CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $23.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.32 million. CuriosityStream had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 0.06%.

Here are the key takeaways from CuriosityStream’s conference call:

• Record Q2 profitability highlighted revenue of $23.2 million, up 22% year over year, record net income of $8.9 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $11.4 million. Gross margin expanded to 73% and adjusted EBITDA margin reached 49%.
• Licensing revenue increased 48% to $14.1 million, supported by premium video distribution, AI-training data sets, and an 880-billion-token private code corpus. Management said its licensing pipeline is the strongest in company history and productized 17 video data sets to shorten sales cycles.
• The company reduced total operating expenses by 24% year over year and expects an additional 18%–20% reduction in second-half costs versus the first half. Management also forecast full-year 2026 revenue of $77 million–$82 million and adjusted EBITDA of $18 million–$22 million.
• Subscription revenue was approximately flat year over year at $8.9 million, as CuriosityStream prioritizes durable economics over aggressive customer acquisition. Management plans to pursue bundling, international expansion, and further distribution opportunities to support recurring subscription revenue.
• Second-half adjusted EBITDA guidance of $6 million–$10 million implies a sequential moderation from Q2’s $11.4 million, partly reflecting expectations for more revenue-sharing agreements and the inherently “chunky” timing of licensing deals. The company ended Q2 with $10.9 million in cash and securities after paying a $5 million dividend, repurchasing $600,000 of stock, and spending $2 million to consolidate its German business.

CuriosityStream Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CURI opened at $2.76 on Thursday. CuriosityStream has a 12 month low of $2.30 and a 12 month high of $5.51. The company has a market capitalization of $163.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 276.00 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.69 and its 200 day moving average is $2.95.

CuriosityStream Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. CuriosityStream’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,400.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Phillip Brady Hayden sold 30,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.56, for a total transaction of $77,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 71,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,443.52. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick J. Keeley sold 31,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.70, for a total transaction of $85,209.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 188,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,815. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 31.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CuriosityStream

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CuriosityStream by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,978,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,484,000 after buying an additional 274,233 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of CuriosityStream by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,359,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,168,000 after acquiring an additional 321,700 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CuriosityStream by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 865,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 116,005 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in CuriosityStream by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 52,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in CuriosityStream by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 688,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 482,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CURI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded CuriosityStream from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CuriosityStream from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Singular Research raised CuriosityStream to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Barrington Research dropped their target price on CuriosityStream from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CuriosityStream from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $5.50.

About CuriosityStream

CuriosityStream, Inc (NASDAQ: CURI) is a global streaming media company specializing in factual content across science, nature, history and technology. Founded in 2015 by John Hendricks, the founder of the Discovery Channel, CuriosityStream offers on-demand documentaries, series and short-form programming designed to inform and entertain viewers with high-quality educational content. The company’s library features both original productions and licensed titles, covering topics such as space exploration, wildlife conservation, archaeology and cutting-edge scientific research.

Since its launch, CuriosityStream has expanded its reach to subscribers in more than 175 countries, delivering content in multiple languages and via a range of platforms.