People Posts Wider Operating Loss but EPS Jumps on MGM Gain
People Inc. reported a $506.9 million net profit for the quarter, powered almost entirely by a $721.7 million unrealized gain on its MGM Resorts stake rather than by its media operations.
People (PPLI), the digital media and consumer-content company that publishes titles including People, Better Homes & Gardens and The Daily Beast, reported second-quarter revenue of $436.7 million, down 1% from a year earlier, as operating losses widened 91% to $14.3 million from $7.5 million.
The headline numbers diverged sharply from the bottom line. A $721.7 million unrealized gain on the company's MGM Resorts investment, up 135% from $307.4 million in the prior-year quarter, drove net earnings up 140% to $506.9 million and diluted earnings per share up 160% to $6.68. The gain masked a quarter in which the underlying publishing business again lost money at the operating level, continuing a pattern in which the company's earnings increasingly track its equity portfolio rather than its media segments.
Digital revenue grew 6% to $289.9 million, the 11th consecutive quarter of growth, while Print revenue fell 16% to $132.6 million from $158.3 million, continuing to offset the Digital gains. The composition of Digital growth shifted further away from traffic: non-sessions-based revenue rose 16% even as session-based revenue declined 1%, and Total Sessions fell 23% to 1,891 million while Core Sessions fell 22% to 1,707 million. Licensing and other revenue rose 23% to $47.0 million on Apple News+, content syndication and the Meta content partnership signed in the fourth quarter of 2024, and performance-marketing revenue rose 13% to $68.8 million on affiliate commerce volumes. Digital Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded roughly 300 basis points to 26% from 23%, and Digital operating income rose 27% to $48.7 million.
Emerging & Other revenue grew 26% to $20.0 million, with The Daily Beast accelerating to 53% growth from 36% in the first quarter and Vivian Health accelerating to 12% from 8%. The segment swung to operating income of $2.5 million from a $9.2 million loss a year earlier, helped by the absence of $6.5 million in legacy litigation legal fees that concluded in the third quarter of 2024.
Corporate costs weighed on the total. Corporate operating loss widened 53% to $50.6 million, driven by $18.4 million in additional stock-based compensation tied to accelerated and modified employee awards ahead of the company's consolidation with People Inc., along with $1.0 million in severance and $0.7 million in transaction costs. The company disclosed $3.7 million in quarterly costs tied to People Inc.'s antitrust litigation against Google, contributing to a 34% increase in unallocated corporate operating loss to $19.5 million. Separately, the Search segment ceased operations on April 30, 2025 upon expiration of its Google Services Agreement and is now reported as discontinued for the current and prior periods.
The company began reporting under a revised Adjusted EBITDA definition in the quarter, excluding items it now deems not indicative of core operations, including restructuring, lease items, transaction costs and litigation, with prior periods recast for comparability. On that recast basis, total Adjusted EBITDA rose 15% to $55.9 million from $48.7 million, with People Inc. Adjusted EBITDA up 5% to $73.3 million and Emerging & Other Adjusted EBITDA up to $2.9 million from $0.2 million. Six-month free cash flow from continuing operations swung to positive $36.5 million from negative $42.6 million, a $79.1 million improvement aided by the absence of a $43.1 million lease-surrender payment made in the first half of 2024.
For fiscal 2025, the company guided to Adjusted EBITDA of $255 million to $290 million, implying total operating income of $15 million to $80 million after $90 million to $85 million in stock-based compensation, $75 million to $70 million in intangible amortization and a new $20 million to $15 million carve-out for litigation costs tied to the Google antitrust matter. Consolidation with People Inc. remains on track for completion in the first quarter of 2026, targeting roughly $45 million in annual run-rate operating expense and $30 million in annual stock-based compensation once complete.
The company disclosed a new agreement to sell a limited-partner stake in a third-party fund for approximately $189 million, expected to close in the third quarter, and its board approved an additional 10 million-share buyback authorization on June 16, with 12.5 million shares remaining under authorization as of July 31; the company spent $133.3 million on treasury stock repurchases in the quarter, down from $200.0 million a year earlier. Leadership changes take effect August 5, with Neil Vogel becoming CEO and Timothy Quinn becoming CFO, replacing Christopher Halpin and Kendall Handler, who move into advisor roles through March 2026.