• Netflix shares hit a record high this week for the first time since the pandemic.
• The stock is rising while shares of competing streamers are struggling.
• Netflix convinces investors with advertising strength and steady subscriber growth.

The streaming war is a mass conflict, but investors believe Netflix is ​​a winner this week.

Shares of the streaming giant closed at an all-time high of $698.54 on Tuesday. The stock extended its gains slightly in Wednesday’s session, trading at around $698.82 at 2:53 p.m. ET.

The stock is up 44% year-to-date, a huge turnaround after plunging more than 75% since its pandemic peak in 2022.

Meanwhile, investors are turning away from other media companies that operate streaming services because they have little chance of making a profit from their offerings. Since the beginning of the year, shares of Paramount and Warner Bros. have fallen 25 percent and 33 percent, respectively, while Disney shares were unchanged.

So why are investors pushing Netflix to new highs this week?

The boost came on Tuesday with an announcement in a blog post by Netflix that the company continues to see growth in advertising sales. The company has seen a 150% increase in upfront payments for advertising sales compared to 2023, the blog said.

The streaming giant said these deals were the result of the highly anticipated new seasons of shows such as Bridgerton, squid game, And Emily in Parisplus the NFL games on Christmas Day.

In May, Netflix announced a three-year deal with the NFL that will allow the company to show two NFL games on Christmas this year and one or more games each on the holidays in 2025 and 2026.

In addition to strong demand from advertisers, Netflix’s expansion into live sports could add value to the platform that justifies the increase in subscription prices, analysts say.

“We view the entry into NFL games (at only about 2% of annual content spend) as a significant subscriber driver in the fourth quarter, providing further tailwind for NFLX’s password-sharing initiative and supporting a price increase,” Jefferies analyst James Heaney said in a client note.

And earlier this month, Disney announced plans to raise prices on its Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ subscriptions this fall, which could make Netflix more likely to follow suit.

Both developments could help customers justify a higher price for Netflix, Heaney said.

However, the stock had been rising steadily even before this week. Shares have risen nearly 10% over the past month following the release of the company’s strong quarterly report on July 18.

The report showed that user growth exceeded expectations. Netflix added over 8 million new subscribers during the quarter despite a crackdown on password sharing. Revenue increased 17% during the quarter.

Analysts said they see the company’s upside potential in waning competition as other streaming companies focus on profits rather than growth.

“Over the past year, we have seen a normalization of the ‘streaming wars’, with various services/companies focusing on cost structure and a return to licensing content and focusing on existing markets,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note ahead of Netflix’s latest earnings release.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider, is a board member of Netflix.