People Incorporated Q3 Revenue Falls 4% as Print Weakness Offsets Digital Growth

People Incorporated reported a 4% year-over-year decline in third-quarter 2026 revenue as continued growth in its digital and emerging businesses was outweighed by a sharper contraction in print. Total adjusted EBITDA was broadly stable at $55 million, while the company said AI-related changes in search behavior accelerated declines in web sessions and pressured digital advertising.

Total revenue fell to $431 million from $447 million a year earlier. People Inc., the company’s publishing unit, generated $410 million, down 5%, while its adjusted EBITDA declined 7% to $70 million. Emerging & Other revenue rose 21% to $21 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased to $4 million from $1 million.

Digital growth continues despite search pressure

People Inc. Digital revenue increased 2% to $289 million, marking the company’s 12th consecutive quarter of digital revenue growth. Digital adjusted EBITDA slipped 2% to $72 million.

The composition of that business continued to shift away from web sessions. Non-session-based revenue, which represented 43% of digital revenue, grew 15%. This category includes social and social video, events, Apple News, content syndication, AI partnerships, product licensing and digital subscriptions. People Inc. recorded 26 billion off-platform views during the quarter.

Session-based revenue accounted for 57% of digital revenue and declined 6%. Core sessions fell 26%, including a 22% decrease in Google Search traffic, while AI Overview penetration reached 82%. The company said stronger advertising performance, sales execution and higher rates partially offset the traffic decline.

Digital advertising revenue decreased 8%, reflecting the effect of AI on sessions. Performance marketing revenue rose 2% and was affected by the timing of Prime Day, while licensing revenue increased 49%, led by content and AI licensing.

Print remains the main drag

Print revenue declined 16% to $128 million, driven primarily by lower advertising sales and continued portfolio rationalization. Print adjusted EBITDA fell 32% to $8 million.

The Daily Beast and Vivian Health supported growth in Emerging & Other. The Daily Beast’s revenue increased 39% with improving margins, while Vivian Health revenue rose 18%, compared with 12% growth in the second quarter, alongside margin expansion.

Corporate costs were $19 million, compared with $22 million a year earlier. People Incorporated plans staffing reductions in the fourth quarter to align resources with growth and expects the consolidation of corporate functions with People Inc. to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2027. After the transition, it is targeting an annual corporate operating-expense run rate of about $45 million and annual stock-based compensation expense of roughly $30 million, before any future reallocation of People Inc. leadership costs.

2026 outlook and capital allocation

For the fourth quarter, management expects People Inc. Digital revenue to grow at a low-to-mid-single-digit rate. Full-year digital revenue growth is expected to be in the mid-single digits. The company also expects full-year Print adjusted EBITDA to approximately offset People Inc.’s unallocated corporate costs.

People Incorporated forecast full-year adjusted EBITDA of $263 million to $283 million, including $330 million to $345 million from People Inc., $13 million to $15 million from Emerging & Other, and corporate costs of $77 million to $80 million. Full-year operating income is expected to range from $6 million to $49 million after stock-based compensation, depreciation, amortization, restructuring, transaction-related costs and litigation matters.

The company reported $1.3 billion of total cash and cited $186 million of People Inc. free cash flow for the 12 months ended Sept. 30. Potential uses of cash include share repurchases, People Inc. acquisitions and debt repurchases. The company had authorization to repurchase 12.5 million shares as of Oct. 30 and said its acquisition strategy at People Inc. is focused on direct consumer relationships.

People Incorporated also owned 66.8 million MGM Resorts International shares, valued at $2.0 billion and representing a 26.6% minority interest based on information cited in the presentation. Its non-core asset realization plan includes Turo, Vivian Health, The Daily Beast, the IAC Building and intellectual property.

Key uncertainties include further changes in AI-enabled search, dependence on search engines and third-party platforms, weakness in advertising demand, continued print declines and cost pressures, and the company’s ability to complete its corporate consolidation. The presentation also identified indebtedness, strategic transactions, privacy and cybersecurity risks, competition and the timing and outcome of litigation involving Google as potential factors affecting future results.