CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $19.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 million. CuriosityStream had a negative net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 12.43%.

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

• Strong FY2025 operating performance: Revenue rose 40% to $71.7M and adjusted free cash flow increased 46% to $13.9M, with Q4 revenue up 36% and full‑year adjusted EBITDA turning positive at $8.2M.
• Licensing is the key growth engine: Licensing jumped to $33.2M in 2025 (a >$25M YoY increase) and management expects licensing to exceed subscription revenue in 2026, driven by demand for rights‑cleared, metadata‑rich video for AI training.
• Margins, liquidity and shareholder returns: Q4 gross margin expanded to 60% (from 52% a year ago), the company ended with ~$27.3M in cash/securities and no debt, paid $22M in dividends in 2025, plans 2026 dividends from operations, and raised buyback authorization to $6M.
• Guidance and execution risks remain; management warns revenue from large licensing deals is lumpy (4–6 month cycles), H1‑2026 guidance is wide ($38–42M revenue, $6–9M AFFCF), and net loss was affected by one‑time/non‑cash charges and ongoing execution, legal and policy risks in the AI licensing market.

CuriosityStream Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of CuriosityStream stock opened at $3.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $187.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.10 and a beta of 1.85. CuriosityStream has a 52-week low of $2.30 and a 52-week high of $7.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.16.

CuriosityStream Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. CuriosityStream’s dividend payout ratio is presently -355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CURI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of CuriosityStream in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised CuriosityStream from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Barrington Research lowered their target price on CuriosityStream from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CuriosityStream has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.17.

Insider Activity at CuriosityStream

In related news, CFO Phillip Brady Hayden sold 17,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.76, for a total value of $65,702.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 101,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,267.92. This represents a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 52.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CuriosityStream

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CURI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CuriosityStream by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,978,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,484,000 after purchasing an additional 274,233 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in CuriosityStream by 31.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CuriosityStream by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 865,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after purchasing an additional 116,005 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in CuriosityStream by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 52,923 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in CuriosityStream by 234.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 688,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 482,360 shares during the last quarter. 6.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CuriosityStream Company Profile

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.