content aimed at young and diverse fan bases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vitanza also cited upcoming stock catalysts: \u201cWith about 70 percent of revenue under contract, downside risk to our projections appears reasonably well-contained. At the same time, recent and upcoming media rights renewals suggest a substantial uptick in revenue is likely,\u201d he wrote. \u201cTKO\u2019s reasonably leveraged balance sheet adds further upside. Moreover, we like TKO\u2019s management team, which we consider extremely talented and appropriately motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n

His conclusion: \u201cTKO is evolving into one of the most durable and monetizable global sports-rights platforms \u2026 TKO\u2019s business mix is shifting toward a more recurring, contractual revenue profile that should support a higher valuation framework over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnalyst:<\/strong> Ralph Schackart, William Blair
Pick:<\/strong> Meta Platforms
Why:<\/strong> Advertising and artificial intelligence \u2013 no surprise there! \u2013 are two key drivers behind the tech-focused expert\u2019s bullishness on Meta shares, which the firm ranks as among its best one-year ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeta\u2019s core advertising business continues to perform well,\u201d he highlighted. \u201cAdvertising revenue accelerated for the second straight quarter in the third quarter of 2025, driven by improvements to its AI recommendation engine. In addition, Meta has reported growth in other ad formats like overlay ads, Reels, instant forms, and shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an \u201coutperform\u201d rating without a stock price target, he also emphasized the AI upside opportunity, concluding: \u201cWe believe Meta is positioned to be a long-term beneficiary of AI given its investment in infrastructure and talent.\u201d <\/p>\n

But Schackart also feels that investors still need to be sold more on the AI outlook. \u201cMark Zuckerberg remains focused on building personal superintelligence and developing an industry-leading amount of compute to be ready when (if) the capability arrives,\u201d he argued. \u201cHowever, investors continue to question Meta\u2019s level of AI investment because it does not have a tangible, monetizable AI product.\u201d His big takeaway on AI monetization: \u201cGiven investor scrutiny surrounding capital expenditure forecasts related to AI, we believe companies will need to show evidence of capital expenditures\u2019 return on investment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advertising market worries, questions over the future trajectory of streaming profits, and competition from technology giants have remained key elements of the narrative around media stocks in recent years. Joining it over the past year have been actual and rumored mega-deals (Warner Bros. Discovery, anyone?) and other M&A chatter. So, what does all that mean…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-705768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}