CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) reported what Chief Executive Officer Clint Stinchcomb described as the strongest quarterly financial performance in the company’s history for the second quarter of 2026, driven by growth in licensing revenue, lower operating expenses and improved margins.
Revenue totaled $23.2 million, up 22% from $19 million in the prior-year quarter. Licensing revenue increased 48% year over year to $14.1 million and represented the largest source of revenue growth, while subscription revenue was $8.9 million, roughly in line with the second quarter of 2025 and slightly above the first quarter of 2026.
Licensing Growth and AI Data Products
Stinchcomb said the company’s licensing operations are supported by three areas: premium factual-video licensing to media and distribution partners; structured video and audio data sets for technology companies training artificial intelligence models; and a private code corpus containing more than 880 billion tokens for AI developers, coding-agent providers and enterprises.
The CEO said CuriosityStream has productized part of its video library for AI-training customers, creating 17 off-the-shelf video data-set products. The collections include categories such as scripted entertainment, professional and collegiate sports, animation, wildlife, science, automotive and instructional content, as well as structured clips involving high-dynamic-range video, character tracking, synchronized multi-camera footage and raw footage.
According to Stinchcomb, organizing and packaging the company’s intellectual property around AI developers’ requirements is intended to make data sets easier to evaluate and help shorten sales cycles. He said the licensing pipeline is “as robust as it has ever been,” although licensing revenue can be uneven from period to period.
During the analyst question-and-answer session, Stinchcomb said the company expects demand from a growing number of companies that need to license code, video, audio or more specific forms of content to train models. He said the off-the-shelf offerings may be particularly useful for smaller customers seeking to begin with more limited purchases.
Margins Improve as Expenses Decline
Second-quarter gross margin rose to 73% from 53% a year earlier. Chief Financial Officer Brady Hayden said the improvement reflected the company’s ability to generate significant new revenue with minimal incremental distribution costs.
Total operating expenses fell 24.1% from the prior-year quarter as the company continued cost-rationalization efforts. Stinchcomb said CuriosityStream reduced spending across its major expense categories by using AI productivity tools and aligning its talent base with higher-value priorities.
The company expects further expense reductions in the second half. Stinchcomb told analysts that operating expenses in the latter half of 2026 could decline an additional 18% to 20% compared with the first half. However, he said revenue-sharing agreements are expected to account for a greater portion of licensing activity in the second half than they did in the first half, affecting EBITDA projections.
Management said it remains committed to the subscription business but is managing it for “durable economics” rather than pursuing subscriber growth at any cost. Stinchcomb also said the company continues to pursue streaming-service bundles, which it views as a source of more stable subscription revenue and more efficient customer-acquisition spending.
International Operations and Capital Position
CuriosityStream prepaid $2 million to fully consolidate ownership of its German business and buy out joint-venture partners SPIEGEL TV and Autentic. The transaction closed July 1 and will be reflected in third-quarter results, Hayden said.
Stinchcomb said the German-speaking market is the company’s largest non-English-speaking market. The company operates two 24/7 pay-TV channels in the territory and also has FAST-channel distribution there. He said CuriosityStream sees further international opportunity as it adds currencies, billing options and payment systems.
The company ended the quarter with $10.9 million in cash and securities and no outstanding debt. During June, CuriosityStream paid its regular $5 million dividend and repurchased $600,000 of its shares. Based on its quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share and the prior day’s closing price, Hayden said the shares had a dividend yield of about 12%.
2026 Outlook
For the second half of 2026, CuriosityStream forecast revenue of $38 million to $41 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $6 million to $10 million. Full-year revenue is expected to range from $77 million to $82 million, while full-year Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $18 million to $22 million.
Hayden said the company expects to finish 2026 with $17 million to $22 million in cash and investments. Stinchcomb said management has sought to provide conservative EBITDA guidance and will monitor whether conditions warrant changes as the year progresses.
Looking longer term, Stinchcomb said the company is focused on building annualized revenue of $100 million or more that is reliable, recurring and increasingly predictable.
About CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI)
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.
