Shutterstock
Shutterstock licenses stock photos, videos, and data to businesses and now to AI labs.
On the record
Checkpoint: Q2 2026 earnings call, first results and guidance under interim CEO
The call
Shutterstock's core photo licensing business is shrinking fast while its AI data deals grow, and it's unclear which trend wins first.
Shutterstock sells images and videos to designers and businesses, but AI tools like DALL-E and Midjourney now let people create custom pictures from text instead. Revenue dropped nearly 18% in early 2026, and the company lost $47.6 million that quarter. The company is trying to stay alive by selling its image collection to AI companies like OpenAI and Meta for training data, but this deal is risky: it only pays once (not over time like the old photo rental business), Adobe already bundles its own stock photos with its AI tool inside Creative Cloud, and a UK court ruled in November 2025 that AI companies may not owe copyright royalties for training, which weakens Shutterstock's bargaining power. The real question is whether AI companies will keep paying for licensed images or simply build their own AI tools without them.
Why
01
AI pressure: Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Adobe Firefly. Text-to-image tools let people generate images instead of buying them, and Q1 2026 revenue fell 17.9% as that shift bites. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Adobe (Creative Cloud plus Firefly). Adobe already bundles stock search and AI generation inside Creative Cloud, cutting out a reason to visit Shutterstock at all. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. AI labs including OpenAI just extended a six year data licensing deal, but this pays for training data, not for stock photo sales.
What would change this call
Q2 2026 earnings (Aug 6, 2026) shows another double-digit revenue decline. Confirms legacy stock licensing is shrinking faster than AI data deals replace it.
Shutterstock names a permanent CEO within the next year. Would show whether leadership stability returns to steer the AI-licensing pivot.
An AI lab (OpenAI, NVIDIA, Meta, or LG) publicly renews or expands its Shutterstock data license. Would show licensing revenue can persist despite weakened copyright leverage.
Shutterstock names a permanent CEO within the next year. Would show whether leadership stability returns to steer the AI-licensing pivot.
An AI lab (OpenAI, NVIDIA, Meta, or LG) publicly renews or expands its Shutterstock data license. Would show licensing revenue can persist despite weakened copyright leverage.
Key numbers
- Q1 2026 revenue down 17.9% to $199.17M
- Q1 2026 net loss $47.6M vs $18.7M profit prior year
- Stock down 59% year to date, market cap ~$271M
Named risks
- Legacy stock content revenue declining double digits with no proven offset from AI licensing.
- Leadership vacuum: interim CEO running company through crisis after abrupt 2026-07-13 exit.
- Copyright leverage over AI training data weakened by Getty v. Stability AI ruling, Nov 2025.
- Contributor unrest over unpaid Contributor Fund since November 2024 risks creator exodus.
- FTC settlement compliance and reputational damage from deceptive subscription practices.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Getty Images | contesting | Merger collapsed 2026-07-01; both now compete standalone after $3.7bn deal fell through |
| Adobe (Creative Cloud/Firefly) | losing to | Adobe bundles stock plus Firefly generative AI in Creative Cloud, undercutting standalone licensing |
| Freepik | losing to | Low-cost unlimited-download rival gaining budget-conscious users, per 2026-05-17 comparison review |
| Text-to-image generators (Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E) | losing to | Q1 2026 revenue fell 17.9% y/y as low-value buyers shift to free AI generation tools |
Questions people ask
- Is Shutterstock profitable in 2026?
- No. Shutterstock posted a $47.6M net loss in Q1 2026, reversing an $18.7M net profit in Q1 2025, as revenue fell 17.9% year over year to $199.17M, driven by declining Content and Data revenue plus legal and merger-related costs, per its Q1 2026 results reported 2026-04-28.
- Could AI replace Shutterstock?
- Shutterstock's legacy stock-photo licensing business is under direct pressure from text-to-image generators, evidenced by Q1 2026 revenue dropping 17.9% year over year. Its survival strategy leans on data-licensing deals with OpenAI, NVIDIA, Meta and LG, but AI generators can already produce comparable images instantly, bypassing licensing entirely.
- Who owns Shutterstock?
- Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) is publicly traded; founder Jon Oringer serves as Executive Chairman and holds a large minority stake, with institutional holders including Vanguard and BlackRock. Its planned merger with Getty Images, announced 2025-01-06 at roughly $3.7bn, collapsed on 2026-07-01 after UK regulators demanded an editorial-unit divestiture.
- Is Shutterstock still merging with Getty Images?
- No. Getty Images terminated the ~$3.7bn merger on 2026-07-01 rather than accept the UK CMA's 2026-05-15 condition to divest Shutterstock's editorial business (Rex Features, Splash News, Backgrid). Shutterstock shares fell about 30 to 32% on the news, and the CMA formally closed its inquiry on 2026-07-08.
- Is it risky to join Shutterstock right now?
- There is real turbulence: CEO Paul Hennessy departed 2026-07-13 with CFO Rik Powell named interim CEO, the Getty merger collapsed 2026-07-01, revenue fell 17.9% in Q1 2026, and the company paid a $35M FTC settlement over subscription practices on 2026-05-18. Headcount also fell from 1,715 to 1,565 employees during 2025.
- Who is Shutterstock's biggest competitor?
- Getty Images is Shutterstock's closest rival and its failed 2025-2026 merger partner. Adobe is also a growing threat, bundling its Adobe Stock library with Firefly generative AI inside Creative Cloud, offering customers a combined stock-plus-AI-generation solution that undercuts Shutterstock's standalone licensing model.
Timeline
- 2026-07-23Shutterstock makes Unlimited and Unlimited Plus subscription plans globally available
- 2026-07-14Artists report no Contributor Fund payments since November 2024 despite promised Q2 payouts
- 2026-07-13CEO Paul Hennessy departs; CFO Rik Powell named interim CEO
- 2026-07-08UK CMA formally cancels its Getty-Shutterstock merger inquiry
- 2026-07-01Getty terminates merger; Shutterstock shares fall about 30 to 32%
- 2026-05-18Shutterstock settles FTC charges for $35M over subscription cancellation practices
- 2026-05-15UK CMA conditionally clears merger, requiring editorial business divestiture
- 2026-04-08Shutterstock extends OpenAI data-licensing agreement for six more years
- 2025-11-01UK High Court largely rejects Getty's copyright claim against Stability AI
- 2025-01-06Getty Images and Shutterstock agree to $3.7bn merger of equals
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Shutterstock (SSTK) Revenue 2009-2026 (2026-06-22)
- Shutterstock (SSTK) Q1 2026 Summary (2026-04-28)
- CMA Final report (2026-05-15)
- Getty scraps £2.8bn Shutterstock deal after UK intervention (2026-07-01)
- Shutterstock Shares Plunge Nearly 30% After Merger With Getty Is Called Off (2026-07-01)
- gurufocus.com (2026-07-23)
- Shutterstock (SSTK) Number of Employees (2026-07-14)
- Shutterstock Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results (2026-04-28)
- Shutterstock Extends OpenAI Partnership (2026-04-08)
- Shutterstock - Headcount, Funding & Open Jobs (2026-07-07)
- FTC (2026-05-18)
- Shutterstock Announces Leadership Transition (2026-07-13)