---
title: "Shutterstock cancels its November 5 call and reinstates founder Jon Oringer as Getty files Chapter 11"
description: "Jon Oringer, who still owns about a third of the stock, returned as chief executive on October 28 to a share price down about 77 percent this year, and canceled the November 5 earnings call while the board weighs \"strategic direction.\" Getty Images, the only comparable merger partner, filed for Chapter 11 on October 21 and is bound for Getty-family and Koch ownership."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Applications"
published: 2026-11-02T17:14:23.479Z
modified: 2026-11-02T17:14:23.479Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/shutterstock-cancels-its-november-5-call-and-reinstates-founder-jon-oringer-as-getty-files-chapter-11
language: en
keywords: "Shutterstock, Getty Images, Stock Photography, Leadership, AI Training Data, Restructuring"
---

# Shutterstock cancels its November 5 call and reinstates founder Jon Oringer as Getty files Chapter 11

> Jon Oringer, who still owns about a third of the stock, returned as chief executive on October 28 to a share price down about 77 percent this year, and canceled the November 5 earnings call while the board weighs "strategic direction." Getty Images, the only comparable merger partner, filed for Chapter 11 on October 21 and is bound for Getty-family and Koch ownership.

On October 28, 2026 [Shutterstock](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/shutterstock) put Jon Oringer, the founder who ran the company from 2003 to 2020, back in the chief executive seat, and named Hichame Assi, who leads its Envato marketplace unit, president and chief operating officer [1]. The same release [canceled the November 5 earnings call](https://www.nativo.ventures/2026/10/29/shutterstock-founder-jon-oringer-returns-as-ceo-hichame-assi-named-president-and-coo/): the company "continues to evaluate its strategic direction and priorities," though it will still file third-quarter results [1].

SSTK, Shutterstock's New York Stock Exchange ticker, closed October 29 down about 77 percent for the year, then added 3.7 percent to $4.50 after hours [2]. The return is the third leadership arrangement in under four months [1][3]: [Paul Hennessy resigned as chief executive on July 13](https://www.reuters.com/business/shutterstock-ceo-hennessy-steps-down-weeks-after-failed-getty-deal-2026-07-13/), weeks after the Getty merger died, and finance chief Rik Powell held the seat as interim while the board said it plans to engage an adviser to help plan the way forward [3].

## A stock repriced by a dead merger

The repricing began on June 30, when [Getty terminated the $3.7 billion merger](https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/getty-images-scraps-shutterstock-merger-2026-06-30/), announced in January 2025 with $150 million to $200 million of promised cost synergies, rather than sell Shutterstock's editorial arm as the UK Competition and Markets Authority demanded; SSTK fell about 29 percent to $9.95 that evening [4][5]. Operations explain the review: revenue has fallen year over year for three straight quarters, and the June quarter booked a $155.9 million net loss on $221.8 million of revenue [2][6].

*Chart: **Shutterstock revenue peaked at $267M in Q2 2025 and has fallen three quarters since** Line chart of Shutterstock quarterly revenue from Q3 2023 to Q2 2026, peaking at $267.0 million in Q2 2025 and ending at $221.8 million in Q2 2026 after three straight year-over-year declines.*

*Quarterly revenue in US$ millions from Shutterstock's SEC filings, Q3 2023 through Q2 2026. Q4 2025, Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 each fell year over year. [6]*

## The only partner left the table

Getty [filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware on October 21](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/getty-images-files-for-us-bankruptcy-advances-restructuring-plan/ar-AA2fLi0v) and expects to complete the restructuring by year end [7]. The Getty family and Koch Equity Development, the investment arm of Koch [Inc.](https://www.inc.com/lucia-auerbach/getty-images-filed-bankruptcy-plan-shows-who-will-control-company-next/91423311), committed up to $533 million of new equity to own all of the reorganized company, and holders of 83.5 percent of its unsecured bonds agreed to retire $270 million of notes [7][8].

Getty's public shareholders paid first: [the New York Stock Exchange suspended the shares in late September](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/failed-shutterstock-merger-nyse-delisting-051703798.html), they traded at $0.0147 over the counter, and chief executive Craig Peters has said the failed merger cost more than $100 million in fees and financing [9]. Getty's June quarter showed the squeeze: revenue of $229.1 million, a net loss of $85.8 million, annual subscribers down to about 240,000 from 321,000 [9].

*Chart: **Both image marketplaces lost money in the June quarter, Shutterstock harder than Getty** Column chart comparing Shutterstock and Getty Images June-quarter 2026 revenue and net loss: revenue of $221.8 million and $229.1 million, net losses of $155.9 million and $85.8 million.*

*June quarter (calendar Q2) 2026 results in US$ millions. Shutterstock figures from its SEC filings; Getty Images figures reported before its Chapter 11 filing. [6][9]*

## What the review can sell

Oringer still owns about a third of the stock [10], so a sale, a split or a revived combination is effectively his decision to offer. The AI leg is real: a six-year [OpenAI](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/openai) training-data contract signed in 2023, plus the data business Shutterstock now sells across "the full model training lifecycle" [1][10].

Against that, Luke Stillman of the trend advisory firm Madison and Wall judged at the termination that scale would only have helped "stave off competitive pressures for a little while longer" [4]. The third-quarter filing, which arrives with no call attached, will show how fast the downloads business is shrinking next to the data-licensing line; Getty's expected exit from court by year end will settle who owns the one comparable asset [6][7].

## Takeaway

Shutterstock put founder Jon Oringer back in the chief executive seat and canceled its November 5 earnings call while the board weighs the company's strategic direction, a review that now has no Getty Images to merge with since Getty filed for Chapter 11 on October 21.

## Sources

1. [Nativo Ventures (PRNewswire), "Shutterstock Founder Jon Oringer Returns as CEO; Hichame Assi Named President and COO," 29 October 2026](https://www.nativo.ventures/2026/10/29/shutterstock-founder-jon-oringer-returns-as-ceo-hichame-assi-named-president-and-coo/)
2. [MarketWatch (Dow Jones Newswires), "Shutterstock Founder Returns to CEO Role, Company Continues to Evaluate Direction," 29 October 2026](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/shutterstock-founder-returns-to-ceo-role-company-continues-to-evaluate-direction-01b10f09)
3. [Reuters, "Shutterstock CEO Hennessy steps down weeks after failed Getty deal," 13 July 2026](https://www.reuters.com/business/shutterstock-ceo-hennessy-steps-down-weeks-after-failed-getty-deal-2026-07-13/)
4. [Reuters, "Getty Images scraps $3.7 billion merger with Shutterstock over UK scrutiny," 30 June 2026](https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/getty-images-scraps-shutterstock-merger-2026-06-30/)
5. [The Hollywood Reporter, "Getty Images Abandons $3.7 Billion Merger With Shutterstock," 30 June 2026](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/getty-images-shutterstock-1236634242/)
6. [Shutterstock, quarterly figures from its SEC filings (EDGAR), retrieved 2 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001549346)
7. [Reuters via MSN, "Getty Images files for US bankruptcy, advances restructuring plan," 21 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/getty-images-files-for-us-bankruptcy-advances-restructuring-plan/ar-AA2fLi0v)
8. [Inc., "Getty Images Filed for Bankruptcy. Its Plan Shows Who Will Control the Company Next," 22 October 2026](https://www.inc.com/lucia-auerbach/getty-images-filed-bankruptcy-plan-shows-who-will-control-company-next/91423311)
9. [StockTwits via Yahoo Finance, "After Failed Shutterstock Merger And NYSE Delisting, Getty Plans Chapter 11 Bankruptcy," 13 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/failed-shutterstock-merger-nyse-delisting-051703798.html)
10. [Wikipedia, "Shutterstock," edited 11 October 2026](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutterstock)


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Shutterstock cancels its November 5 call and reinstates founder Jon Oringer as Getty files Chapter 11 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/shutterstock-cancels-its-november-5-call-and-reinstates-founder-jon-oringer-as-getty-files-chapter-11