Bill O'Reilly, Bank Stocks, UAL's Apology, And The Future Of Netflix

• (1:05) - Fox News Fires Bill O'Reilly
• (2:10) - Banking Earnings Reports
• (5:30) - United Airlines Earnings Report
• (9:50) - Netflix Earning Report
• (13:00) - Is It Time For Netflix To Move Past Subscription Stats?
• (25:00) - Episode Roundup: Podcast@Zacks.com

On today’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, Content Writer Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson take on this week’s biggest stories, including Fox’s decision to fire Bill O’Reilly, a wave of Q2 earnings reports, and what’s in store for Netflix in the future.

Make sure to subscribe and leave the show a rating on iTunes!

Before diving into the major earnings-related news, Maddy and Ryan chatted about 21^st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) , the parent company of Fox News, and its decision to fire longtime cable news king Bill O’Reilly amid his sexual harassment scandal.

After a New York Times report revealed that O’Reilly and Fox News have spent roughly $13 million to settle sexual harassment suits over the years, nearly 50 companies pulled their ads from The O’Reilly Factor. Although the show remains a massive revenue source for the channel, Fox News eventually decided to pull the plug.

Find out how it will impact the company here: How Will Bill O'Reilly's Exit Affect 21st Century Fox Stock?

The hosts moved on to recap some of the recent earnings reports from the banking industry. There was plenty of strength displayed by companies like Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) , but shares of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) slumped after a rare earnings miss.

Goldman blamed its weak quarter on sluggish trading revenues, but it was growth in exactly this area that helped Bank of America and Morgan Stanley deliver solid reports. Should Goldman Sachs investors be worried?

Read more here: Bank Stocks Roundup: MS vs. GS

Maddy and Ryan also covered the latest earnings results from United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) , the airliner that’s currently knee-deep in a PR nightmare after a video showing a passenger being forcibly dragged off an overbooked flight went viral.

United was able to post earnings and revenue beats this quarter, but the real story was the continued apologies from CEO Oscar Munoz.

Read what he said here: United Posts Earnings Beat, CEO Apologizes Once More for Scandal

Finally, the hosts touched on the first-quarter results of video-streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) . Although the company was able to post an earnings beat, investors were disappointed by its slightly sluggish subscriber growth.

Nevertheless, the company’s comments in the report suggested that it thinks investors should start judging it by different metrics. Maddy and Ryan debated whether this was accurate and suggested a plethora of options for the company going forward.

Find more on Netflix’s earnings here: Netflix Reaches 98.75 Million Members

As a reminder, if you feel that we missed something, or if you want us to cover a different story, shoot us an email at podcast@zacks.com. Make sure to check out all of our other audio content at zacks.com/podcast, and remember to subscribe and leave us a rating on iTunes.

As always, thanks for listening to this special edition of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, and check back for even more news from the investment and financial world!

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