Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) Issues Earnings Results

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, Zacks reports. Getty Images had a negative net margin of 16.24% and a negative return on equity of 26.82%. The firm had revenue of $229.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $235.23 million.

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 Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of GETY traded down $0.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.23. The stock had a trading volume of 998,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,625,722. Getty Images has a 52-week low of $0.23 and a 52-week high of $3.21. The firm has a market cap of $97.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.60 and a beta of 2.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $0.52 and its 200 day moving average is $0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GETY has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Getty Images from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Getty Images in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Getty Images in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Getty Images in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cho Mikael sold 59,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total value of $56,027.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 121,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,351. This represents a 32.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Teaster sold 38,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.79, for a total value of $30,099.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 133,355 shares of company stock worth $120,542 over the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Getty Images in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,071,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Getty Images by 160.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Getty Images by 43.8% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,434,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after buying an additional 742,008 shares during the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Getty Images in the fourth quarter valued at $670,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Getty Images during the 4th quarter worth about $505,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.75% of the company’s stock.

About Getty Images

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.