Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) Issues Earnings Results

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $229.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.23 million. Getty Images had a negative return on equity of 17.01% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.

Here are the key takeaways from Getty Images’ conference call:

• Negative Sentiment: Q2 revenue fell 2.5% year over year to $229.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA declined 8.4% to $62.3 million. Weakness in iStock and the agency business outweighed growth in Getty Images’ corporate and media operations.
• Negative Sentiment: Liquidity and leverage remain major concerns: free cash flow was negative $122.6 million after a $110.9 million warrant-litigation payment, cash ended the quarter at $51.6 million, and total debt was $2.1 billion. Management has hired Guggenheim Securities to evaluate financing and balance-sheet alternatives.
• Negative Sentiment: Management terminated the proposed Shutterstock merger after spending more than $100 million on professional fees and financing costs. The company also withdrew financial guidance while its capital-structure review continues through the third and potentially fourth quarters.
• Positive Sentiment: Getty Images reported continued momentum in higher-value areas, including 9.2% growth in editorial revenue, more than 350% growth in custom content solutions, and over 15% growth in Unsplash+ subscriptions. Premium Access represented more than 40% of total revenue and had retention of nearly 100%.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company plans to refocus iStock on premium offerings, reduce marketing with substandard returns, rationalize agency resources, and expand AI-related tools, content verification, natural-language search, and partnerships with technology and media platforms.

Getty Images Stock Performance

GETY stock opened at $0.44 on Tuesday. Getty Images has a 1-year low of $0.36 and a 1-year high of $3.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $0.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $184.76 million, a P/E ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Insider Activity

In other Getty Images news, insider Michael Teaster sold 38,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.79, for a total transaction of $30,099.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 488,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,200.98. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Cho Mikael sold 59,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $56,027.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 121,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,351. This represents a 32.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,355 shares of company stock worth $120,542. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Getty Images

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Getty Images in the 4th quarter valued at $3,071,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Getty Images by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,530,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 943,567 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Getty Images by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,434,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 742,008 shares during the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Getty Images during the fourth quarter valued at about $670,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Getty Images during the fourth quarter valued at about $505,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Getty Images in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Getty Images in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Getty Images from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.78.

Getty Images Company Profile

Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a leading global provider of digital visual content, offering an extensive library of stock photography, editorial imagery, video footage and music. The company supplies creative and rights-managed assets to a broad range of industries, including advertising, media, corporate communications and publishing. Through its online platform and licensing services, Getty Images enables customers to search, license and download multimedia content for commercial and editorial use.

Founded in 1995 by Mark Getty and Jonathan Klein, Getty Images pioneered the aggregation of photographic archives into a centralized, digital marketplace.