Stock Market Today: Netflix, Alphabet Lead Rally in Tech Stocks
Netflix reported much higher-than-expected subscriber growth, while Wall Street cheered Alphabet's layoff announcement.


Stocks ended the week on a high note. And while the buying was widespread on Friday, tech stocks were the clear winner as investors cheered impressive subscriber growth from streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) and news that Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) is undergoing its biggest round of layoffs ever.
Last night, Netflix reported fourth-quarter earnings of 12 cents per share, much lower than the 45 cents per share analysts were expecting, due to forex headwinds. Revenue of $7.85 billion matched the consensus estimate. But the real number investors were looking for was the subscriber growth, and Netflix blew that out of the water. Specifically, the company added 7.66 million paid subscribers over the three-month period – a time frame that included the launch of a lower-price, ad-supported tier. This compared to Wall Street's expectation for 4.57 million additions. Netflix also said founder Reed Hastings will step down as co-CEO, and will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters. The stock rose 8.5% as a result.
"Netflix has had a show-stopping end to the year, in a performance even its worst critics can't argue with," says Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "While Wall Street sags with the weight of recession fear and Federal Reserve jitters, Netflix's huge beat on subscriber numbers has injected some much-needed optimism into the mix."

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Elsewhere in the tech space, Alphabet said it is cutting roughly 12,000 positions, which works out to be about 6% of its global workforce, sending its shares up 5.3%. "Over the past two years we've seen periods of dramatic growth," Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, wrote in a memo to employees. "To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today." This follows similar layoff announcements from several big tech companies in recent months, most notably Amazon.com (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Big gains for Netflix and Alphabet stocks helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperform today (+2.7% at 11,140), though the broader S&P 500 (+1.9% at 3,972) and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.0% at 33,375) still notched robust gains.
3 Hot Earnings Reports to Watch
So what's in store for next week? Lots of chatter around what the Federal Reserve may or may not do at its upcoming two-day policy meeting, set to kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Ahead of this, Wall Street will get more data on how the economy is holding up amid the central bank's efforts to tame inflation through aggressive interest-rate hikes, with the first reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) due out on Thursday. Additionally, December's personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index – the Fed's preferred measure of inflation that tracks consumer spending – will be released Friday.
And throughout the week, investors will sift through a jam-packed earnings calendar. Among the notable names set to report quarterly earnings are Dow Jones stocks Microsoft and Visa (V). Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) is also on the docket. Despite a dismal end of the year for Tesla stock, analysts still expect solid growth in the company's Q4 financial results.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Soar on China Trade Talk Hopes
Treasury Secretary Bessent said current U.S.-China trade relations are unsustainable and signaled hopes for negotiations.
By Karee Venema
-
2026 Disney Dining Plan Returns: Free Dining for Kids & Resort Benefits
Plan your 2026 Walt Disney World vacation now. Learn about the returning Disney Dining Plan, how kids aged three to nine eat free, and the exclusive benefits of staying at a Disney Resort hotel.
By Carla Ayers
-
How Can Investors Profit From AI's Energy Use?
Global energy demand is expected to grow by leaps and bounds over the next several years as AI usage accelerates. Here's how to get a piece of the pie.
By Jacob Schroeder
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops 971 Points as Powell Pressure Ramps Up
President Trump is increasing his attacks against Jerome Powell, insisting the Fed chair cut interest rates.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: Tariff Talks Drive Another Up-and-Down Day
Trade war negotiations are happening, but the "fear gauge" is gyrating, and investors, traders and speculators are still searching for signs of a bottom.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops Another 2,231 Points to Hit a Correction
The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, entered a new bear market with its latest slide.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 1,679 Points on Trump Tariff Shock
U.S. stocks lost roughly $3.1 trillion in market cap on Thursday – the biggest one-day decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
By Karee Venema
-
The Stock Market Is Selling Off. Here's What Investors Should Do
Investors started fleeing the equities market en masse in response to the Trump administration's "jaw-dropping" tariffs. But the experts say don't panic.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: It's the Old Up-Down Again on Liberation Day
Markets look forward to what comes with the reordering of 80-year-old global trade relationships.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Are Mixed Before Liberation Day
Markets are getting into the freewheeling rhythm of a second Trump administration.
By David Dittman