People Inc. Emerges from IAC: A Pivot to Media, AI Licensing, and a Showdown with Google
Q2 2026 signals the formal rebirth as a focused media company, with digital growth, new revenue streams, and a strategic push against search giants.
PPLI · Earnings Call · 2026-08-04
The End of IAC, The Rise of People
The second quarter of 2026 will be remembered as the moment People Incorporated formally stepped out of IAC's shadow. On the earnings call, Barry Diller made the strategic about-face official: "About 6 months ago, somewhere around then, we began to chart a new course for the company. We decided that, us being in the general acquisition business was not going to produce results as it had for the past couple of decades." That was the core message. The company is now a focused media company — People and its portfolio of brands — plus its large investment in MGM. The financials reflect the deliberate shrinking: Total Revenue fell to $423M, down 26% YoY, but that is by design as the company sells noncore assets. The company expects corporate costs to decline to a $45M run rate by Q1 2027, after the consolidation is complete. The leadership transition is complete: Chris Halpin and Kendall Handler are out, with Neil Vogel and Tim Quinn stepping up as CEO and CFO, respectively.
The new leadership is already executing on the capital plan. They announced the sale of a limited partner stake in a third-party fund for $189M, and Barry Diller expects the MGM buyout discussions to resolve within the next 60 days. The company is also simplifying its portfolio, with the goal of unlocking the sum-of-parts discount. As Neil Vogel explained on the call, the market is getting the media business "for free" given the cash and MGM holdings. This is a reinvention that acknowledges the structural decline of the old acquisition model.
Digital Resilience and AI Monetization
People's core digital business is not merely surviving; it is thriving in a chaotic market. Digital revenue grew 6% for the 11th consecutive quarter, with digital EBITDA up 18% and margins expanding to 26% from 23%. The driver is non-session-based revenue, which grew 16% while session-based revenue held nearly flat. The company is monetizing its iconic brands through licensing, events, social series, and initiatives like Apple News and Southern Living. As Neil Vogel put it, “We continue to drive momentum in the face of major changes and disruptions in the market.” — Neil Vogel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (incoming) · 2026-08-04
The company is aggressively launching new revenue streams: a premium subscription bundle for PEOPLE, Southern Living Insiders, and a growing portfolio of live events, including the recent acquisition of Hot Luck, a Gen-Z food and music festival. These are the growth initiatives that management believes will push digital revenue growth back to double digits. The financial results underscore the profitability: incremental margins were exceptionally high in the quarter, and the company expects to sustain strong margin expansion even as it invests.
AI is both a threat and an opportunity. Internally, the company is using AI to boost efficiency across editorial and ad operations, freeing resources for growth. Externally, it is monetizing its content through AI licensing deals with the likes of OpenAI and Meta. “I can't think of any publisher that makes more high-quality content on the commercial topics that we cover than we do,” — Neil Vogel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (incoming) · 2026-08-04 Vogel asserted. The company is using Cloudflare blocking to force AI companies to pay for access to its content — a strategy that is yielding tangible results.
Google and the Search Disruption
The most confrontation element is the company's standoff with Google. Search traffic has fallen to just 21% of total traffic, from roughly two-thirds historically. The company is refusing to block Google's AI crawler because it's a single crawler with search, but it's a tool they are willing to use. "We would like Google to split its search and AI crawlers," Vogel said, and they expect the litigation to resolve in 2027. Tim Quinn highlighted the silver lining: “While our sessions are down, our rates are up significantly.” — Timothy Quinn, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (incoming) · 2026-08-04 This is a flight to quality—advertisers are paying a premium for premium content.
The full-year guidance remains intact, with People Inc. expected to deliver $325-355M of EBITDA (including the Google litigation add-back). The company is confident in its trajectory, and the market seems to be taking notice.