Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISI head of internet research, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss Mahaney's thoughts on Netflix, if churn will pickup among the streaming stocks and much more.

Mark Mahaney, Head of Internet Research at Evercore ISI, discussed the positive outlook for Netflix, citing a strong content lineup and the company's increasing focus on advertising revenue and live events, including sports. He noted that Netflix's value proposition remains compelling, with affordable subscription options and a broad range of content, which supports its pricing power and long-term subscriber retention.

Mahaney also addressed industry trends, such as price increases among streaming services, and suggested that while short-term churn may occur, Netflix's overall offering positions it well for sustained growth. Additionally, he commented on broader technology sector trends, highlighting that companies investing heavily in AI, like Meta, have seen significant improvements in productivity and revenue per employee.

The bull case for Netflix

He sees another 20% upside from here. Joining us this afternoon, Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISS Head of Internet Research. Mark, good to see you again. On Netflix, I know you've done some survey work. You've got some stuff to talk about, about sentiment. Does it deserve to have treaded water, really, since Memorial Day or so? Oh, I, well, that's a good take on it. I was looking at the stock that's up 36% year to date and kind of patting myself on the back, but you're right. The stock has, there was an anticipation in the trade year to date that we were gonna have a heck of a strong content slate in the back half the year. I think that's coming through. And I think there was a little bit of surprise in this drama that everybody's now loved and it's the most popular movie, I guess, of all time, K-pop Demon Hunters. But you still have, you still have, Carl, don't forget. You still got Stranger Things and that's coming out in three batches. So this is gonna keep you busy. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. And then I think the content slate will just continue to get stronger. I think the next move in the stock is gonna be based on them ramping up advertising revenue. I think they're gonna do it, but this is gonna be a long slog and then also getting more and more into live events, including sports. And I think we're gonna see that. I think Netflix has just begun to become more crucial, more essential to households around the world over the next two to three years. It's a really good asset. You wanna be long it. This is not an aggressive entry point, but if you don't own any, you should buy some, I think. And look for those big pullbacks to step in and take big positions. I like Netflix as a core franchise. I know you've looked at satisfaction, at least in terms of US fundamental trends, but you did get some pricing action today on Disney+, which was reported by The Verge. Would you expect churn to pick up overall among the streamers right now? I don't see any particular reason why it does. Look, you're gonna get these shoot-ups in churn when you have price increases and all these companies are gonna be taking price up over time because they offer you really compelling value propositions. I mean, if you just step back, you're doing eight bucks a month for Netflix on the cheapest version of the offering for $19 billion worth of content. You can spend $8 a month to get that. I mean, the value proposition is still truly compelling. I think they'll also accordion their prices at the high end, they'll take up more and more. They'll take up pricing consistently over time. They've been able to do it in the past. As long as they have that catch-all, that safety net of that low-priced offering, I think they can do that. I think that was the really important pivot by the company two or three years ago. It's been phenomenally successful. I expect with that, with those price increases, you'll get a little spikes in churn, but I think long-term, they'll still stick there because the best value proposition for your money, for your entertainment dollars, isn't streaming, whether that's Disney or Netflix, and you'll probably buy a couple of these services. I think these companies have staying power and they have pricing power. While I have you, Mark, I wanna get you on some of your other favorites in the space, including any hyperscalers. I know you've done some work looking at not ROI, but ROI, meaning the return on AI investment by a lot of the giants, and you argue that it is accretive. Well, look, there's this great debate in the market. There was this MIT study that came out a month ago that said 95% of corporations were probably wasting their money on AI. I don't know if that's true or not. I look at the hyperscalers. I look at four companies that have leaned in more heavily than anybody else into AI spend, and you know how it's paid off? They've gotten accelerating revenue per employee. In other words, if you look at the last couple of years when they've really leaned into this gen AI investment spending, CapEx has gone up aggressively. Their revenue per employee has gone up 30% over the last three years. Now, there's a lot of factors that are in there. I know that, but still, I'm sure that some of the innovations they've made, I think about names like Meta that have dramatically improved the user experience and the advertiser experience, and has caused revenue per employee to jump up, in their case, almost 70%. Like, if you do AI right, if you invest in it aggressively, you can materially improve your monetization. And I'm not talking about costs. I'm talking about improving your productivity, your revenue per employee. You don't normally see that. So I think that's why, it's just great case studies for why this is such an exceptional period for these companies to be investing, and they're investing successfully, and investors can take advantage of that and stick with these stocks, because I think these trends are gonna be in place for several more years.

After meeting for about an hour with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Trump said he believes Ukraine can win back all of its territory from Russia "in its original form."

New York

In major shift, Trump says Ukraine can win back territory lost in war

A jury has convicted Ryan Routh of attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump on his Florida golf course last year. He was found guilty of all five charges, which included attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer.

West Palm Beach

Ryan Routh found guilty of trying to assassinate Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (September 23) spoke with reporters while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Trump takes questions during meeting with Zelenskyy

Chipmaker Nvidia said it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, as part of a strategic partnership. CBS MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has more details.

Santa Clara

Rise of AI

Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI

For the first time in more than half a century, astronauts will soon be heading back to the moon. CBC's Nicole Mortillaro breaks down the preparations for the mission, Artemis II, which will send astronauts on a historic loop around the moon.

Houston

NASA prepares to send astronauts around the moon

U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, where he pushed back on countries that have formally recognized a Palestinian state. Trump also touted U.S. immigration policy.

Trump delivers address at U.N. General Assembly

Southern China and Hong Kong are bracing for Super Typhoon Ragasa as authorities evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. CBS News' Anna Coren has more details.

Hong Kong Island

Super Typhoon Ragasa targets Southern China, Hong Kong

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to voluntarily maintain the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons set in the 2010 New START accord after it expires in February if the U.S. agreed to do the same.

Moscow

Putin offers Trump one-year extension to nuclear weapons treaty

President Trump announced Monday the FDA believes pregnant women should not take acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, claiming there could be a link between the medication and autism, despite objections from medical experts.

Washington

Trump, FDA tell pregnant women not to take Tylenol

ABC announced Monday that "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will return to the air Tuesday night (September 23). The network pulled the show last week following a remark from Kimmel about the death of Charlie Kirk.

Los Angeles

Jimmy Kimmel returning to air

As leaders from around the globe come together at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue to rage.

World leaders come together at UNGA as global tensions rise

Monday marks the second day of strike action after a similar walk-off was called on Sunday by the southern European country's largest trade union, the Italian Confederation of Labour (CGIL).

Rome

Middle East Conflict

Thousands strike across Italy in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

The Trump administration is adding $100,000 to the existing fee for H-1B visa applications, taking aim at a program that is used to attract highly skilled workers to the U.S.

Trump administration to add $100,000 fee for H-1B visas

President Donald Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi in a social media post to move forward with cases against several people connected to the U.S. government. CBS News justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane has more.

Trump urges Pam Bondi to go after his political foes

Russia is denying that its planes entered Estonian airspace on Saturday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, but Estonia's foreign minister is saying the government has "irrefutable evidence" of the incursion.

Ukraine Invasion

Russia denies violating Estonian airspace

U.S. President Donald Trump was the final speaker at a politically charged memorial service for conservative activist and MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk that also included words of forgiveness from Kirk’s widow as well as remarks from the vice-president and one of Trump’s sons.

Glendale

Trump closes out Charlie Kirk memorial

Media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and business leaders Larry Ellison and Michael Dell would be involved as U.S. investors in a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States, according to President Donald Trump speaking to Fox News channel.

Trump says Murdochs would be involved in TikTok deal

Portugal, the UK, Australia and Canada joined over 150 countries that now recognise a Palestinian state. The announcements come ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in the week ahead.

Lisbon

Portugal formally recognises Palestinian state

Police say a 23-year-old was arrested and charged Sunday night with second-degree murder after one person was killed and several others were injured in a shooting at a New Hampshire country club. Witnesses say the shooter said “free Palestine” and before opening fire.

Nashua

Suspect yelled 'free Palestine' before country club shooting

President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department go after his political rivals following a shakeup in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Eastern Virginia. Willie James Inman reports.

Trump pressuring Justice Department to pursue his political foes

President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several others remembered Charlie Kirk at a memorial service in Arizona that was attended by thousands.

Phoenix

Trump, others remember Charlie Kirk at memorial service

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia officially recognized Palestine as a state Sunday, a move that has long been opposed by the U.S. and Israel. More countries are expected to do the same this week as world leaders gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel continuing assault on Gaza after countries recognize Palestinian statehood

A group of US Republicans has sent a letter to France, Canada, the UK and Australia, urging them to re-consider their decision to recognise a Palestinian state.  It's warning there may be consequences if the countries move ahead with plan at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

US Republicans warn allies over decision to recognise Palestinian state

Britain, Canada and Australia all recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday (September 21) in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, but which is also bound to anger Israel and its main ally, the U.S.

Britain, Canada and Australia all recognize Palestinian state

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, will address the UN on Monday, after the General Assembly voted to allow him to join remotely. The U.S. has refused to issue him a visa to attend in person.

UN approves video address by Palestine’s Abbas after U.S. visa refusal

Sixty nations have agreed to a new treaty aimed at protecting marine biodiversity in international waters. But the strength of the deal governing the high seas is uncertain as some of the world’s biggest players - including China, the U.S., Russia and Japan - have yet to ratify.

Nations ratify world's first treaty to protect international waters

A cyberattack on a provider of check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several major European airports including London's Heathrow, the continent's busiest, causing flight delays and cancellations on Saturday (September 20).

London

Travelers stranded as cyberattack disrupts major European airports

The high seas will soon have their own Conference of the Parties (COP). This new body will oversee the implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which is scheduled to enter into force in early 2026 after the legally required 120-day period.

Manhattan

Optus, Australia's second-largest telecom carrier, promised on Saturday "full cooperation" with official investigators, after an outage disrupted emergency call services for 13 hours. Four people died amid the technical failure, including an eight-week-old boy.

Melbourne

Telco vows to cooperate after deadly outage

Dozens more Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive. Amid mounting international criticism of Israel, there has been a renewed push for a two-state solution, with Portugal being the latest advocate.

Breakdown