CuriosityStream — Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Summary

Financial Performance:

• Revenue reached $20.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, an increase of 13% from $18.4 million in the third quarter of 2025.
• Licensing revenue was $11.7 million, up 35% year-over-year.
• Net income was $4.8 million, representing an $8.6 million improvement compared to a net loss of $3.7 million in the third quarter of 2025.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $5.0 million, a 67% increase from $3.0 million in the third quarter of 2025, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA.
• Earnings per share (EPS) was $0.08.
• Gross profit was $10.1 million with a gross margin of 48.8%, down from $10.8 million and 58.7% respectively in the third quarter of 2025, attributed to higher revenue share expenses on AI licensing revenue.
• Operating expenses decreased by $5.8 million (25%) compared to the third quarter of 2025.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $1.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared to $9.1 million for the same period in 2025.
• As of September 30, 2026, the company held $10.0 million in cash, restricted cash, and held-to-maturity securities.
• The company reported no debt, with a $10.0 million revolving credit facility remaining undrawn.
• Deferred revenue was $7.163 million as of September 30, 2026, down from $8.409 million as of December 31, 2025.

Guidance and Future Outlook:

• The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $79 million to $82 million.
• The company raised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $20 million to $22 million.
• Management highlighted the potential to generate meaningful earnings growth as revenue expands without a corresponding increase in fixed cost structure.

Business Segments and Product Lines:

• The company launched Curiosity Stream with Prime Video in Canada, expanding its Prime Video presence to five major English-speaking markets: the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
• The company acquired the remaining 68% interest in the Spiegel Venture (a German documentary channel business) for $1.9 million in cash, increasing ownership to 100% and expanding European content distribution capabilities.
• The company licensed thousands of hours of scripted entertainment.
• Sean Piche, CPA, was appointed Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1, 2026.

Market and Competitive Landscape:

• Management noted that demand for high-quality, rights-controlled content and data is expanding across traditional media and artificial intelligence sectors.
• The company leverages its extensive intellectual property, including premium video, audio, and proprietary operational data, to create new opportunities.
• The company provides AI model training datasets, leveraging one of the world's largest rights-cleared media corpora to enable technology companies to train generative, agentic, and physical AI systems.

Risks and Challenges:

• Forward-looking statements are subject to risks including the ability to maintain and develop new and existing revenue-generating relationships, increase the subscriber base, and retain customers.
• Risks include the effects of pending and future legislation, risks associated with the internet and online commerce industry, and the highly competitive nature of the media industry.
• Potential risks include litigation, complaints, adverse publicity, and privacy or data protection laws, including data breaches.
• Gross margin decline was noted as a result of higher revenue share expenses on AI licensing revenue.

Management Commentary and Tone:

• President & CEO Clint Stinchcomb stated, "We delivered strong results in Q3. Revenue increased 13% and adjusted EBITDA grew 67%."
• Management emphasized the value and durability of the company's intellectual property and its focus on converting opportunities into durable commercial relationships and recurring revenue streams.
• The tone was confident, citing the relationship between revenue growth and earnings growth as evidence of the company's ability to scale efficiently.

Other Key Points:

• The Board of Directors declared a fourth quarter cash dividend of $0.085 per share, payable on December 15, 2026, to stockholders of record on December 3, 2026.
• A cash dividend of $0.085 per share was paid in the third quarter, totaling $5.1 million.
• Net income included a $0.9 million non-cash gain on the remeasurement of the Company's previously held interest in the Spiegel Venture.
• The company paid $14.993 million in dividends during the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
• The company repurchased common stock totaling $871,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
• The company reported a $1.82 million cash outflow for business acquisitions (net of cash acquired) during the nine months ended September 30, 2026.