Shutterstock

In 2003, Jonathan (Jon) Oringer founded Shutterstock and launched its stock image marketplace, subsequently serving as Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. The company was organized in the State of New York as Shutterstock, Inc. in December 2004 and became Shutterstock Images LLC in June 2007.⁠[1][1]

On October 5, 2012, the company reorganized from a New York limited liability company into Shutterstock, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and then completed its initial public offering, offering 4.5 million shares at $17 per share and listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SSTK; it completed a follow-on offering in September 2013. Before the listing, the company generated revenue of $120.3 million in 2011, up 45% year over year, with more than 550,000 active paying users, more than 35,000 approved contributors providing more than 20 million images, and more than 58 million paid downloads for the year. After the offering, Oringer beneficially owned approximately 56.3% of the shares.⁠[1][1][1][1][2][1][1][1][1][1]

On June 23, 2023, Shutterstock completed its acquisition of all outstanding shares of the animated GIF platform Giphy from Meta Platforms, paying $53 million in net cash from existing cash on hand, subject to adjustments for cash acquired, assumed debt, and working capital. Giphy, based in New York, operates a collection of GIFs and stickers for casual conversation.⁠[2][2][2]

On February 1, 2024, the company acquired the U.S. and London companies of Backgrid, which supplies media organizations with real-time celebrity content, for approximately $20 million.⁠[2][2]

On July 22, 2024, the company completed its acquisition of Envato Pty Ltd., a provider of digital creative assets and templates (under an agreement signed on May 1 of that year), for adjusted consideration of $250.2 million, funded by borrowings under a credit agreement amended and restated on July 22, 2024.⁠[2][2][2][2]

On January 6, 2025, Shutterstock and Getty Images signed a merger agreement to combine as a visual content company in a merger of equals, unanimously approved by the board; upon completion, Shutterstock would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Getty Images. The combined company would keep the Getty Images Holdings name and have an enterprise value of approximately $3.7 billion based on closing share prices as of January 6, 2025; Shutterstock CEO Paul Hennessy would join the eleven-member board, four seats of which would be designated by Shutterstock. Shutterstock stockholders could elect $28.8487 per share in cash, 13.67237 shares of Getty stock, or mixed consideration of 9.17 shares plus $9.50 in cash.⁠[3][3][3][4][4][4][4][4][4][4][4]

On June 10, 2025, a special meeting of Shutterstock stockholders approved the merger agreement, with 28.849 million shares voting for and 112,000 against; the company said closing remained subject to customary conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals.⁠[5][5][5]

On September 18, 2025, Shutterstock and Getty Images agreed to waive the closing condition in the merger agreement requiring Getty to first extend the maturity of its existing term loans and senior notes to no earlier than February 19, 2028.⁠[6][6]

On October 20, 2025, the UK Competition and Markets Authority said it would refer the merger to a Phase 2 review unless the parties offered acceptable undertakings to address its competition concerns. On November 3, the authority formally made the Phase 2 referral; Shutterstock said that Getty had offered comprehensive remedies and that it was disappointed by the decision but remained committed to the merger.⁠[7][8][8]

On February 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded its review of the merger, and the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act expired without conditions.⁠[9]

In August 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued the company a civil investigative demand concerning Shutterstock’s disclosure and subscription enrollment and cancellation practices under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. On May 13, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission sued the company in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for violating those laws; the same day, the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle and filed a stipulated order for permanent injunction and monetary judgment, under which the company would pay $35 million to the Federal Trade Commission, provide additional subscription-related disclosures, and change its enrollment and cancellation processes.⁠[10][10][10][10]

On May 15, 2026, the UK Competition and Markets Authority published the final report of its Phase 2 review, finding that the merger could be expected to substantially lessen competition in the supply of editorial content in the UK but not in the global market for stock content; the merger would be cleared on the condition that Shutterstock’s entire editorial business, operating under the Rex Features, Splash News, and Backgrid brands, be sold to a purchaser approved by the authority.⁠[11][12][13]

On June 30, 2026, the Getty Images board decided not to sell Shutterstock’s editorial business under the supervision of the UK Competition and Markets Authority and to terminate the merger agreement after the extended end date of July 6. Then-CEO Paul Hennessy said Shutterstock, with a strong cash position and modest leverage, would continue to operate as a standalone company. The merger agreement was terminated on July 7 without the merger being completed; the UK Competition and Markets Authority cancelled its inquiry the same day.⁠[14][14][14][14][15][16][13][13]

On July 12, 2026, Paul J. Hennessy notified the board that he was stepping down as Chief Executive Officer and as a director, effective immediately, remaining in a non-executive advisory capacity through August 7; the board appointed Chief Financial Officer Rik Powell as Interim Chief Executive Officer and began a search for a permanent successor. Powell had served as Chief Financial Officer since November 2024 and had previously been Chief Financial Officer of Getty Images from 2017 to 2020. The company also said it would engage a strategic advisor to help formulate its strategy following the termination of the merger.⁠[17][17][17][17][17][17][17]

The company had previously paid quarterly cash dividends, declaring $0.33 per share in July 2025 and $0.36 per share in January and April 2026. On July 20, 2026, the board resolved to suspend future quarterly cash dividends, prioritizing the funds for reducing debt, lowering interest expense, and strengthening financial flexibility. On July 16, Chief Accounting Officer Steven Ciardiello announced his resignation, effective August 28.⁠[18][19][20][21][21][22]

On August 4, 2026, the company reported second-quarter results: revenue of $221.8 million, down 17% from $267.0 million a year earlier, with Content revenue down 17%, mainly due to weak new customer acquisition, and Data, Distribution, and Services revenue down 16%; the net loss for the quarter was $155.9 million, including a $163.4 million non-cash, after-tax goodwill impairment charge. Interim CEO Powell said the company had cut more than $70 million in annualized operating expenses over the past 18 months and was targeting a further $60 million by the end of the year; the company cancelled its scheduled earnings call and stopped issuing guidance for the remainder of 2026.⁠[23][23][23][23][23][23][23][23][23]

On September 4, 2026, the board appointed Timothy Adams, Matthew Salzberg, and Michael Thompson as independent directors, effective September 8. Adams has been Chief Financial Officer of Validity Inc. since January 2026 and was previously Chief Financial Officer of Rapid7.⁠[24][24][24][24]

Shutterstock positions itself as a global creative platform connecting brands and businesses to high-quality content: contributors upload content, customers pay to license it, and the company pays contributors royalties based on downloads. Content is sold under brands including Shutterstock, Pond5, TurboSquid, PicMonkey, PremiumBeat, Splash News, Bigstock, and Envato; in addition to content licensing, the company operates a Data, Distribution, and Services business that delivers large metadata sets and other offerings to customers.⁠[2][2][2][2]

In 2025, the company’s revenue was $989.9 million, including $786.7 million in Content revenue and $203.3 million in Data, Distribution, and Services revenue; that year, more than 3.5 million customers in more than 150 countries licensed content, with approximately 51% of revenue coming from North America. As of the end of 2025, the company had 1,565 full-time employees; as of the filing of its fiscal 2025 annual report, Oringer was Executive Chairman and owned approximately 31% of the outstanding common stock.⁠[2][2][2][2]

Shutterstock: Official website: https://www.shutterstock.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

Shutterstock Investor Relations: Official website: https://investor.shutterstock.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]