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Investors will look to Netflix (NFLX.O) to emphasize content spending and ad business growth as key drivers when it reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, marking the streaming giant's first results since its failed bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Buying Warner Bros (WBD.O) would have handed Netflix a clutch of prized franchises, including "Game of ​Thrones" and "Friends", without the costly effort of building out its own. The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Instead, the company will face tougher competition from a combined Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O), if that proposed $110 billion deal closes. Netflix is expected to report a 15.5% increase in revenue to $12.18 billion in the first quarter, with $634 million from advertising, according to analysts polled by LSEG. The company raised U.S. prices in March, which some analysts say could lead it ​to raise its full-year revenue forecast. The price increase could also nudge ​more users towards its ad-supported tier, whose revenue remains small. Netflix shares have gained 13% so far this year, with the stock up about 26% since the company walked away from the $72 billion Warner Bros. deal. Investors now expect Netflix to refocus on sports and other live events as it looks to boost ad revenue. "We're kind ​of entering another ​phase for the ⁠ad business, where they are becoming one of the largest scaled global advertising platforms," said John Belton, ​portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which owns Netflix ​shares. The company ⁠expanded its live programming slate during the quarter, highlighted by a concert by K-pop supergroup BTS streamed from Seoul that drew 18.4 million viewers worldwide, ⁠as ​well as the 2026 World Baseball Classic, ​which became the most-streamed baseball game globally.