Getty Images Holdings Inc.
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
We found at least one documented issue that threatens the company itself — regardless of how the stock is currently valued.
Why this colour
Whoever holds this share owns the narrow slice of equity above about $1.33 billion of remaining debt and a $205.3 million litigation reserve — and is betting that a picture library shrinking by roughly 110,000 paying customers in two years still outlasts coupons of 10.5 and 11.25 percent. Whoever buys today is buying that leverage deliberately: at about 4.7 times adjusted EBITDA the enterprise is not expensive, and every dollar of debt reduction lands on a $264 million equity base — which is exactly why it cuts both ways. What both need to watch is not the courtroom but the next quarters: whether Creative stops falling currency-neutral, and what the financial advisor hired on July 7, 2026 comes back with. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Getty Images is a good business inside a hard structure. The licensing engine throws off a 32.7 percent adjusted EBITDA margin and an Editorial archive that generative models cannot synthesise — but $2.006 billion of de-SPAC debt at 10.5 to 11.25 percent takes more than the business earns ($156.2 million of interest against $83.9 million of operating income in 2025), the Creative segment that pays 56.7 percent of the bills fell 8.0 percent currency-neutral in the first quarter of 2026, and both escape routes closed: the UK court gave Getty only its trademark claim plus a $5.8 million costs award to Stability AI, and the Shutterstock merger was terminated on July 7, 2026. What is left is a thin, leveraged equity slice, a $205.3 million litigation reserve and an adviser on financing alternatives. Not investment advice.
Licensing business & Editorial archive
The core business earns: $981.3 million of revenue in 2025 at $320.9 million of adjusted EBITDA — a 32.7 percent margin — and $261.3 million after capital expenditure. Editorial ($369.6 million, +6.9 percent in 2025, +7.1 percent currency-neutral in Q1 2026) sells photographs of events that happened and is structurally beyond the reach of generative models (annual report 10-K 2025).
AI: vendor and target at the same time
Getty licenses data and content for AI model training and sells Generative AI by Getty Images and by iStock — but that revenue sits in the "Other" line at 5.6 percent of 2025 revenue and fell 7.0 percent in Q1 2026. The risk factors state that AI-generated content can substitute for licensed content; Creative, at 56.7 percent of revenue, fell 8.0 percent currency-neutral in Q1 2026. Purchasing customers are down from 799,000 (2023) to 689,000 (2025).
Debt & capital structure
$2.006 billion of debt (December 31, 2025) at coupons of 10.500 and 11.250 percent; interest expense of $156.2 million exceeded income from operations of $83.9 million in 2025, and $54.2 million against $31.6 million in Q1 2026. After the escrowed 10.500% notes are redeemed, roughly $1.33 billion remains — about 4.2 times adjusted EBITDA, with the next real maturity in 2028.
Litigation: Stability AI and the de-SPAC warrants
The AI lawsuit is a cost centre, not a moat: the UK case was won only on trademark, the primary copyright claims were dropped at trial, and $5.8 million of interim costs went to Stability AI (ruling November 4, 2025). Separately, the de-SPAC warrant litigation carries reserves of $205.3 million against $60.0 million of insurance; the Second Circuit affirmed against Getty on January 15, 2026 and nothing has been paid to date.
Strategy after the merger collapse
The Shutterstock merger was terminated on July 7, 2026 after the UK CMA demanded a sale of Shutterstock's editorial business. Mechanically that helps — the $628.4 million of 10.500% notes are redeemed from escrow, removing roughly $63 million of annual interest — but the strategic answer to AI and scale is gone, and the board is retaining a financial advisor on "strategic financing alternatives" (8-K of June 30 and July 7, 2026).
Valuation & ownership
A market value of roughly $264 million on $981.3 million of revenue looks like a price-to-sales ratio of 0.27, but a whole-company buyer pays about $1.5 billion including the remaining debt — some 1.5 times revenue and 4.7 times adjusted EBITDA: fair to cheap, not a giveaway. Insiders hold about 78 percent, three analysts cover the stock with an average target of about $3.93 (data as of July 16, 2026).
Worth Noting
GETY reached our research list via the Reddit hype scanner (ApeWisdom, 2 mentions in 24 hours, as of July 16, 2026) — the striking part was the silence around a company whose rescue merger had collapsed nine days earlier. GETY has no company row in our in-house stock scanner, whose fundamental filters cover the Russell 3000 universe; there are therefore no scanner metrics (Piotroski, Altman Z) in this analysis, only the original filings.
Careful with the ticker: GTY is Getty Realty Corporation, a petrol-station real-estate investment trust, and has nothing to do with Getty Images (NYSE: GETY).
Valuation figures are dated to July 16, 2026 (market value roughly $264 million); balance-sheet items are as of March 31, 2026 and annual figures for fiscal 2025 (ended December 31, 2025). Analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at GETY since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 0.229 $ to 2.40 $ · Last price: 0.2329 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Internet Content & Information
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getty Images Holdings Inc. GETY | 0.1 | – | 11.5 | 72.4 | 17.6 | 4.5 | -88.4 |
| Alphabet Inc Class A GOOGL | 4,238.0 | 26.1 | 12.3 | 60.9 | 36.1 | 15.1 | 39.6 |
| Alphabet Inc Class C GOOG | 4,226.7 | 25.7 | 12.3 | 60.9 | 36.1 | 15.1 | 37.9 |
| Meta Platforms Inc. META | 1,737.1 | 25.4 | 14.9 | 81.8 | 40.6 | 22.2 | -11.8 |
| Spotify Technology SA SPOT | 108.7 | 39.3 | 23.1 | 32.8 | 15.8 | 9.7 | -25.2 |
| Nebius Group N.V. NBIS | 48.1 | – | 50.6 | 74.3 | – | – | 131.7 |
| Reddit, Inc. RDDT | 31.1 | 44.2 | 35.5 | 91.4 | 27.6 | 69.4 | -42.7 |
| Baidu Inc BIDU | 30.5 | – | 51.2 | 40.9 | 10.0 | -3.0 | -28.5 |
| Tencent Music Entertainment Group TME | 12.8 | 9.3 | 6.9 | 44.3 | 30.4 | 15.9 | -68.5 |
| Median of companies shown | 48.1 | 25.9 | 14.9 | 60.9 | 29.0 | 15.1 | -25.2 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | – | – | – | – | 269 | – | – |
| 2007 | – | – | – | – | 249 | – | – |
| 2020 | 815 | 156 | -37 | -0.12 | 148 | 247 | 2,514 |
| 2021 | 919 | 202 | 117 | 0.35 | 189 | 339 | 2,578 |
| 2022 | 926 | 202 | -78 | -0.28 | 163 | 545 | 2,468 |
| 2023 | 917 | 128 | 19 | 0.05 | 133 | 633 | 2,602 |
| 2024 | 939 | 181 | 40 | 0.10 | 118 | 670 | 2,564 |
| 2025 | 981 | 232 | -206 | -0.50 | 65 | 553 | 3,240 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 0.01 | 200.00 | 229 | 1.50 | 1.70 | 46 | 31 |
| 2024: Q3 | 0.04 | 33.30 | 241 | 4.90 | -0.90 | 11 | -2 |
| 2024: Q4 | 0.06 | -40.00 | 247 | 9.50 | 9.90 | 40 | 25 |
| 2025: Q1 | -0.25 | -933.30 | 224 | 0.80 | -45.80 | 15 | 0 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.08 | -900.00 | 235 | 2.50 | -14.90 | 7 | -10 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.08 | 100.00 | 240 | -0.20 | 9.30 | 23 | 8 |
| 2025: Q4 | -0.22 | -466.70 | 282 | 14.10 | -32.20 | 21 | 8 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.02 | 92.00 | 227 | 1.10 | -1.80 | 39 | 23 |
| 2026: Q2 | -0.21 | -162.50 | 229 | -2.50 | -37.50 | -109 | -123 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 6 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Research
Risk & Weakness
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. Scanners marked in red are red-flag signals (risk/short scanners) — appearing there is not a seal of approval. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | -0.04 | -0.04 – -0.04 | 936 | -45.5% | 1 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.17 | 0.17 – 0.17 | 957 | 478.0% | 1 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Free cash flow over the past twelve months is negative, which rules out a serious reverse calculation. Any growth rate only makes a negative cash flow more negative; no present value comes out of it. What the price reflects here is therefore not a stream of cash flows, but the expectation that there will be one at all.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Getty Images ist zugleich Kläger gegen Stability AI und KI-Anbieter — die Vorrang-Regel (verkauft > bedroht) entscheidet für „verkauft“, weil die Filings KI ausdrücklich als Umsatzquelle ausweisen: Die Erlösnote des 10-K 2025 nennt Umsätze aus der Überlassung von Daten und Inhalten für maschinelles Lernen und das Training generativer KI-Modelle; Item 1 beschreibt „Generative AI by Getty Images“ (2023) und „Generative AI by iStock“ (2024) als eigene, kommerziell abgesicherte Text-zu-Bild-Dienste. Am 21.06.2026 kam eine mehrjährige Display-Partnerschaft mit OpenAI hinzu (8-K vom 22.06.2026): Gettys lizenzierte Inhalte erscheinen in den Such- und Entdeckungsfunktionen von ChatGPT. Alle diese Erlöse laufen in der Produktlinie „Other“ (2025: 54,8 Mio. $ = 5,6 % des Umsatzes). Wichtig für die Einordnung, ohne die Kategorie zu ändern: Die Risk Factors benennen generative KI zugleich als konkrete Bedrohung des eigenen Modells — KI-Bilder könnten lizenzierte Inhalte direkt ersetzen; das KI-exponierte Segment Creative (2025: 56,7 % des Umsatzes) fiel in Q1 2026 währungsbereinigt um 8,0 %. „Verkauft“ beschreibt hier also eine belegte, aber kleine Umsatzquelle, die einem ungleich größeren Bedrohungsbild gegenübersteht.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„The Company also generates revenue by providing customers with access to its data and content for machine learning and generative artificial intelligence model training uses."
Das Unternehmen erzielt zudem Umsätze, indem es Kunden Zugang zu seinen Daten und Inhalten für Zwecke des maschinellen Lernens und des Trainings generativer Modelle künstlicher Intelligenz gewährt.
10-K · 2026-03-16 · View SEC filing
„As part of these efforts, in 2023 we launched Generative AI by Getty Images and in early 2024 Generative AI by iStock, which are designed to be commercially-safe AI text to image generation services, available on gettyimages.com and istock.com."
Im Rahmen dieser Bemühungen haben wir 2023 „Generative AI by Getty Images“ und Anfang 2024 „Generative AI by iStock“ eingeführt — kommerziell abgesicherte KI-Dienste zur Text-zu-Bild-Erzeugung, verfügbar auf gettyimages.com und istock.com.
10-K · 2026-03-16 · View SEC filing
„Generative AI technologies also have the potential to create images and videos that directly compete with or substitute for our licensed content. As these technologies become more accessible and capable, customers may opt for AI generated content that bypasses traditional licensing models, impacting our revenue and market position."
Generative KI-Technologien haben zudem das Potenzial, Bilder und Videos zu erzeugen, die unmittelbar mit unseren lizenzierten Inhalten konkurrieren oder diese ersetzen. Da diese Technologien zugänglicher und leistungsfähiger werden, könnten Kunden sich für KI-generierte Inhalte entscheiden, die klassische Lizenzmodelle umgehen — mit Folgen für unseren Umsatz und unsere Marktposition.
10-K · 2026-03-16 · View SEC filing
„There can be no assurance that we will be successful in these cases, or in preventing other generative AI developers or technologies from using our content without authorization or fair compensation."
Es kann nicht zugesichert werden, dass wir in diesen Verfahren erfolgreich sein werden oder dass wir andere Entwickler generativer KI bzw. deren Technologien daran hindern können, unsere Inhalte ohne Genehmigung oder angemessene Vergütung zu nutzen.
10-K · 2026-03-16 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2026-03-16 · 10-K/A 2026-04-27 · 10-Q 2026-05-11 · 8-K 2026-06-22 · 8-K 2026-07-07 · 8-K 2026-07-21
Rated on July 28, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 1.9%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -74.9%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 14.4%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 5.1%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 66.8%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 46.8%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 32.5 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 463 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 12.0%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 78.3%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
3/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 3.8%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% -1.3%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 8.2%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% -1.3%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 8.2x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 6
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 36.8%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 12.0%
- Expected return > 10% 4.3%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2026 | Jenkins Jerry | SVP, CHRO | Sell | 2,558 | 0.23 | 588 |
The company
About the Company
Getty Images Holdings, Inc. provides creative and editorial visual content solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. It offers creative, which includes royalty-free photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, and generative AI-services; editorial, which consists of photos and videos covering entertainment, sports, and news; and other products and services, such as music licensing, digital asset management, distribution services, print sales, and data access and/or licensing. The company also provides creative content and editorial coverage, including video, with exclusive content, and customizable rights and protections through its website Gettyimages.com, which serves enterprise agency, media, and corporate customers; IStock, an e-commerce platform that offers access to creative stills and video that primarily serves small and medium-sized businesses, including the freelance market; Unsplash.com, a platform that offers free stock photo downloads and paid subscriptions to high-growth prosumer and semi-professional creator segments; and Unsplash+, an unlimited image only subscription. In addition, it maintains privately-owned photographic archives covering news, sport, and entertainment, as well as a variety of subjects, including lifestyle, business, science, health, wellness, beauty, sports, transportation, and travel. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
- Employees
- 1,650
- Headquarters
- Seattle, WA
- Address
- 605 5th Avenue South, 98104 Seattle, United States
- Phone
- 206 925 5000
- Website
- gettyimages.com
- IPO Date
- 07/25/2022
- ISIN
- US3742751056
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Mark H. Getty | Co-Founder & Chairman | 1961 |
| Craig Peters | CEO & Director | 1970 |
| Nathaniel Gandert | Senior VP & CTO | 1973 |
| Gene Foca | Senior VP and Chief Marketing & Revenue Officer | 1966 |
| Jennifer Leyden | Senior VP & CFO | 1974 |
| Chris Hoel | VP & Chief Accounting Officer | 1972 |
| Steven Kanner | Vice President of Investor Relations & Treasury | – |
| Kjelti Wilkes Kellough | Senior VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | 1973 |
| Jerry Jenkins | Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 1968 |
| Michael D. Teaster | Senior VP & Chief of Staff | 1967 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/31/2026 Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY): Other Events SEC ↗
- 08/28/2026 Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Other Events SEC ↗
- 08/10/2026 Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/21/2026 Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Other Events SEC ↗
- 07/07/2026 Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY): Other Events SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.