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what it is
Shutterstock sells licensed photos, video, music, and data tools that brands use so their ads do not look homemade.
how it gets paid
Last year Shutterstock made $990M in revenue. image licensing was the main engine at $495M, or 50% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 5.8% last year. Full-year diluted EPS was $1.25 in the 2026 company earnings report.
what just happened
The latest report said revenue hit $989.9M, but the real story was how little of that turned into profit.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
40/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
11.0x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
9.0% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
6.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 50/100 — below average
What they do
Shutterstock sells licensed photos, video, music, and data tools that brands use so their ads do not look homemade.
You go to Shutterstock because the library is already there and the license is clear. That matters when your marketing team needs content today, not after a legal argument. The company runs an industry-leading marketplace with 1,715 employees, and that scale helps keep buyers and contributors in the same loop.
How they make money
$990M
annual revenue · their business grew +5.8% last year
image licensing
$495M
+0.0%
editorial and enterprise content
$149M
+0.0%
video licensing
$129M
+0.0%
music and audio
$30M
+0.0%
data distribution and services
$187M
+16.0%
The products that matter
licensed image subscriptions
Core Stock Library
$787M · 79.5% of revenue
it is still the center of gravity at $787M, but that segment declined 2%. when almost four-fifths of revenue softens, you feel it everywhere.
core
enterprise data and distribution
Data, Distribution & Services
$203M · +16% growth
this $203M segment grew 16% and now makes up 20.5% of revenue. it is the part of the business still moving in the right direction.
growth pocket
ai training and generation tools
Shutterstock Generate
400M+ assets
the pitch is simple: turn a 400 million-plus asset archive into AI licensing and creation tools before generative AI turns stock imagery into a commodity.
ai option value
Key numbers
9.0%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to shareholders each year relative to the stock price → so what: you are getting paid a lot because the market does not trust it.
$1.01
2024 EPS
EPS → profit per share → so what: earnings fell hard from $3.04 in 2023, which makes the dividend look stretched.
16.7%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: Shutterstock is still profitable, but not enough to hide a major earnings slide.
$136M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: debt is 19% of capital, so leverage is present but not the main problem.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $136M (19% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for SSTK right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The latest report said revenue hit $989.9M, but the real story was how little of that turned into profit.
Full-year diluted EPS was $1.25 in the 2026 company earnings report, versus $1.01 for 2024 in the base data. Data, Distribution, and Services grew 16%, which is the cleanest growth signal in the release.
$989.9M
revenue
$1.25
eps
58.64%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was 58.64% gross margin, because gross margin tells you how much room the business has before operating costs eat the story.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is uk antitrust pushback on the Getty merger. if the deal gets delayed, blocked, or heavily conditioned, you are left owning a shrinking core content business with a market that already doubts the payout.
med
uk competition concerns are now explicit
On Feb. 19, 2026, the UK regulator flagged competition concerns around the Getty transaction. This is the near-term swing factor.
If remedies are severe or the deal stalls, the strategic reset investors are waiting for does not arrive on schedule.
med
the part that still pays the bills is shrinking
Content & Subscriptions produced $787M, or 79.5% of revenue, and still declined 2%. The latest quarter then showed an even sharper 12% companywide revenue drop.
When your biggest segment weakens, the 20.5%-of-revenue growth engine is not large enough to carry the whole company.
med
the 9.0% yield can become the story for the wrong reason
A $0.36 quarterly dividend looks great on the screen. It also tells you investors are pricing in a real chance that the payout gets harder to defend if revenue keeps falling.
A dividend reset would not just hit income-focused holders. It would also remove one of the few reasons some investors are still here.
the combined risk picture is straightforward: 79.5% of revenue comes from a segment already declining, while the latest quarter showed a 12% sales drop and the merger still faces regulatory friction.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
regulatory
uk merger ruling path
The UK authority already raised concerns on Feb. 19, 2026. If that overhang worsens, the merger thesis gets harder to underwrite.
segment trend
whether the $787M core segment keeps shrinking
Content & Subscriptions is still 79.5% of revenue. If it keeps declining, the 16% growth in newer lines will not be enough.
earnings
next quarterly report
After a 12% revenue drop in the latest quarter, the next print needs to show stabilization more than spin.
dividend
whether the 9.0% yield stays intact
The $0.36 quarterly payout is generous. It also becomes a stress test if operating trends do not improve.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
40 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a steady quarterly metronome. expect uneven results.
risk rank
3
middle-of-the-road safety. not distress-level risky, not safe enough to ignore execution.
price stability
25 / 100
this stock moves around. the trading range says the market has not settled on what the business is worth.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for SSTK is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$18
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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