Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (AREN) vs Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
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Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | NFLX | 15.9% revenue growth vs AREN's -12.3% |
| Value | AREN | Lower P/E (3.5x vs 30.8x) |
| Quality / Margins | AREN | 88.5% net margin vs NFLX's 24.3% |
| Stability / Safety | NFLX | Beta 0.76 vs AREN's 0.87 |
| Dividends | Tie | Neither pays a meaningful dividend |
| Momentum (1Y) | AREN | +79.5% vs NFLX's -1.9% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | AREN | 104.2% ROA vs NFLX's 19.8%, ROIC 22.6% vs 29.8% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
The Arena Group Holdings operates a digital media platform that publishes and distributes content across sports, lifestyle, and news verticals. It generates revenue primarily through digital advertising — including display, video, and native ads — supplemented by subscription fees and content licensing. The company's competitive advantage lies in its proprietary publishing platform that enables efficient content creation and distribution across multiple brands and channels.
Netflix is a global streaming entertainment service that offers original and licensed TV shows, movies, and documentaries. It generates revenue primarily through subscription fees — with three pricing tiers — and earns additional income from licensing its original content to other platforms. Its key advantage is its massive scale and data-driven content creation, which allows it to invest billions in programming that attracts and retains subscribers worldwide.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
NFLX leads in 2 of 6 categories (Total Returns, Risk & Volatility). AREN leads in 1 (Valuation Metrics). 2 tied.
Financial Metrics (TTM)
NFLX is the larger business by revenue, generating $45.2B annually — 316.4x AREN's $143M. AREN is the more profitable business, keeping 88.5% of every revenue dollar as net income compared to NFLX's 24.3%. On growth, NFLX holds the edge at +17.6% YoY revenue growth, suggesting stronger near-term business momentum.
| Metric | ARENThe Arena Group H… | NFLXNetflix, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $143M | $45.2B |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | $50M | $30.1B |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | $126M | $11.0B |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | $8M | $9.5B |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +52.6% | +48.5% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | +30.5% | +29.5% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | +88.5% | +24.3% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | +5.5% | +20.9% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | -11.3% | +17.6% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +27.3% | +31.1% |
Valuation Metrics
On an enterprise value basis, NFLX's 13.7x EV/EBITDA is more attractive than AREN's 14.6x.
| Metric | ARENThe Arena Group H… | NFLXNetflix, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $137M | $407.8B |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $257M | $413.2B |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | -1.01x | 38.04x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | 3.52x | 30.75x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | — | 1.15x |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | 14.62x | 13.74x |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 1.09x | 9.03x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | — | 15.61x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | — | 43.10x |
Profitability & Efficiency
On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), NFLX scores 7/9 vs AREN's 3/9, reflecting strong financial health.
| Metric | ARENThe Arena Group H… | NFLXNetflix, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | — | +41.3% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | +104.2% | +19.8% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | +22.6% | +29.8% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | — | +30.5% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 3 | 7 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | — | 0.54x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | $119M | $5.4B |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $4M | $9.0B |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $124M | $14.5B |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | 3.70x | 17.33x |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in NFLX five years ago would be worth $17,479 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $1,642 for AREN. Over the past 12 months, AREN leads with a +79.5% total return vs NFLX's -1.9%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors NFLX at 44.0% vs AREN's -28.4% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | ARENThe Arena Group H… | NFLXNetflix, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | -26.8% | +5.8% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | +79.5% | -1.9% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -63.2% | +198.8% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -83.6% | +74.8% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -17.9% | +930.4% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | -28.4% | +44.0% |
Risk & Volatility
NFLX is the less volatile stock with a 0.76 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than AREN's 0.87 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500. NFLX currently trades 71.8% from its 52-week high vs AREN's 28.8% drawdown — a narrower gap to the peak suggests stronger recent price momentum.
| Metric | ARENThe Arena Group H… | NFLXNetflix, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 0.87x | 0.76x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $10.05 | $134.12 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $1.34 | $75.01 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +28.8% | +71.8% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 34.3 | 55.8 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 62K | 38.8M |
Analyst Outlook
Wall Street rates AREN as "Buy" and NFLX as "Buy". Consensus price targets imply 246.0% upside for AREN (target: $10) vs 21.8% for NFLX (target: $117).
| Metric | ARENThe Arena Group H… | NFLXNetflix, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | Buy | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | $10.00 | $117.25 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | 2 | 97 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | — | — |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | 1 | — |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | — | — |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | 0.0% | +2.2% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | Mar 20 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arena Group Hol… (AREN) | 100 | 21.89 | -78.1% |
| Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) | 100 | 217.16 | +117.2% |
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) returned +75% over 5 years vs The Arena Group Hol… (AREN)'s -84%. A $10,000 investment in NFLX 5 years ago would be worth $17,479 today (including dividends reinvested).
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arena Group Hol… (AREN) | $0.00 | $126M | — |
| Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) | $8.8B | $45.2B | +411.7% |
Netflix, Inc.'s revenue grew from $8.8B (2016) to $45.2B (2025) — a 19.9% CAGR.
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arena Group Hol… (AREN) | -81.6% | -80.0% | +2.0% |
| Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) | 2.1% | 24.3% | +1049.7% |
Netflix, Inc.'s net margin went from 2% (2016) to 24% (2025).
Chart 4P/E Ratio History — 9 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) | 153.6 | 37.1 | -75.8% |
Netflix, Inc. has traded in a 30x–154x P/E range over 9 years; current trailing P/E is ~38x.
Chart 5EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arena Group Hol… (AREN) | -5.08 | -2.85 | +43.9% |
| Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) | 0.04 | 2.53 | +5783.7% |
Netflix, Inc.'s EPS grew from $0.04 (2016) to $2.53 (2025) — a 57% CAGR.
Chart 6Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. generated $-21M FCF in 2024 (-7% vs 2021). Netflix, Inc. generated $9B FCF in 2025 (+7269% vs 2021).
AREN vs NFLX: Frequently Asked Questions
9 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is AREN or NFLX a better buy right now?
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) offers the better valuation at 38.0x trailing P/E (30.8x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (AREN) a "Buy" — based on 2 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which has the better valuation — AREN or NFLX?
On forward P/E, The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. is actually cheaper at 3.5x — notably different from the trailing picture, reflecting expected earnings growth.
03Which is the better long-term investment — AREN or NFLX?
Over the past 5 years, Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) delivered a total return of +74.8%, compared to -83.6% for The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (AREN). A $10,000 investment in NFLX five years ago would be worth approximately $17K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: NFLX returned +930.4% versus AREN's -17.9%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
04Which is safer — AREN or NFLX?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) is the lower-risk stock at 0.76β versus The Arena Group Holdings, Inc.'s 0.87β — meaning AREN is approximately 15% more volatile than NFLX relative to the S&P 500.
05Which has better profit margins — AREN or NFLX?
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) is the more profitable company, earning 24.3% net margin versus -80.0% for The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. — meaning it keeps 24.3% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: NFLX leads at 29.5% versus 6.2% for AREN. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — NFLX leads at 48.5%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
06Is AREN or NFLX more undervalued right now?
On forward earnings alone, The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (AREN) trades at 3.5x forward P/E versus 30.8x for Netflix, Inc. — 27.2x cheaper on a one-year earnings basis. Analyst consensus price targets imply the most upside for AREN: 246.0% to $10.00.
07Which pays a better dividend — AREN or NFLX?
None of the stocks in this comparison currently pay a material dividend. All are effectively zero-yield and should be held for capital appreciation rather than income.
08Is AREN or NFLX better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding (low volatility (β 0.76), +930.4% 10Y return). Both have compounded well over 10 years (NFLX: +930.4%, AREN: -17.9%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
09What are the main differences between AREN and NFLX?
Both stocks operate in the Communication Services sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
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