Cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh quý 3/2026 của Playboy (PLBY): EBITDA gần như tăng gấp đôi nhờ mảng cấp phép và Honey Birdette tăng trưởng

Playboy, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLBY) báo cáo khả năng sinh lời cải thiện mạnh mẽ hơn trong quý 3 năm 2026 khi tăng trưởng ở mảng cấp phép tại Trung Quốc và Honey Birdette giúp thúc đẩy doanh thu. Ban lãnh đạo cũng vạch ra các kế hoạch cho một câu lạc bộ thành viên tư nhân tại Miami Beach, dự án có thể đóng vai trò làm hình mẫu cho mảng kinh doanh cấp phép dịch vụ khách sạn - giải trí quốc tế.

Những điểm nhấn chính

• Doanh thu tăng 9% so với cùng kỳ năm trước lên 31,7 triệu USD, dẫn đầu là Honey Birdette và mảng cấp phép tại Trung Quốc.
• Lợi nhuận hoạt động tăng gần gấp ba lên 4,0 triệu USD, trong khi lợi nhuận ròng tăng lên 1,9 triệu USD, tương đương 0,02 USD/cổ phiếu.
• EBITDA điều chỉnh tăng gần gấp đôi lên 7,9 triệu USD, nâng biên EBITDA điều chỉnh lên 25% từ mức 14% của một năm trước đó. Đây là quý thứ bảy liên tiếp Playboy ghi nhận EBITDA điều chỉnh dương.
• Doanh thu cấp phép tại Trung Quốc tăng gần 40% sau khi UTG ký kết ba thỏa thuận với tổng giá trị hợp đồng khoảng 15 triệu USD.
• Doanh thu của Honey Birdette tăng 12% lên 18,4 triệu USD. Doanh số bán hàng so sánh tăng 11%, và lợi nhuận hoạt động điều chỉnh tăng gấp đôi lên 2,4 triệu USD.
• Playboy đã đồng ý mua lại bất động sản Khách sạn Freehand tại Miami Beach để phát triển thành một câu lạc bộ thành viên tư nhân. Công ty dự kiến đóng góp khoảng 5 triệu USD và dự định thu hồi khoản đầu tư đó thông qua việc bán thẻ thành viên.

Dữ liệu tài chính quan trọng

EBITDA điều chỉnh 12 tháng gần nhất đạt khoảng 27 triệu USD, hoặc khoảng 30 triệu USD nếu loại trừ chi phí kiện tụng. Playboy cũng báo cáo 324 triệu USD doanh thu theo hợp đồng nhưng chưa được ghi nhận.

Kết quả kinh doanh và hoạt động

Cấp phép

Mảng cấp phép tạo ra 10,9 triệu USD lợi nhuận hoạt động với biên lợi nhuận gộp 96% và biên lợi nhuận hoạt động 86%.

Trung Quốc là động lực tăng trưởng chính. UTG đã ký kết ba thỏa thuận, bao gồm việc mở rộng một hợp đồng hiện có, một đối tác nhận cấp phép thay thế mạnh hơn trong một danh mục hiện có và một danh mục mới. Tổng giá trị hợp đồng của các thỏa thuận này vào khoảng 15 triệu USD.

Bên ngoài Trung Quốc, doanh thu cấp phép đi ngang so với cùng kỳ năm trước sau khi loại trừ hơn 0,5 triệu USD từ các khoản thanh toán dàn xếp kiểm toán bên nhận cấp phép một lần trong giai đoạn so sánh. Sau khi quý này kết thúc, Playboy đã ký một thỏa thuận 5 năm mới với đối tác nhận cấp phép may mặc lớn nhất của mình, tăng mức cam kết tối thiểu lên gấp mười lần.

Màn hợp tác với Supreme đã tạo ra hơn 1 triệu USD doanh số trong 24 giờ đầu tiên và được gia hạn sang năm 2027. Ban lãnh đạo cũng cho biết Ainsworth đã mô tả máy đánh bạc thương hiệu Playboy của họ là màn ra mắt sản phẩm thành công nhất trong lịch sử của đối tác này.

Honey Birdette

Doanh số bán hàng so sánh của Honey Birdette tăng 11%. Doanh số so sánh tại các cửa hàng tăng 9% dù mức so sánh cùng kỳ năm trước tăng trưởng tới 22%, trong khi doanh số so sánh trực tuyến cải thiện lên mức dương 13% so với mức âm 10% trong quý cùng kỳ năm trước.

Tăng trưởng đạt được bất chấp mạng lưới bán lẻ thu hẹp xuống còn 48 cửa hàng, giảm so với mức 51 cửa hàng. Công ty có kế hoạch đóng cửa thêm hai cửa hàng nữa, sau đó ban lãnh đạo dự kiến chương trình tinh giản hệ thống cửa hàng sẽ hoàn tất.

Biên lợi nhuận gộp mở rộng lên 63% từ mức 61%, nhờ vào việc bán theo giá niêm yết và giá bán bình quân cao hơn. Màn hợp tác Playboy x Honey Birdette là một trong những đợt ra mắt bộ sưu tập thành công nhất của thương hiệu. Honey Birdette có kế hoạch mở rộng sang đồ bơi và trang phục thể thao, đồng thời dự kiến có thêm ba màn hợp tác với Playboy trong năm 2027.

Truyền thông và Trải nghiệm

Lượng thuê bao trả phí trên Playboy.com tăng đều qua từng tháng sau khi nền tảng được tái khởi động. Cuộc thi tìm kiếm người mẫu của Playboy đã thu hút khoảng 48.000 thí sinh và hơn 200.000 người bình chọn trả phí. Tổng doanh thu đã vượt 1 triệu USD, dù theo thỏa thuận thì Playboy chỉ ghi nhận phần lợi nhuận ròng.

Công ty cũng đã ký kết chiến dịch tài trợ đầu tiên, một thỏa thuận có giá trị sáu con số. Ban lãnh đạo thừa nhận rằng việc phát triển mảng tài trợ mất nhiều thời gian hơn so với kỳ vọng ban đầu.

Dự án Khách sạn - Nghỉ dưỡng Miami Beach

Playboy đã ký thỏa thuận mua lại khu bất động sản Khách sạn Freehand hiện tại ở Miami Beach để chuyển đổi thành một câu lạc bộ thành viên tư nhân. Khu đất rộng khoảng 1 mẫu Anh và bao gồm năm tòa nhà bao quanh một khoảng sân và hồ bơi.

Think Hospitality dự kiến sẽ vận hành câu lạc bộ, trong khi Infinity Collective sẽ hỗ trợ phát triển bất động sản. Cả hai đối tác đều cùng đầu tư với Playboy. Khách sạn hiện tại dự kiến sẽ tiếp tục hoạt động trong quá trình chuẩn bị các kế hoạch tái phát triển.

Ban lãnh đạo coi câu lạc bộ tại Miami là nền tảng cho chiến lược dịch vụ khách sạn - giải trí theo mô hình tinh giản tài sản (asset-light) rộng lớn hơn, dựa trên hình thức cấp phép và chia sẻ lợi nhuận. Playboy dự kiến sẽ hợp nhất một phần của liên doanh này, trong khi doanh thu cấp phép và các dòng tiền khác cũng sẽ tác động đến báo cáo kết quả hoạt động kinh doanh.

Triển vọng từ Ban lãnh đạo

• Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến mảng cấp phép tại Trung Quốc sẽ duy trì đà tăng trưởng hiện tại trong phần còn lại của năm 2026 và sang nửa đầu năm 2027, tùy thuộc vào tiến độ thực thi của UTG và các thỏa thuận mới.
• Công ty kỳ vọng mảng cấp phép bên ngoài Trung Quốc sẽ lấy lại đà tăng trưởng vào năm 2027 nhưng không đưa ra mức tăng trưởng cụ thể.
• Playboy dự kiến sẽ hoàn tất giao dịch bất động sản Miami Beach vào cuối năm 2026. Thời điểm mở bán thẻ thành viên vẫn chưa được xác định.
• Công ty đã dành riêng 37 triệu USD nữa để trả nợ trước tháng 1/2028, qua đó sẽ giảm tổng nợ xuống còn khoảng 108 triệu USD. Dựa trên lượng tiền mặt hiện tại, ban lãnh đạo ước tính nợ ròng khi đó sẽ vào khoảng 85 triệu USD.
• Ban lãnh đạo cho biết Honey Birdette tiếp tục ghi nhận tăng trưởng doanh số so sánh dương trong tháng 10 và bày tỏ sự tự tin trước thềm Black Friday và Cyber Monday.

Rủi ro và các điểm cần theo dõi

• Tổng nợ vẫn ở mức 144,9 triệu USD, trong khi nợ ròng là khoảng 115 triệu USD và tỷ lệ đòn bẩy vào khoảng 3,8 lần EBITDA điều chỉnh 12 tháng gần nhất không bao gồm chi phí kiện tụng.
• Doanh thu tài trợ phát triển chậm hơn so với dự kiến ban đầu của ban lãnh đạo, mặc dù công ty đã ký kết chiến dịch đầu tiên.
• Doanh thu từ đối tác nhận cấp phép may mặc lớn nhất sẽ thấp hơn trong các quý đầu và cao hơn trong các quý sau của mỗi năm hợp đồng, do mức cam kết tối thiểu lớn hơn làm chậm việc ghi nhận tiền bản quyền vượt ngưỡng đó.
• Playboy dự kiến sử dụng khoảng 5 triệu USD tiền mặt trên bảng cân đối kế toán cho dự án dịch vụ khách sạn tại Miami. Công ty kỳ vọng sẽ thu hồi khoản đầu tư thông qua việc bán thẻ thành viên, nhưng lộ trình bán hàng vẫn chưa được chốt.
• Bất động sản tại Miami cần có kế hoạch cải tạo, trong khi lịch trình mở cửa chi tiết và ngân sách tái phát triển chưa được đề cập trong cuộc họp báo cáo kết quả kinh doanh.

Điểm nhấn phiên hỏi đáp với chuyên gia phân tích

Các chuyên gia phân tích tập trung vào bài toán kinh tế của câu lạc bộ tại Miami, đà tăng trưởng mảng cấp phép và khả năng duy trì tăng trưởng của Honey Birdette trước mức so sánh khắt khe hơn của năm trước.

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết khoản đầu tư vào Miami mang tính chất ngắn hạn, với kỳ vọng việc bán thẻ thành viên sẽ giúp hoàn trả vốn ban đầu cho Playboy. Mục tiêu dài hạn hơn là cấp phép mô hình câu lạc bộ này ra quốc tế, đồng thời thu doanh thu cấp phép và một phần chia sẻ lợi nhuận.

Về mảng cấp phép, ban lãnh đạo viện dẫn danh mục dự án tiềm năng đang mở rộng tại Mỹ và châu Âu nhưng từ chối cung cấp các thương vụ cụ thể hay tốc độ tăng trưởng năm 2027. Nội dung thương hiệu, các dự án hợp tác và cơ sở dữ liệu khách hàng ngày càng mở rộng của Playboy được xác định là trọng tâm để thu hút các bên nhận cấp phép và nhà tài trợ.

Đối với Honey Birdette, ban lãnh đạo nhấn mạnh vào sự tăng trưởng bán lẻ liên tục bất chấp mức so sánh khắt khe của năm trước, doanh số bán hàng so sánh tích cực trong tháng 10, lượng hàng giảm giá mới cho mùa bán hàng dịp lễ hội và kế hoạch mở rộng sang đồ bơi cùng trang phục thể thao.

Toàn văn Biên bản Cuộc họp Báo cáo Kết quả Kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

Good afternoon. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Playboy, Inc.'s third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. [Operator Instructions] This conference is being recorded today, Thursday, November 5, 2026, and the earnings press release and Form 10-Q, from which information may be referenced during this conference call, were issued after the market closed today. On our call today are Playboy, Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer, Ben Kohn, and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Marc Crossman. I would like to remind you that the information discussed today is qualified in its entirety by the Form 8-K and Form 10-Q filed today by Playboy, Inc., which may be accessed on the SEC's website and on Playboy, Inc.'s website.

Please note that statements made during this call, financial projections, and other statements that are not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are made on the basis of Playboy, Inc.'s views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance at the time they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, which could cause the company's actual results to differ from its historical results and forecasts, including those risks set forth in SEC filings. You should refer to and carefully consider those for more information. This cautionary statement applies to all forward-looking statements made during this call. Do not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

In addition, throughout today's call, the company may refer to adjusted EBITDA and other adjusted financial measures, which are not GAAP financial measures, which it believes provide helpful information to investors about the performance of the business on an ongoing basis. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and other adjusted financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the company's SEC filings, which are available on the Playboy, Inc. Investor Relations website. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Playboy's Chief Executive Officer, Ben Kohn. Ben, the floor is yours.

Ben Kohn

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Two years ago, we laid out an asset-light strategy focused on content as our marketing engine for the brand and three revenue verticals for Playboy plus Honey Birdette. I am pleased to report that the business plan is working, and we have exciting updates for you on each of our verticals.

Our run of high-profile covers continues: Cara Delevingne for summer and Charli XCX for fall. Our winter issue is close behind with two more big names that will grace the cover. Our three consecutive latest covers have generated more than 20 billion press impressions across press and social, marked our seventh consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA, and the foundation we laid for revenue growth is starting to take hold.

Revenue grew 9% to $31.7 million. Operating income nearly tripled to $4 million, and net income was $1.9 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with $0.5 million, or less than $0.01 per share, a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was $7.9 million, nearly double the $4.1 million we reported a year ago—our strongest quarter since we began this transformation. Our net income margin expanded from approximately 2% to 6%, and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded from 14% to 25%. On a trailing 12-month basis, adjusted EBITDA is now approximately $27 million, and approximately $30 million excluding litigation expenses.

Before I touch on each of the verticals that contributed to our third quarter, I want to discuss a recent development regarding the relaunch of our hospitality vertical in Miami Beach. For 30 years, Playboy was a place you could walk into—the clubs and, of course, the Playboy Mansion. We are pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement to acquire the property that is currently the Freehand Hotel in Miami Beach and to develop it into a private members' club. The property covers approximately an acre of land with five buildings around a central courtyard and a pool. We have committed to using approximately $5 million of cash from our balance sheet, which we expect to get back from the sale of memberships in the future.

The new club will be a foundational piece of our hospitality strategy. We continue to pursue our asset-light business model and strategy in which the Playboy brand serves as the foundation for licensing, media, and hospitality. Given the potential licensing revenue and profit share opportunity, we felt it is a better use of our cash in the short term than the share repurchase we were contemplating. We've also signed a term sheet with two proven partners, Think Hospitality for the operation of the club and Infinity Collective for the development of the real estate, both of which will be investing alongside of us.

Now onto licensing. First, China. When we brought in UTG as our partner and operator in China earlier this year, we told you there would be a transition period—a couple of quarters where the revenue growth paused while UTG took over the business. We said that UTG needed time to get its footing, and the third quarter is the first concrete proof of what this partnership can do. UTG signed three new agreements with a combined contract value of roughly $15 million, and China licensing revenue grew nearly 40% year over year. Based on their pipeline of new deals, we expect that business to keep growing from here.

Second, in the rest of the world. The strategy of fewer, bigger, and better partners is producing the partnerships we said it would. We signed a new 5-year agreement with our largest apparel licensee, with minimum guarantees increasing 10x, setting us up for the next phase of growth. Our Supreme collaboration did more than $1 million of sales in its first 24 hours and has been extended into 2027. Ainsworth's Playboy slot machine launched at G2E last month, and Ainsworth has called it the most successful product launch in its history. Our Von Dutch collaboration launches in December. The team continues to build the pipeline, and we expect the rest of the world licensing business to return to growth in 2027. Better partners mean bigger minimum guarantees and longer, more durable contracts. Across the segment, we now have $324 million of contracted, not yet recognized revenue.

On to media. Paying subscriptions on Playboy.com have grown every month since its relaunch, and that pace has accelerated through the third quarter. We are testing our way into paid acquisition, and with our new CRM in place, every new member and every voter becomes someone we can market directly to. Paid voting continues to grow as well. Our Playboy and Honey Birdette model search drew roughly 48,000 contestants and more than 200,000 paying voters, about 3 times the contestants of the prior contest. Its revenue surpassed $1 million, more than double the prior contest. It's important to note that based on the deal structure, we only recognize our net profit, not the revenue. Our next contest, the Great Playmate Search, has just launched. It is first and foremost a top-of-the-funnel engine for our audience.

On sponsorships, I will be candid, it has taken longer than we expected. Brands had to see what Playboy is today before they were committed, and the run of covers has done a great deal to change that. We signed our first sponsorship campaign, a 6-figure deal that is now signed, and the production is now in the works. We have several more active discussions.

Lastly, Honey Birdette. Revenue grew 12% in the quarter, operating income increased by nearly $1 million, and adjusted operating income roughly doubled. The Playboy x Honey Birdette collab was one of the best-selling collections in its history. Moving forward, Honey Birdette is expanding its product lines to include swim and activewear, and based on the success of the Playboy collaboration, has three new Playboy collections planned for next year.

With that, Marc, I'll turn it over to you.

Marc Crossman

Thank you, Ben. Consolidated revenue for the third quarter was $31.7 million, up 9% from $29 million a year ago. Growth was led by Honey Birdette and China licensing. Our new media and experiences revenue also contributed at a meaningful scale for the first time. Licensing revenue was $12.6 million, up 5% from $12 million in the prior-year quarter. Licensing revenue grew nearly 40% year over year, driven by three new agreements UTG signed during the quarter.

Growth came from three sources: first, the expansion of an existing contract; second, the replacement of a licensee in an existing category with a much stronger partner; and third, a new category. That breadth is why we expect China to continue to grow. In the rest of the world, licensing revenue was flat year over year, excluding two 1-time licensee audit settlements of more than $0.5 million in the prior quarter.

After quarter end, we signed a new 5-year agreement with our largest licensee in apparel. As Ben mentioned, the minimum guarantee is 10 times higher than before. That changes the timing of the revenue we record. We recognize the minimum guarantee evenly through the year. Royalties above the minimum are only recognized once the partner's sales have earned out the full guarantee. With a much larger guarantee, revenues above the minimum guarantee happen later in each contract year. The revenue from this partner will be lighter in the early quarters of each contract year and heavier in the later quarters. Only the timing within the year changes. Licensing gross margin remained at 96%, and the segment generated $10.9 million of operating income in the quarter. That is an operating margin of 86%.

Revenue in our corporate segment grew to $0.5 million from $100,000 a year ago. This segment now captures our media and experiences businesses. Growth was driven by paid voting and sales of our summer and fall magazine issues. As Ben noted, we recognize only net profit from voting, not the gross revenue of more than $1 million.

Honey Birdette revenue was $18.4 million, up 12% from $16.4 million a year ago. Our comparable sales grew 11% on top of a 3% comp in the third quarter of 2025. Underneath that number is the important part: store comps grew 9% on top of a 22% comp a year ago. So our retail fleet kept growing against a very demanding comparison. Online comps were down 10% a year ago. This quarter, online flipped to a positive 13% comp against a negative 10% comp a year ago. Comps were led by the U.S., but the retail and online channels got a lift in September from our Playboy x Honey Birdette collaboration. It was one of the most successful collection launches in Honey Birdette's history.

It's important to note that we delivered total revenue growth on a smaller footprint. We ended the quarter with 48 stores compared with 51 a year ago. We have 2 more closures planned, and then we expect the rationalization of our store base to be complete. Gross margin expanded to 63% from 61%, driven by full-price selling and higher average selling prices. Honey Birdette's operating income increased by nearly $1 million, and adjusted operating income roughly doubled to $2.4 million from $1.2 million a year ago.

Selling and administrative expenses were $21.2 million, up $700,000, or 4%, from $20.4 million a year ago. In corporate, the increase reflects $1.1 million of higher non-cash stock-based compensation and our investment in the media team behind our new revenue lines. We also increased marketing to support Honey's growth. Those increases were partially offset by lower litigation-related legal expense in our licensing segment.

Operating income was $4 million compared with $1.4 million a year ago. That is nearly a 3-fold increase, and our operating margin expanded from 5% to 13%. Net income was $1.9 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with $0.5 million in the third quarter of 2025. Net income margin expanded from approximately 2% to 6% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $7.9 million, nearly double the $4.1 million in the prior-year quarter. That is an adjusted EBITDA margin of 25%.

We ended the quarter with $34.9 million of total cash, including restricted cash. That compares with $37.1 million at the end of the second quarter. The decline reflects the $3 million second installment of our share repurchase, which we paid in August. Excluding that payment, cash would have increased modestly. Total debt was $144.9 million, unchanged from the end of the second quarter and down from $159.9 million at year-end 2025. Net of the $29.7 million of unrestricted cash, net debt was approximately $115 million. That is roughly 3.8x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA, excluding litigation.

We've earmarked another $37 million to pay down debt by January of 2028, at which point total debt will decline to approximately $108 million. Based on today's cash, net debt would be approximately $85 million.

That concludes my prepared remarks. Let me turn the call back to Ben.

Ben Kohn

Thank you, Marc. Two years ago, we set out to make Playboy culturally relevant again, to build a profitable and growing asset-light platform, and to fix the balance sheet. Revenue grew 9%, and we have set ourselves up for more growth in the future with our hospitality vertical now in clear sight. The profitability shows in seven straight quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA, and a third quarter that nearly doubled the same quarter a year ago. The balance sheet has been transformed with a clear path to further deleveraging already contracted.

We still have plenty of work to do: sponsorships to scale, a subscriber base to keep growing, and debt still to retire. The trajectory is clear, and we are building every new business the same way: test, measure, and lean into what works.

With that, operator, let us open the line for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from James Heaney with Jefferies. Please go ahead.

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James Heaney

Could you just talk about the long-term vision behind the hospitality business and specifically the membership club in Miami? How do you see that as a driver of value for your brand and operational performance? And then, I guess for Marc, just how should we think about the payback on this investment as you kind of think about memberships and other ways to recoup the initial cost? Thank you.

Ben Kohn

James, it's Ben Kohn. Thanks for the question. As we laid out two years ago, hospitality was one of the three verticals for Playboy and something that has been key to the company's past. I think our view internally is when a consumer can experience Playboy in real life, whether that be a party or a physical club, that's where the brand really shines.

This was a very unique opportunity, something that we've been working on for a long time to bring this to life in Miami Beach. There is a property that came for sale, and we took the opportunity to buy it. It's an acre of land, and we plan on turning that into a high-end membership club with two great operating partners alongside of us. The capital that we provided, we view that as really short-term in nature, and we are committed to our asset-light strategy long-term.

This will be the foundation for something that we can actually take and license around the world with other partners, and that is our goal. Our goal is to not just have 1 club, to have many clubs through a licensing strategy. It also gives us the ability to expand our licensing categories. So if you look at other private member clubs around the country and around the world, they might have a spa in that club and launch a bath line or a product line around that. I would think those are opportunities that our licensing team will continue to look at as we work through the programming and the build-out of this club.

But this model that we have here, we bridge the financing, we expect to recoup our investment through membership sales, and then moving forward, we expect that our licensing model will be that of licensing plus profit share based on this club. Once we get this one up and running, we look to take this to other places in the world through a licensing model. As far as memberships, we're working hard to get this deal closed, and our goal would be to get the documents together and begin membership sales as soon as we possibly can.

James Heaney

Great. Maybe just a second one for me. I was hoping you could say more about just the licensing business in the quarter. I mean, you have some nice spenders from the new agreements you signed in China, but curious if you could talk about what you're seeing in the U.S. and other markets as well.

Ben Kohn

Yes, so look, I think it's the strategy we laid out before, which is it all starts with the brand. And so it's the content that we're producing, it's the people we're working with, which is making the conversations the licensing team is having much easier in every meeting. We are seeing real traction in the U.S. We're not quite ready to talk about that, but I would say that that pipeline is continuing to build, especially in the U.S. and actually in Europe as well. We were just over there a week and a half ago, and there's some great prospects to continue to expand not only the partner side of it in the existing categories—fewer, bigger, better partners—but also category expansion as well.

It takes time, right? It has to start with the brand, which is something we've been really working on this year and will continue to evolve on the content side as we move into '27. And we're starting to see the traction. It's the same thing we actually commented on with the sponsorship side. We signed our first 6-figure sponsorship, and that pipeline is continuing to grow as well. But it all starts with the brand relevancy and the people and the creators that we work with.

James Heaney

Great. Thank you, Ben. Appreciate it.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from George Kelly with Roth Capital Partners. Please go ahead.

George Kelly

I guess to start, just a couple more on the Miami property. I'm curious if it needs a lot of work before you plan to start selling memberships and eventually open the club. What is the timeline and the budget assuming the deal closes sometime in the near term? And then after you open it, am I correct that this initial venue will be consolidated and something that you have on your books? Or what is the exact structure of this venue?

Ben Kohn

Yes, so let's take the first question first. As far as timeline, we very recently, in the last couple of days, have signed a purchase agreement with our partners. We expect to close on the property by year-end. That will be filed as part of our 8-K and the purchase agreement. It's a really unique property and very hard to find an acre of land and sort of something that is as unique as this property.

The hotel, through our partner, Think, will continue to operate as is while we do work on the plans. Think operates 3,000-plus hotel rooms already in Miami, so we're confident in their ability. Then we will work on plans for rehabilitation of the property. At the same time, there's nothing that prevents you while you're doing that from beginning membership sales, but the timing of that is still TBD.

George Kelly

Okay. And then the structure of it and your consolidation, just all that kind of stuff.

Marc Crossman

Yes, George, it's Marc. To start, we will be consolidating it. And again, there are two pieces to it, not just the JV itself. Then we'll be collecting licensing revenue and other pieces of it. So part of it will be consolidated and some will be hitting the P&L from cash to us. But I think on an overall basis, that's it for now.

George Kelly

Okay, sounds good. And then separate topic, your license business. In the past, you've been kind of hesitant or cautious just to give growth expectations there. I know some of these bigger deals are hard to know timing and it's sort of step-function growth within that business. But I'm curious if now you would revisit that. It seems like you're getting more visibility into some of these things and UTG is progressing. So I'm curious just high-level how we should think about growth in the license business, both in China and elsewhere, and if you'd be willing to share more on that.

Marc Crossman

Yes, George, I think we'll start with China. I think you're going to continue to see this level of growth throughout the rest of the year, and certainly going into the first half of '27. From there, we'll see what our JV partner can bring to the table. But everyone seems to be very optimistic in how that business is going to continue to grow from this point forward.

In terms of the rest of world licensing, it will grow in 2027. I don't think we're ready to come out and tell you what that growth rate is going to be, but it has been in a period of some small contraction. It's been a number of things that we've had to circle around, like those two audits that I mentioned here. But I think in '27, you'll see growth again. Everything Ben mentioned, we're not going to tell you what's in the pipeline, but everything we see in front of us leads us to believe that that business will grow next year.

Ben Kohn

Yes, and I think, George, we commented on a couple of deals, like the Ainsworth slot machine deal, which I think is off to a really good start, and Supreme, $1 million of sales in the first 24 hours. That deal is now extended into '27 as well. So I think, again, we want to be cautious here. We don't want to over-promise and under-deliver, but I think the team is feeling good about where we stand.

I think the work that we've done on the brand, which we will continue to do moving forward, makes the conversations across the board from licensing partners to sponsorship partners better. It's sort of the flywheel that we talked about, including what we've done on paid voting. That contest we have doubled, and this third contest that we are running now, we still have 2.5 weeks left in registration, and we have already surpassed the second contest in the number of contestants that have registered. That all builds to a database that not only we can market to for our subscription business, but that we can bring to licensing partners as well.

George Kelly

Okay. And then last one for me is on Honey Birdette. Another strong quarter of double-digit growth. The question is just you're now lapping more challenging compares from last year and as we get into '27. So what are you sort of most optimistic about or how should we just think about you working through those more challenging comparisons and sort of where we go from here?

Marc Crossman

I would say one of the interesting tells is on the retail side. We were lapping 20-plus comps and we're still high single digits, so we're really encouraged there. I'm not worried about that. And I can tell you in October, we're growing again on a comp basis, so we feel really good on the trajectory. Then as we go into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, something we didn't have in prior years because we were working through inventory, we have a lot of new-to-markdown that we're going to be showing for Black Friday, Cyber Monday. So we feel really good about that sale coming up. The outlook for us with Honey Birdette is great.

Ben Kohn

Yes, George, I'll add one thing to that as well. It's the product line expansion. I sort of mentioned this in the prepared remarks, but we just saw the designs for their new swimwear line, which we hope will launch in the spring of next year around Miami Swim. Hopefully, with Playboy based in Miami, there's something we'll be doing together down there. And then also, the Playboy x Honey Birdette collab was awesome, one of the best launches in the company's history. We have three new ones planned for next year. And then there's also some stuff that Honey Birdette is doing in athleisure wear that will be coming out. So it's not just the existing category, but it's also looking at expansion of those product lines, especially with the loyalty of that customer base that's there.

George Kelly

Okay, understood. Thank you.

Ben Kohn

Thanks, George.

Operator

We have reached the end of the question and answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to our CEO, Ben Kohn, for closing comments. Ben?

Ben Kohn

I just want to thank all of the participants for listening to our call. We have a lot of work to do, but the business is moving in the right trajectory, and we look forward to talking to you next year on our fourth quarter earnings call. Thank you very much for dialing in.

Operator

This concludes today's conference. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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