# People Incorporated (PPLI)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/PPLI · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, People Incorporated (PPLI), nexqual.com/PPLI" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 39.58 (+1.70% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 38.92 · day 38.47–39.7 · 52w 29.56–48.32 · market cap $2.95B · NMS

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $2.10B, net income $336M (16.0% margin), free cash flow $124M (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 8.8x (avg 14.0x at the last 1 fiscal year-ends).
- 3 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold PPLI (13F, Q2 2026): 0 new, 0 added, 3 reduced, 0 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 1 Form 4 filings, $279K; 1 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($279K); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.17 on a 1–5 scale) (12 analysts), mean target USD 56.8 (range 48–70).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +17.0% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y -68.3% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-11-02, EPS estimate USD -0.2, revenue estimate $443M.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.70B | $5.24B | $4.37B | $2.62B | $2.39B | $2.10B |
| Gross profit | $2.40B | $3.30B | $3.15B | $1.62B | $1.58B | — |
| Operating income | -$137M | -$475M | -$238M | -$28.7M | -$97.4M | -$188M |
| Net income | $598M | -$1.17B | $266M | -$540M | -$104M | $336M |
| EPS (diluted) | $5.18 | -$11.12 | $2.97 | -$6.49 | -$1.30 | — |
| Free cash flow | $28.7M | -$223M | $95.9M | $340M | $44.8M | $124M |
| Gross margin | 65.0% | 63.1% | 72.1% | 61.8% | 66.2% | — |
| Operating margin | -3.7% | -9.1% | -5.4% | -1.1% | -4.1% | -9.0% |
| Net margin | 16.2% | -22.4% | 6.1% | -20.6% | -4.3% | 16.0% |
| Revenue growth | +33.8% | +41.5% | -16.6% | -39.9% | -8.7% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $2.14B | $1.34B | $1.08B | $1.36B | $941M | — |
| Total debt | $2.10B | $2.07B | $2.04B | $1.98B | $1.44B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 8.8x · P/S 1.4x · P/FCF 23.8x · P/B 0.6x · FCF yield 4.20% · Earnings yield 11.41% · Buyback yield (TTM) 8.42%
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2023 14.0x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
3 of 80 tracked investors hold PPLI. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Hawkins | Southeastern Asset Management | 7.54% | $145M | Reduced -22.1% |
| Samantha McLemore | Patient Capital Management | 3.72% | $112M | Reduced -10.2% |
| Christopher Davis | Davis Advisors | 0.47% | $111M | Reduced -0.8% |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
0 of 1 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-12 | Schwerdtman Michael H | SVP and CAO | 6,878 | $279K | 19.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.17 on a 1–5 scale), 12 analysts; mean target USD 56.8 (low 48, high 70).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-24 | StoneX | Target lowered | Buy | $70 → $63 |
| 2026-08-17 | Citigroup | Target raised | Buy | $48 → $52 |
| 2026-08-05 | UBS | Target raised | Neutral | $49 → $56 |
| 2026-08-05 | Benchmark | Target raised | Buy | $60 → $70 |
| 2026-08-05 | Truist Securities | Target raised | Buy | $50 → $62 |
| 2026-08-05 | Citizens | Target raised | Market Outperform | $47 → $54 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +17.0% | -68.3% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +17.0% | -20.5% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 33.8% | 37.3% |
| Max drawdown | -24.6% (Jul 2026→Sep 2026) | -74.3% (Oct 2021→Oct 2025) |

## Peers (Internet Content & Information)
CARG (CarGurus, Inc.) USD 32.73 +4.94% · ATHM (Autohome Inc.) USD 20.4 +2.26% · STUB (StubHub Holdings, Inc.) USD 6.1 +3.21% · RUM (RUM Group Inc.) USD 5.54 -4.81% · JOYY (JOYY Inc.) USD 83.42 -1.35% · DJT (Trump Media & Technology Group ) USD 6.61 -0.75%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/PPLI · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in PPLI's own 10-K filed 2026-02-20 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1800227/000162828026009997/iaci-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Apple (AAPL) | "We depend on search engines, digital app stores and social media platforms, in particular, those operated by Google, Apple and Meta, to market, distribute and monetize our products and services." |
| Supplier | Microsoft (MSFT) | "We have made, and expect to continue to make, significant expenditures for search engine marketing primarily in the form of the purchase of keywords, which we purchase primarily through Google and, to a lesser extent, Mi…" |
| Supplier | Meta Platforms (META) | "We depend on search engines, digital app stores and social media platforms, in particular, those operated by Google, Apple and Meta, to market, distribute and monetize our products and services." |
| Supplier | Amazon (AMZN) | "We rely on search engines, digital app stores, advertising networks, social media platforms, and other third-party content discovery and distribution platforms (particularly those operated by Apple, Google, Microsoft, Me…" |
| Partner | Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) | "The majority of the paid listings displayed by Ask Media Group is supplied to us by Google Inc. ("Google") pursuant to our services agreement with Google, dated as of October 26, 2015 and as subsequently amended (the "Se…" |
| Partner | OpenAI | "The increase in Licensing and Other revenue was due primarily to improved performance of Apple News+ and content syndication partners and to the contribution of a full year of OpenAI revenue, a partnership which began in…" |
| Related party | Angi Inc. (ANGI) | "In addition, Angi is no longer considered a related party." |
| Related party | Expedia (EXPE) | "The Company and Expedia Group are related parties because Mr. Diller serves as Chairman and Senior Executive of both IAC and Expedia Group." |

Other companies that name PPLI in their own reports (relationship from PPLI's side):

| Relationship | Company | Their filing | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| partner | Travel & Leisure Co. (TNL) | 10-K 2026-02-18 | "The acquisition created a strategic alliance between Travel + Leisure Co. and People Inc., with People Inc. continuing to operate and monetize Travel + Leisure branded multi-platform media assets acro…" |

## Revenue by business segment (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| People Inc. | $416.7M | 95.4% | -2.5% |
| Digital | $289.9M | 66.4% | +5.8% |
| Print | $132.6M | 30.4% | -16.2% |
| Emerging & Other | $20.0M | 4.6% | +26.3% |
| Total revenue | $436.7M | 100% | — |
The lines above cover 196.8% of total revenue.

## Revenue by product line (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising revenue | $174.2M | 39.9% | -0.4% |
| — Performance marketing revenue (part of Advertising revenue) | $68.8M | 15.7% | +12.6% |
| — Subscription revenue (part of Advertising revenue) | $58.3M | 13.4% | -20.6% |
| — Licensing and other revenue (part of Advertising revenue) | $47.0M | 10.8% | +23.3% |
| Session-based | $164.6M | 37.7% | -0.6% |
| — Non-session-based (part of Session-based) | $125.4M | 28.7% | +15.6% |
| — Newsstand revenue (part of Session-based) | $25.3M | 5.8% | -4.6% |
| — Project and other revenue (part of Session-based) | $14.2M | 3.3% | -10.6% |
| Advertising revenue | $29.7M | 6.8% | -19.3% |
| Total revenue | $436.7M | 100% | — |
The lines above cover 84.4% of total revenue.

## Revenue by region (quarter ended 2025-09-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | $546.4M | 92.6% | -5.0% |
| All other countries | $43.4M | 7.4% | -35.1% |
| Total revenue | $589.8M | 100% | — |

## Customer concentration

Period ended 2026-03-31: 99%, 9% of revenue from unnamed direct customers (10-Q, filed 2026-05-04).

## Company outlook (8-K filed 2026-08-03)

- "Full Year 2026 Observations • People Inc. – Expect both Digital revenue and Digital Adjusted EBITDA to grow mid-to-high single-digits in 2026."

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-09-30) | $-0.20 | $-0.17 | +22.7% | $442.7M | 7 |
| Next quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $0.66 | $0.79 | -16.3% | $534.9M | 7 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $6.36 | $-0.54 | -1283.3% | $1.83B | 7 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $1.02 | $1.17 | -13.2% | $1.84B | 7 |

## Options: expected move (Cboe, 15-min delayed)

Expected move by 2026-11-20 (includes earnings 2026-11-02): ±9.6%; last 8 reports averaged ±5.5%.

| Expiration | Days | ATM IV | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-20 | 28 | 42.4% | ±9.6% |
| 2026-12-18 | 56 | 39.4% | ±12.4% |
| 2027-03-19 | 147 | 36.0% | ±18.1% |
| 2027-06-17 | 237 | 36.5% | ±23.1% |