Analysts make cases for the likes of Spotify, Netflix, Take-Two, Live Nation, Roku, TKO, and Charter. But also check out which of the traditional entertainment giants may be worth a bet.
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 for Hollywood investors and the stocks they should pick?
Wall 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 wrapped up. What many have in common is that they see many Hollywood conglomerates as challenged investments.
Here is _The Hollywood Reporter’_s rundown of stocks that media and entertainment analysts have started name-checking as their top picks for the new year — from the big dogs to the smaller companies and the specialized players.
Analyst: Craig Moffett, MoffettNathanson Pick: Charter Communications**
Why:** “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a cheaper stock than Charter Communications,” the analyst tells THR. “Investors have left cable for dead, with an expectation that the telephone companies will crush them with fiber overbuilds and fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband.”
But Moffett says that they are missing something. “It’s 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’s video offering is showing signs of life, too,” he explains.
And he points to the planned mega-deal for Cox Communications. “As 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’ve got Charter generating more than $100 per share of free cash flow,” Moffett concludes. “That’s mind-boggling for a stock that’s trading in the range of $200 today.”
Overall, the expert recommends Charter’s stock with a “buy” rating and a stock price target of $700.
Analyst: Doug Creutz, TD Cowen Picks: Take-Two Interactive Software**
Why:** Take-Two is “a top-tier operator in the global video game market with the best long-term track record in its peer group,” Creutz highlighted, touting the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, now expected for November 2026, and “a pipeline of other titles” as catalysts_._ “Ongoing strong performance from mobile and NBA 2K is also an important value driver.”
But the new GTA release is key. “One 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,” emphasized the analyst. “The 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 to be a significant beneficiary – perhaps the most significant beneficiary – of that trend.” The analyst has a “buy” rating with a $284 stock price target.
If it wasn’t for Grand Theft Auto VI, Creutz would designate two music giants as his best picks for 2026. “We believe 2026 is going to be a good year for the record labels,” he wrote. “We 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.”
Analyst: Benjamin Swinburne, Morgan Stanley Pick: Spotify, Disney, Netflix, Live Nation Why: “In 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 – particularly creative labor, copyright, and content commoditization – to potential disruption,” the analyst wrote in a recent report. “As a result, we maintain a preference for exposure through operators of scaled streaming platforms, notably ‘overweight’ Netflix and ‘overweight’ Spotify.” Both streaming giants should be “long-term structural beneficiaries of AI-driven personalization, product velocity, and operating efficiency – yet AI uncertainty even here is material, and we explicitly incorporate that into our debates.”
In a separate recent report, entitled “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…,” Swinburne evaluated the big Warner Bros. deal struck by Netflix, on which he lowered his stock price target by $30 to $120. “In acquiring Warner Bros. and HBO, Netflix is making the bet that the combination of WB’s content and Netflix’s distribution can create value above and beyond the purchase price,” he concluded. “It is a bold move with clear risks, but one that, in success, could further strengthen its streaming leadership.”
In another separate recent report, the Morgan Stanley expert highlighted that at Spotify, even though he lowered his price target by $25 to $775, “product 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 ’28.” He added that the music and audio streamer has “accelerated the pace of innovation, bringing more new products to users year-to-date [2025] than in past, driving higher engagement and supporting pricing power.”
Meanwhile, Disney, with a price target of $140, “should benefit from streaming market repair as it invests in technology and international content to accelerate the growth of Disney+ and scale up ESPN’s streaming service,” Swinburne argued. “Its recent agreement with OpenAI’s 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’s Experiences segment, as insulated from AI disruption risk.”
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. “A healthy touring outlook in ’26 should support solid earnings growth despite ticketing headwinds,” Swinburne said. “Near-term fan growth should be supported by a bounce-back in amphitheater activity in ’26.”
Analyst: Peter Supino, Wolfe Research Pick: Live Nation Entertainment, Spotify, Disney**
Why:** Live Nation is Supino’s “top idea” after a not-so-smooth 2025. There was a “supply road bump in 2025,” he acknowledged, but emphasized that the “long-term supply/demand dynamics are robust.”
And he emphasized that the company’s market value of “12.5 times next 12 months EBITDA [is] too cheap for an industry leader.” The vote of confidence comes as the expert rates the overall live entertainment sector “overweight” and Live Nation “outperform” with a price target of $175.
Supino tells THR 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’t see outweighed by upside. “2026 gross margins pressures from music costs and tech investments [will be] more than offset by pricing benefits and sustained volume growth,” he wrote in a recent report. His bullishness for the stock comes amid enthusiasm for the broader music space, which he rates “overweight.”
Supino’s final pick is Disney, and that even though he only has a “market weight” rating on diversified entertainment players. “Hollywood’s biggest stocks look complicated,” he highlighted in a recent report. But he touted that Disney’s “direct-to-consumer (DTC) integrations help long-term DTC trajectory, new cruise ships support confidence.” And he says: “Disney’s theme park and cruise revival is something we are bullish about.”
Analyst: Michael Morris, Guggenheim Pick: Roku**
Why:** While not explicitly described as a “top pick” or “best idea,” the analyst raised his Roku stock price target by $5 to $115, with a “buy” rating, in early December.
“We 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,” Morris touted in raising his financial forecasts, citing “increased 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.”
Beyond underlying growth drivers, he also mentioned “the potential for an incremental contribution related to the Winter Olympics,” as well as benefits from political and soccer World Cup-related engagement and ad spend.
The Warner Bros. Discovery auction may have hit Roku shares, Morris also suggested, writing: “We 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.”
Analyst: Lance Vitanza, TD Cowen Pick: TKO Group**
Why:** Touting TKO as one of his firm’s “best ideas 2026,” with a “buy” rating and stock price target boosted by $15 to $245, the analyst highlighted the company’s “exposure to rising sports rights value supported by contracted revenue, expanding margins, and strong free cash flow conversion.” And he added: “Recent UFC/WWE renewals and new initiatives like boxing strengthen the growth outlook, while pricing power and sponsorship support sustained profitability.”
Calling TKO “an iconic sports and entertainment company with a large global fan base,” he estimated that its two key properties, UFC and WWE, reach roughly 1 billion households each, “with respective fan bases of over 700 million and 1.2 billion.” Their appeal lies in the fact that they “create a significant amount of live, original, and arguably must-watch content aimed at young and diverse fan bases.”
Vitanza also cited upcoming stock catalysts: “With 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,” he wrote. “TKO’s reasonably leveraged balance sheet adds further upside. Moreover, we like TKO’s management team, which we consider extremely talented and appropriately motivated.”
His conclusion: “TKO is evolving into one of the most durable and monetizable global sports-rights platforms … TKO’s business mix is shifting toward a more recurring, contractual revenue profile that should support a higher valuation framework over time.”
Analyst: Ralph Schackart, William Blair Pick: Meta Platforms**
Why:** Advertising and artificial intelligence – no surprise there! – are two key drivers behind the tech-focused expert’s bullishness on Meta shares, which the firm ranks as among its best one-year ideas.
“Meta’s core advertising business continues to perform well,” he highlighted. “Advertising 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.”
With an “outperform” rating without a stock price target, he also emphasized the AI upside opportunity, concluding: “We believe Meta is positioned to be a long-term beneficiary of AI given its investment in infrastructure and talent.”
But Schackart also feels that investors still need to be sold more on the AI outlook. “Mark Zuckerberg remains focused on building personal superintelligence and developing an industry-leading amount of compute to be ready when (if) the capability arrives,” he argued. “However, investors continue to question Meta’s level of AI investment because it does not have a tangible, monetizable AI product.” His big takeaway on AI monetization: “Given investor scrutiny surrounding capital expenditure forecasts related to AI, we believe companies will need to show evidence of capital expenditures’ return on investment.”