Getty Images (NYSE:GETY – Get Free Report) and Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK – Get Free Report) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Getty Images and Shutterstock”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Getty Images | $981.29 million | 0.13 | -$206.12 million | ($0.39) | -0.79 |
| Shutterstock | $989.92 million | 0.21 | $45.50 million | ($5.65) | -1.00 |
Volatility & Risk
Getty Images has a beta of 2.11, meaning that its stock price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shutterstock has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
45.8% of Getty Images shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Shutterstock shares are held by institutional investors. 12.5% of Getty Images shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.3% of Shutterstock shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Getty Images and Shutterstock, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Getty Images | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Shutterstock | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Getty Images currently has a consensus price target of $3.92, suggesting a potential upside of 1,166.13%. Shutterstock has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.67%. Given Getty Images’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Getty Images is more favorable than Shutterstock.
Profitability
This table compares Getty Images and Shutterstock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Getty Images | -16.24% | -26.82% | -5.25% |
| Shutterstock | -22.87% | 13.61% | 5.49% |
Summary
Shutterstock beats Getty Images on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Getty Images
Getty Images Holdings, Inc. offers creative and editorial visual content solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Its products include Getty Images that offers creative and editorial content including stills, music and video which focuses on corporate, agency, and media customers; iStock.com, an e-commerce offering where customers have access to creative stills and video; Unsplash.com, a platform offering free stock photo downloads and paid subscriptions targeted to the high-growth prosumer and semi-professional creator segments; and Unsplash+ that provides access to unique model released content with expanded legal protections. In addition, it maintains privately-owned photographic archives covering news, sport, and entertainment, as well as variety of subjects, including lifestyle, business, science, health, wellness, beauty, sports, transportation, and travel. Further, the company provides music licensing, and digital asset management and distribution services. It serves media outlets, advertising agencies and corporations, individual creators, and prosumers. The company was formerly known as Getty Images, Inc. Getty Images Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
About Shutterstock
Shutterstock, Inc. provides platform to connect brands and businesses to high quality content in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers image services consisting of photographs, vectors, and illustrations, which is used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications, and others; footage services, including video clips, filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects in HD and 4K formats that are integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and cinematic productions; and music services comprising music tracks and sound effects, which are used to complement images and footage. It also provides 3 dimensional models consisting of 3D models used in various industries, such as advertising, media and video production, gaming, retail, education, design, and architecture; and generative AI content comprising images generated from algorithms trained with ethically sourced content. The company offers its services under the Shutterstock, Pond5, TurboSquid, PicMonkey, PremiumBeat, Splash News, Bigstock, and Offset brand names. In addition, it operates a collection of graphics interchange format visuals and stickers that supplies casual conversational content. The company serves corporate professionals and organizations, media and broadcast companies, and small and medium-sized businesses, and individual creators through digital, live sales, and client management channels. Shutterstock, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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