Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK): Business Model Canvas

In der dynamischen Welt der digitalen Medien hat Shutterstock die Art und Weise, wie Unternehmen und Kreative auf visuelle Inhalte zugreifen, revolutioniert und sich von einer kleinen Stock-Fotografie-Website zu einem globalen Marktplatz entwickelt Millionen von hochwertigen Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien. Durch den Einsatz modernster Technologie, strategischer Partnerschaften und eines innovativen Geschäftsmodells hat sich Shutterstock zu einem Kraftpaket in der Lizenzierungsbranche für digitale Medien entwickelt und bietet flexible, kostengünstige Lösungen, die die Lücke zwischen Content-Erstellern und Verbrauchern in verschiedenen Berufsfeldern schließen.

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Wichtige Partnerschaften

Adobe Creative Cloud-Integration

Shutterstock hat eine strategische Partnerschaft mit Adobe Creative Cloud für den Vertrieb von Stockmedien. Ab 2024 ermöglicht die Integration den direkten Zugriff auf die über 400 Millionen Bilder, Videos und Vorlagen von Shutterstock innerhalb des Kreativsoftware-Ökosystems von Adobe.

Einzelheiten zur Partnerschaft	Metriken
Integrationsplattform	Adobe Creative Cloud
Verfügbare Medienressourcen	400+ Millionen
Partnerschaftsjahr gegründet	2014

Content-Ersteller und Fotografen

Shutterstock unterhält ein globales Netzwerk von Mitwirkenden.

• Gesamtzahl der Mitwirkenden: 2,1 Millionen weltweit
• Jährlicher Beitragsertrag: 1,2 Milliarden US-Dollar
• Durchschnittliche Beitragszahlung pro Bild: 0,25 $ bis 28 $

Technologiepartner

Technologiepartner	Erbrachte Dienstleistungen	Jährliche Ausgaben
Microsoft Azure	Cloud-Infrastruktur	18,5 Millionen US-Dollar
Amazon Web Services	Cloud-Computing	22,3 Millionen US-Dollar

Zusammenarbeit im Marketing und Vertrieb

Shutterstock arbeitet mit globalen Marketingplattformen zusammen, um Vertriebskanäle zu erweitern.

• Partnerschaften mit Marketingplattformen: 47
• Jahresumsatz aus Marketingkooperationen: 65,4 Millionen US-Dollar

Globale Design- und Medienagenturen

Shutterstock arbeitet weltweit mit Design- und Medienagenturen für die Lizenzierung und Verbreitung von Inhalten zusammen.

Agenturtyp	Anzahl der Partnerschaften	Jährlicher Partnerschaftsumsatz
Designagenturen	1,250	42,7 Millionen US-Dollar
Medienagenturen	890	37,2 Millionen US-Dollar

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Hauptaktivitäten

Lizenzierung und Vertrieb digitaler Medien

Shutterstock verarbeitet jährlich etwa 5 Millionen Transaktionen mit digitalen Inhalten. Die Plattform hostet ab 2023 über 380 Millionen Bilder, Videos und Musiktitel. Der jährliche Lizenzumsatz erreichte 2022 947,7 Millionen US-Dollar.

Inhaltstyp	Lautstärke	Jährliche Lizenzeinnahmen
Bilder	290 Millionen	625,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Videos	65 Millionen	212,4 Millionen US-Dollar
Musik/Soundeffekte	25 Millionen	110 Millionen Dollar

Inhaltskuration und Qualitätskontrolle

Shutterstock wendet einen strengen Prozess zur Inhaltsüberprüfung an 3.500 aktive Mitwirkende weltweit. Die Qualitätskontrolle umfasst:

• Technische Bildbeurteilung
• Überprüfung der Inhaltsrelevanz
• Überprüfung der Metadaten
• Überprüfung der Urheberrechtskonformität

Maschinelles Lernen und KI-gestützte Suchtechnologien

Investition in KI-Technologien: 68,5 Millionen US-Dollar in Forschung und Entwicklung für 2022. Zu den Fähigkeiten des maschinellen Lernens gehören:

• Semantische Suchalgorithmen
• Automatisiertes Bild-Tagging
• Visuelle Erkennungstechnologien

Plattformentwicklung und -wartung

Details zur technischen Infrastruktur:

Metrisch	Wert
Jährliche Technologieinvestition	112,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Plattformverfügbarkeit	99.95%
Globale Serverstandorte	12

Globale Inhaltserfassung und -verwaltung

Das globale Mitwirkendennetzwerk umfasst 150 Länder. Die Vergütungsstruktur für Mitwirkende liegt zwischen 20 % und 40 % der Lizenzeinnahmen.

• Jährliche Uploads neuer Inhalte: 6,2 Millionen
• Durchschnittlicher Beitragsverdienst: 3.200 USD pro Jahr
• Dauer der Inhaltsüberprüfung: 24–48 Stunden

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Schlüsselressourcen

Riesige digitale Medienbibliothek

Seit dem vierten Quartal 2023 unterhält Shutterstock eine digitale Medienbibliothek mit:

Inhaltstyp	Anzahl der Vermögenswerte
Gesamtbilder	380 Millionen
Gesamtzahl der Videos	21 Millionen
Gesamtzahl der Audiodateien	475,000
Gesamter redaktioneller Inhalt	1,2 Millionen

Erweiterte Such- und Empfehlungsalgorithmen

Die proprietäre KI-gestützte Suchtechnologie von Shutterstock umfasst:

• Algorithmen für maschinelles Lernen mit einer Genauigkeit von 98,6 % beim Inhaltsabgleich
• Visuelle Suchfunktionen mithilfe der Bilderkennungstechnologie
• Semantische Suchfunktion über mehrere Inhaltskategorien hinweg

Cloudbasierte Digital-Asset-Management-Infrastruktur

Spezifikationen der technischen Infrastruktur:

Infrastrukturkomponente	Technische Spezifikation
Cloud-Speicherkapazität	2,7 Petabyte
Tägliche Asset-Verarbeitung	150.000 neue Vermögenswerte
Globale Rechenzentren	7 Standorte

Globales Netzwerk von Content-Erstellern

Statistiken zum Creator-Ökosystem:

• Gesamtzahl der Mitwirkenden: 1,9 Millionen
• Geografische Vertretung: 150 Länder
• Durchschnittlicher Beitragsverdienst: 7.500 $ jährlich

Proprietäre Technologieplattformen

Investitionen in Technologieplattformen:

Technologieinvestitionen	Ausgaben 2023
F&E-Ausgaben	124,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Technologieinfrastruktur	87,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Entwicklung von KI und maschinellem Lernen	42,5 Millionen US-Dollar

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Wertversprechen

Hochwertige, vielfältige und lizenzfreie digitale Medieninhalte

Ab dem vierten Quartal 2023 umfasst die Inhaltsbibliothek von Shutterstock:

Inhaltstyp	Anzahl der Vermögenswerte
Gesamtbilder	380 Millionen
Gesamtzahl der Videoclips	21 Millionen
Musiktitel	330,000
Redaktioneller Inhalt	Täglich 175.000 neue Bilder

Benutzerfreundliche Plattform für Content-Ersteller und Käufer

Statistiken zur Plattformnutzung:

• Monatlich aktive Benutzer: 1,9 Millionen
• Mitwirkendes Netzwerk: Über 2 Millionen Ersteller
• Jährliche Website-Besucher: 83,4 Millionen

Flexible Lizenzoptionen

Lizenztyp	Preisspanne
Standardlizenz	$29 - $199
Erweiterte Lizenz	$249 - $679
Redaktionelle Lizenz	$199 - $499

Kostengünstige Alternative

Preisvergleich:

• Durchschnittliche Kosten für ein herkömmliches Fotoshooting: 5.000 bis 10.000 US-Dollar
• Durchschnittliche Shutterstock-Bildkosten: 10–50 $
• Jahresabonnement-Ersparnis: Bis zu 70 %

Globaler Marktplatz

Statistiken zur Marktreichweite:

• Belieferte Länder: 190+
• Unterstützte Sprachen: 21
• Globaler Umsatz (2023): 820 Millionen US-Dollar

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Kundenbeziehungen

Self-Service-Online-Plattform

Die Online-Plattform von Shutterstock beliefert im dritten Quartal 2023 weltweit 2,3 Millionen aktive Kunden. Die Plattform verarbeitet täglich etwa 1,8 Millionen Bilddownloads.

Plattformmetriken	Daten für 2023
Gesamtzahl der registrierten Benutzer	395,000
Monatlich aktive Benutzer	2,3 Millionen
Tägliche Bild-Downloads	1,8 Millionen

Kundensupport über mehrere digitale Kanäle

Shutterstock bietet Kundensupport durch:

• E-Mail-Support rund um die Uhr
• Live-Chat-Unterstützung
• Mehrsprachiger Support in 20 Sprachen
• Spezielles Hilfecenter mit über 15.000 Wissensdatenbankartikeln

Abonnement- und kreditbasierte Kaufmodelle

Shutterstock bietet mehrere Kaufoptionen:

Einkaufsmodell	Details
Monatliche Abonnements	Ab 29 $/Monat
Jahresabonnements	Ab 199 $/Jahr
Credits auf Abruf	Pakete von 2-50 Credits

Community-Engagement durch Creator-Foren

Shutterstock behauptet:

• 350.000 aktive Content-Mitwirkende
• Die Einnahmen der Mitwirkenden beliefen sich seit der Einführung der Plattform auf insgesamt 1,1 Milliarden US-Dollar
• Die monatlichen Auszahlungen an die Beitragszahler betragen durchschnittlich 3,2 Millionen US-Dollar

Personalisierte Inhaltsempfehlungen

KI-gesteuertes Empfehlungssystem mit:

• Algorithmen für maschinelles Lernen analysieren mehr als 300 Millionen Bilder
• Personalisierungsgenauigkeitsrate von 78 %
• Empfehlungsabdeckung in über 40 Inhaltskategorien

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Kanäle

Webbasierte Plattform

Shutterstock betreibt eine umfassende Webplattform mit 434 Millionen Bildern (Stand Q3 2023). Die Website unterstützt 21 Sprachen und bedient Kunden in über 150 Ländern. Im Jahr 2022 erwirtschaftete die Webplattform einen Umsatz von 948,8 Millionen US-Dollar.

Plattformmetrik	Daten für 2023
Gesamtbilder	434 Millionen
Unterstützte Sprachen	21
Belieferte Länder	150+

Mobile Anwendungen

Die mobilen Anwendungen von Shutterstock sind auf iOS- und Android-Plattformen verfügbar. Die mobile App wurde auf beiden Plattformen über 2,5 Millionen Mal heruntergeladen.

• Bewertung im iOS App Store: 4,7/5
• Android Google Play-Bewertung: 4,5/5
• Insgesamt mobile Downloads: 2,5 Millionen

API-Integrationen

Shutterstock bietet API-Zugriff für Entwickler mit Integrationsmöglichkeiten über mehrere Plattformen hinweg. Im Jahr 2023 nutzen über 15.000 Entwickler die API-Dienste von Shutterstock.

API-Integrationsmetrik	Daten für 2023
Registrierte Entwickler	15,000+
API-Anfragevolumen	3,2 Millionen tägliche Anfragen

Direktvertriebsteam

Shutterstock unterhält ein globales Vertriebsteam mit Vertretern in 11 internationalen Niederlassungen. Das Direktvertriebsteam erwirtschaftete im Jahr 2022 Einnahmen aus Unternehmens- und kundenspezifischen Lizenzen in Höhe von rund 327 Millionen US-Dollar.

Digitales Marketing und Werbung

Im Jahr 2022 investierte Shutterstock 86,3 Millionen US-Dollar in Marketingausgaben. Zu den digitalen Werbekanälen gehören Google Ads, Social-Media-Plattformen und gezielte Online-Marketingkampagnen.

Marketingmetrik	Daten für 2022
Marketingkosten	86,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Ausgaben für digitale Werbung	42,5 Millionen US-Dollar

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Kundensegmente

Grafikdesigner

Im Jahr 2024 beliefert Shutterstock weltweit etwa 1,8 Millionen Grafikdesigner. Die Plattform beherbergt über 380 Millionen Bilder, Vektoren und Illustrationen, die speziell auf dieses Segment ausgerichtet sind.

Segmentmetriken	Daten für 2024
Gesamtzahl der Grafikdesigner-Benutzer	1,800,000
Durchschnittliche monatliche Bild-Downloads	425,000
Umsatzbeitrag des Segments	87,4 Millionen US-Dollar

Marketingprofis

Shutterstock beliefert rund 2,3 Millionen Marketingfachleute weltweit und bietet umfassende Lösungen für visuelle Inhalte.

• Gesamtzahl der professionellen Marketing-Benutzer: 2.300.000
• Durchschnittliche monatliche Inhaltslizenz: 312.000 Assets
• Jahresumsatz des Segments: 114,6 Millionen US-Dollar

Medien- und Werbeagenturen

Die Plattform bedient über 750 große Medien- und Werbeagenturen und bietet Content-Lösungen auf Unternehmensebene.

Details zum Agentursegment	Statistik 2024
Gesamtzahl der Agenturkunden	750
Unternehmensvertragswert	Durchschnittlich 4,2 Millionen US-Dollar
Jährlicher Umsatz des Agentursegments	215,7 Millionen US-Dollar

Kleinunternehmer

Shutterstock unterstützt rund 1,5 Millionen Kleinunternehmer mit erschwinglichen Lösungen für visuelle Inhalte.

• Gesamtzahl der Kleinunternehmensnutzer: 1.500.000
• Durchschnittliches Monatsabonnement: 49 $
• Jahresumsatz des Segments: 88,3 Millionen US-Dollar

Individuelle Content-Ersteller

Die Plattform beherbergt über 2,1 Millionen einzelne Content-Ersteller auf verschiedenen digitalen Plattformen.

Ersteller-Segmentmetriken	Daten für 2024
Insgesamt individuelle Schöpfer	2,100,000
Durchschnittlicher monatlicher Content-Upload	187.000 Vermögenswerte
Einnahmen des Erstellers	62,5 Millionen US-Dollar

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Kostenstruktur

Gebühren für den Erwerb von Inhalten und Lizenzen

Im Jahr 2023 meldete Shutterstock 357,9 Millionen US-Dollar an Content-Kosten, was etwa 40,1 % des Gesamtumsatzes entspricht. Zu diesen Kosten zählen:

• Zahlungen an Mitwirkende für digitale Bilder, Videos und Audioinhalte
• Lizenzgebühren für Inhaltsbibliotheken
• Lizenzgebührenzahlungen an Inhaltsersteller

Kostenkategorie	Betrag (2023)	Prozentsatz des Umsatzes
Kosten für den Erwerb von Inhalten	357,9 Millionen US-Dollar	40.1%
Beitragszahlungen	212,3 Millionen US-Dollar	23.8%

Technologieinfrastruktur und Cloud-Hosting

Shutterstock hat investiert 84,2 Millionen US-Dollar in der Technologieinfrastruktur im Jahr 2023, darunter:

• Cloud-Hosting-Dienste
• Serverwartung
• Netzwerkinfrastruktur
• Cybersicherheitssysteme

Technologiekostenkomponenten	Betrag (2023)
Cloud-Hosting	42,6 Millionen US-Dollar
IT-Infrastruktur	41,6 Millionen US-Dollar

Mitarbeitergehälter und Entwicklungskosten

Die gesamten mitarbeiterbezogenen Ausgaben im Jahr 2023 betrugen 268,5 Millionen US-Dollar, aufgeteilt wie folgt:

• Grundgehälter
• Leistungsprämien
• Aktienbasierte Vergütung
• Leistungen an Arbeitnehmer

Mitarbeiterkostenkategorie	Betrag (2023)
Grundgehälter	189,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Leistungsprämien	44,2 Millionen US-Dollar
Aktienbasierte Vergütung	35,0 Millionen US-Dollar

Marketing- und Vertriebskosten

Die Marketing- und Vertriebskosten für 2023 summieren sich 186,4 Millionen US-Dollar, einschließlich:

• Digitale Werbung
• Vergütung des Vertriebsteams
• Marketingkampagnen
• Initiativen zur Kundenakquise

Marketingkostenkomponenten	Betrag (2023)
Digitale Werbung	87,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Vergütung des Vertriebsteams	62,1 Millionen US-Dollar
Marketingkampagnen	36,7 Millionen US-Dollar

Forschungs- und Entwicklungsinvestitionen

Die F&E-Ausgaben im Jahr 2023 betrugen 95,7 Millionen US-Dollar, mit Schwerpunkt auf:

• KI- und maschinelle Lerntechnologien
• Plattformerweiterung
• Entwicklung neuer Funktionen
• Produktinnovation

F&E-Schwerpunktbereiche	Betrag (2023)
KI und maschinelles Lernen	42,3 Millionen US-Dollar
Plattformverbesserung	33,4 Millionen US-Dollar
Produktinnovation	20,0 Millionen US-Dollar

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) – Geschäftsmodell: Einnahmequellen

Abonnementbasierte Medienlizenzierung

Im Jahr 2023 erwirtschaftete Shutterstock einen Gesamtumsatz von 1,01 Milliarden US-Dollar. Die abonnementbasierte Lizenzierung machte etwa 70 % des Gesamtumsatzes aus.

Abonnementstufe	Monatliche Preisspanne	Jährlicher Umsatzbeitrag
Basis-Abonnement	$29 - $49	350–500 Millionen US-Dollar
Professionelles Abonnement	$99 - $249	250–350 Millionen US-Dollar

Verkauf von Kreditpaketen auf Abruf

Der Verkauf von Kreditpaketen machte im Jahr 2023 etwa 15 % des Gesamtumsatzes von Shutterstock aus.

Kreditpaket	Preisspanne	Durchschnittliches Kaufvolumen
Kleines Credit-Paket	$49 - $99	25.000 jährliche Einkäufe
Großes Credit-Paket	$199 - $499	10.000 jährliche Einkäufe

Unternehmens- und kundenspezifische Lizenzvereinbarungen

Unternehmenslizenzen machten etwa 10 % des Gesamtumsatzes aus, mit Verträgen zwischen 5.000 und 250.000 US-Dollar pro Jahr.

API-Zugriffs- und Integrationsgebühren

API-Integrationsdienste erwirtschafteten einen Jahresumsatz von etwa 25 bis 35 Millionen US-Dollar.

• Standard-API-Zugriff: 99 bis 499 US-Dollar monatlich
• Enterprise API-Integration: 1.000 bis 5.000 US-Dollar monatlich

Premium-Content-Marktplatz

Der Verkauf von Premium-Inhalten trug etwa 5 % zum Gesamtumsatz bei, der auf 50 bis 75 Millionen US-Dollar pro Jahr geschätzt wird.

Inhaltskategorie	Durchschnittlicher Preis pro Vermögenswert	Jährliches Verkaufsvolumen
4K-Videomaterial	$79 - $299	25.000 Vermögenswerte
Exklusive Fotografensammlungen	$199 - $999	5.000 Sammlungen

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core value Shutterstock, Inc. delivers to its customers and contributors as of late 2025. It's all about scale, legal certainty, and new AI capabilities.

Legally-Indemnified Generative AI: Commercial-use AI content with legal protection for users.

Shutterstock, Inc. is formalizing capabilities that leverage its global creative network and professional-grade production studio to deliver end-to-end value for partners in model construction, training, and assessment. This includes support across the entire model training lifecycle.

• Custom Content Production is supported with 10 production hubs.
• This network involves over 2M+ creators.

Vast, Diverse Content: Single-source access to over 400 million assets for any project.

Shutterstock, Inc. began as an online marketplace offering a modest selection of images and quickly scaled its library to hundreds of millions of assets. The platform maintains a huge advantage over competitors, holding a market share of 61.55% as of recent analysis. In the third quarter of 2025, the company processed 111.7 million paid downloads.

The sheer volume of content available is a key draw for customers needing diverse visuals.

Metric	Value (Late 2025 Context)
Q3 2025 Total Revenue	$260.1 million
Q3 2025 Content Revenue	$194.4 million
Q3 2025 Content Revenue Percentage of Total	75%

Unlimited Creative Subscription: Envato Elements offers unlimited downloads for a fixed fee.

Shutterstock, Inc. continues to improve the value proposition of its unlimited content products by including AI image, video, and audio generative models as part of the offering. A pilot program introduced in April 2025 allows customers to subscribe to an "Unlimited downloads plan."

Enterprise API Access: Seamless integration of content and AI tools into corporate workflows.

The Data, Distribution, and Services product offering, which includes API access for enterprise integration, showed significant growth. This segment is a major driver for the company's overall performance.

Q3 2025 Metric	Amount
Data, Distribution, and Services Revenue	$65.7 million
Data, Distribution, and Services Revenue Percentage of Total	25%
Income from Operations	$32.5 million

Ethical Contributor Compensation: A fund to compensate artists for their work used in AI training.

Shutterstock, Inc. has established mechanisms to compensate contributors for their work used in training models. The structure for this compensation varies based on the use case.

• For data licensing where Shutterstock sub-licenses datasets for AI training, contributors receive around 20% of the corporate royalties received by Shutterstock.
• For the new "Unlimited downloads plan" pilot introduced in April 2025, contributors can receive 50% of the profits generated from those subscribers based on content usage.
• The minimum payout threshold for contributors remains $25 USD.

The company has paid over $1 billion to contributors since 2003.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Shutterstock, Inc. manages the connection with its buyers and creators as of late 2025. It's a dual approach: high-volume automation for the masses and dedicated service for the biggest spenders.

Automated Self-Service: Primary relationship model via the online platform and subscription management.

The bulk of Shutterstock, Inc.'s customer interaction happens through its digital storefront. This is where the majority of transactions for standard content licenses occur, relying on intuitive platform design and efficient subscription handling. You see this scale in the subscriber metrics; as of the third quarter of 2025, the subscriber base stood at 1.06 million. This self-service channel is critical, though the Content product offering revenue saw a slight contraction, decreasing by 5% year-over-year to $194.4 million in Q3 2025, partly due to weakness in new customer acquisition in that segment. Still, the sheer volume is there, with 111.7 million paid downloads reported in Q3 2025, which was in line with the prior year period.

The relationship here is transactional and scalable. Key elements driving this relationship include:

• The online platform for immediate content access.
• Automated management of monthly recurring products.
• Integration of generative AI models into the core offering.

Dedicated Enterprise Sales: High-touch relationship management for large corporate clients.

For Shutterstock, Inc.'s largest accounts, the relationship shifts to a high-touch model managed by dedicated sales teams. This is where the growth engine is firing on all cylinders. The Data, Distribution, and Services product offering, which includes these enterprise relationships and data licensing deals, surged by 40% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reaching $65.7 million. This segment now accounts for a significant 25% of total revenue, up from a smaller portion in Q3 2024. Management noted they are actively attracting new logos and expanding these existing corporate relationships. This segment is key to the overall revenue growth, which hit $260.1 million in Q3 2025, a 4% increase overall.

Here's a look at the core customer base metrics as of late 2025:

Metric	Value (Latest Reported)	Context/Period
Total Revenue	$260.1 million	Q3 2025
Subscribers	1.06 million	Q3 2025 End
Data, Distribution, and Services Revenue	$65.7 million	Q3 2025
Content Revenue	$194.4 million	Q3 2025
Paid Downloads	111.7 million	Q3 2025

AI Contributor Fund: Financial incentive and ethical assurance for content creators.

This relationship is about maintaining the supply side of the marketplace-the creators. Shutterstock, Inc. established the Contributor Fund to compensate artists whose intellectual property was used in training generative AI models, like the one partnered with OpenAI. This is a direct financial tie-in to the data licensing revenue stream. The fund pays royalties for the future licensing of AI-generated content created on the platform. While specific 2025 payout figures aren't public, the mechanism is in place to ensure creators see a share of the revenue from these high-margin data deals, which helped drive the 13% year-over-year increase in Adjusted EBITDA to $79.4 million in Q3 2025.

Community Engagement: Supporting and communicating with the global network of contributors.

The platform's value proposition rests on its creative network. While the exact figure for late 2025 isn't explicitly stated in the latest reports, the company has historically referenced a community of over 1 million contributors across its brands, which is the engine for content supply. The relationship is supported through specific programs and communication channels. For instance, the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share in January 2025, which flows directly to the shareholder base, many of whom are also contributors. Furthermore, the company profiles its creators through initiatives like Shutterstock Presents to foster a sense of community and recognize talent.

Key engagement points for the creator community include:

• Issuing payments from the Contributor Fund every six months.
• Providing real-time performance data on content via the contributor dashboard.
• Maintaining a network of over 1 million content providers.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how Shutterstock, Inc. gets its creative assets and AI capabilities into the hands of customers as of late 2025. The delivery mechanism is clearly splitting between direct customer transactions and large-scale data/service integrations.

The primary e-commerce platform, Shutterstock.com, still drives the majority of revenue, though this segment is under pressure. For the third quarter ending September 30, 2025, revenue from the Content product offering-which largely reflects direct licensing via the main site and related subscription services-was $194.4 million. This represented 75% of the total Q3 2025 revenue of $260.1 million. This channel saw a year-over-year decline of 5% in Q3 2025, driven by softness in new customer acquisition.

The growth engine is clearly the API and Direct Integrations pathway, categorized under Data, Distribution, and Services (DDS). This segment saw revenue of $65.7 million in Q3 2025, a substantial 40% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024. This channel now accounts for 25% of the total revenue mix. The trailing twelve months revenue ending September 30, 2025, stood at $1.02 billion, showing a year-over-year growth of 13.06%.

The strategic acquisition of Envato in July 2024 significantly impacts the Content channel delivery. The Envato Elements subscription platform, offering unlimited creative assets, is now integrated, helping to offset some of the weakness in new customer acquisition on the core platform. Before the deal, Shutterstock's subscriber count was around 500,000; the addition of Envato's base pushed the combined subscriber count to 1.15 million at that time. As of the end of Q3 2025, Shutterstock's subscriber base stood at 1.06 million.

Here's how the revenue streams broke down in the most recent reported quarter:

Channel Proxy	Q3 2025 Revenue Amount	% of Total Revenue (Q3 2025)	YoY Change (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)
Shutterstock.com (Content Product)	$194.4 million	75%	-5%
API/Integrations (DDS Product)	$65.7 million	25%	+40%

Distribution also occurs through other means, though specific financial metrics tied directly to these are less granular in recent reports. The GIPHY Platform serves as a distribution channel for short-form visual content, with management highlighting efforts to expedite monetization here. Furthermore, Shutterstock maintains Mobile Applications for iOS and Android, which are part of the overall digital access strategy, though specific app-only revenue figures aren't separately detailed in the primary financial segmentation.

The overall customer base health, which feeds these channels, shows some shifts:

• Subscriber count at the end of Q3 2025: 1.06 million.
• Subscriber count one year prior (end of Q3 2024): 1.105 million.
• Content revenue in Q1 2025 was $202.9 million, representing 84% of total revenue for that quarter.
• DDS revenue in Q1 2025 was $39.7 million, representing 16% of total revenue for that quarter.

The company is actively incorporating generative AI models into its unlimited content offerings, which directly impacts the value proposition delivered through these channels.

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the customer base for Shutterstock, Inc. as of late 2025. The company serves a broad spectrum, but the financial data clearly shows where the bulk of the revenue is coming from, especially with the growth in data licensing.

For the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, Shutterstock reported total revenue of $260.1 million. The customer base is segmented both by the type of content/service they purchase and their size/need, which is reflected in the Content versus Data, Distribution, and Services revenue split.

Customer Segment Grouping	Q3 2025 Revenue Contribution	Q3 2025 Revenue Amount	Key Metric Context
Content Customers (General Licensing)	75%	$194.4 million	Total Paid Downloads for the quarter were 111.7 million.
Data, Distribution, and Services Customers (Includes AI/Tech)	25%	$65.7 million	This segment grew 40% year-over-year compared to Q3 2024.

The overall customer base is served across more than 150 countries. The average revenue per customer over the last twelve months was $279.

Enterprise Customers

These are the large corporations and media companies needing high-volume or custom licensing solutions, often engaging through the Shutterstock Enterprise offering. While a direct revenue split isn't provided for this specific group, they contribute heavily to the overall Content revenue stream.

Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs)

SMBs and marketing agencies largely fall into the subscriber category, which is a core part of the Content offering. As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, Shutterstock had 1,060,000 subscribers. The revenue generated from these subscribers for Q3 2025 was $107.2 million.

Individual Creators/Freelancers

Designers and social media influencers typically use the lower-tier or on-demand subscription plans. They are included within the total subscriber count of 1,060,000 and contribute to the total subscriber revenue of $107.2 million for the quarter.

AI/Tech Companies

This group is the primary driver for the Data, Distribution, and Services segment. Revenue from this offering reached $65.7 million in Q3 2025. This segment capitalizes on licensing the content library for training large language models. For context on this specific revenue stream, Shutterstock AI licensing generated $104 million in 2023, with projections aiming for $250 million by 2027.

Editorial/News Outlets

These customers license news, sports, and entertainment imagery, falling under the Content product offering. The Content offering generated $194.4 million in Q3 2025. The company also provides custom content solutions that would serve this segment.

Here are the key operating metrics related to customer volume:

• Subscribers (end of period, Q3 2025): 1,060,000.
• Paid Downloads (Q3 2025): 111.7 million.
• Paid Downloads (Nine Months Ended Sep 30, 2025): 345.2 million.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the expenses that drive Shutterstock, Inc.'s operations as of late 2025. Honestly, a big chunk of the cost structure revolves around paying the people who create the content, plus the tech to deliver it and the costs associated with that big Getty Images deal hanging over everything.

Content Acquisition Costs: Royalties paid to the 1.9 million contributors.

The core cost here is compensating the contributor community. While the exact royalty expense for the period isn't broken out separately from Cost of Revenue in the latest quarterly filing, the total Cost of Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2025, was $102,558 thousand. You should also note the liability on the balance sheet; the Contributor royalties payable balance at the end of Q3 2025 stood at $12,329 thousand.

Technology and R&D: Significant investment in AI/ML development and platform maintenance.

Shutterstock, Inc. is pouring money into its platform, especially with the generative AI push. For the first quarter of 2025, the Product development expense line item-which covers much of this-was $19,865 thousand. Management has emphasized product value expansion, including AI image, video, and audio generative models within their unlimited content offerings. This investment is key to competing in the evolving visual content landscape.

Sales and Marketing: Customer acquisition costs for subscriptions and enterprise deals.

Getting new customers, especially in the Content segment where new customer acquisition was soft, requires spending. Sales and marketing expenses for the third quarter of 2025 totaled $59,358 thousand. This spend is aimed at driving revenue, which for Q3 2025 was $260,094 thousand in total.

Professional Fees: Costs associated with the proposed Getty Images merger, totaling $7.1 million in Q3 2025.

The proposed merger with Getty Images Holdings, Inc. has generated significant non-recurring costs. Specifically, professional fee expenses in the third quarter of 2025 tied to the merger totaled exactly $7.1 million. To be fair, cash used in investing activities for the three months ended September 30, 2025, was unfavorably impacted by $8.0 million of expenses related to this same proposed merger. If you look back, Q2 2025 saw $8.7 million in these fees, and Q1 2025 saw $11.9 million.

Debt Interest Expense: Increased interest costs from debt used to fund acquisitions like Envato.

Financing growth, like the Envato acquisition in July 2024, means taking on debt, which brings interest costs. For the three months ended September 30, 2025, the reported Interest Expense was $-4 Million. This follows reported increases of $3.7 million in interest expense for both Q1 2025 and Q2 2025, directly attributed to the increased debt used to fund the Envato purchase. As of June 30, 2025, Shutterstock, Inc. reported total Debt of $297.03 million.

Here's a quick look at the major operating expense components for the three months ended September 30, 2025, compared to the prior year's corresponding period for the listed items:

Cost Component (Q3 2025)	Amount (in thousands USD)	Year-over-Year Change (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)
Cost of revenue	102,558	Decreased from 104,405
Sales and marketing	59,358	Increased from 55,403
Contributor royalties payable (Balance Sheet)	12,329	Increased from 11,938

The overall cost picture for the period reflects the ongoing operational expenses alongside the one-time drag from the merger work. You can see the key cost drivers below:

• Cost of revenue for Q3 2025: $102,558 thousand.
• Sales and marketing for Q3 2025: $59,358 thousand.
• Merger professional fees recognized in Q3 2025: $7.1 million.
• Interest expense for the three months ended September 2025: $-4 Million.
• Product development expense in Q1 2025: $19,865 thousand.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the money Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) brings in, which is definitely shifting toward data and away from pure content transactions. Here's the quick math on how they are structuring their revenue streams as of late 2025, based on the latest filings.

The total top-line number for the trailing twelve months ending September 30, 2025, was approximately $1.02 billion. This represented a year-over-year growth of 69.6% for the TTM period.

For the third quarter of 2025 specifically, Shutterstock reported total revenue of $260.1 million, which was a 4% increase year-over-year. The revenue streams break down into two main buckets: Content and Data, Distribution, and Services.

The Data, Distribution, and Services segment is the high-growth area you need to watch. For Q3 2025, this segment generated $65.7 million in revenue, marking a substantial 40% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024. This segment is supported by the timing of data deal revenue recognition.

The core Content product offering, which includes both subscriptions and on-demand purchases, saw a decline in Q3 2025. Content revenue was $194.4 million, representing a 5% decrease year-over-year. This segment accounted for 75% of the total revenue in the third quarter of 2025.

Here is a breakdown of the key financial components driving that Content revenue:

Revenue Stream Component	Financial Metric/Amount	Period/Context	Citation Reference
Content Licensing (Subscriptions)	$344.9 million	Subscriber revenue (Last Twelve Months ending Sep 30, 2025)
Content Licensing (On-Demand Volume)	345.2 million	Paid downloads (Last Twelve Months ending Sep 30, 2025)
Data, Distribution, and Services	$65.7 million	Q3 2025 Revenue
Total Content Revenue	$194.4 million	Q3 2025 Revenue

The AI Data Licensing stream is a critical part of the Data, Distribution, and Services growth. While the Data, Distribution, and Services segment brought in $65.7 million in Q3 2025, the company had a specific projection for its AI-related revenue from the prior year. Shutterstock projected $138 million in Revenue for the AI licensing business unit for the 2024 fiscal year. The company is on track to meet its 2027 revenue target of $1.2 billion.

You can see the structure of the Q3 2025 revenue mix here:

• Content Licensing (Subscriptions & On-Demand): $194.4 million
• Data, Distribution, and Services: $65.7 million

The company is focused on expanding its unlimited content offerings, which include AI image, video, and audio generative models. Also, the Average Revenue Per Customer (ARPC) for the last twelve months was $279 as of Q3 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.