PLBY Group (NASDAQ:PLBY) executives highlighted a year of strategic change and improving profitability on the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call, pointing to four consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA, ongoing debt reduction, and an expected near-term closing of a transaction involving its China licensing business.
Chief Executive Officer Ben Kohn said 2025 marked a “defining year” in which the company completed a strategic transformation into what he described as a higher-margin, more recurring-revenue platform built around four pillars: media and experiences, licensing, hospitality, and Honey Birdette direct-to-consumer. Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Marc Crossman detailed fourth-quarter financial results that included higher revenue, lower operating expenses (excluding impairments), and a return to net income.
Fourth-quarter results and profitability trend
Crossman noted fourth-quarter 2025 SG&A was burdened by approximately $1.2 million of transaction expenses related to the UTG transaction, along with $2.1 million of additional brand marketing expense.
Net income was $3.6 million, or $0.03 per share, compared with a net loss of $12.5 million, or ($0.15) per share, in the prior-year quarter. Crossman said the improvement reflected higher gross margins, cost management, deleveraging efforts, and a benefit from income taxes.
Adjusted EBITDA rose to $7.1 million, which Crossman said marked the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA, compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $100,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Excluding litigation expenses, adjusted EBITDA would have been $8.0 million in the quarter, he added.
Debt reduction and the UTG China licensing transaction
Management emphasized ongoing deleveraging. Crossman said the company reduced senior debt by nearly $58 million to approximately $160 million since the third quarter of 2024. Kohn said the company also has a pathway to reduce debt by a further almost $52 million through its UTG China deal.
Discussing that agreement, Kohn said the company expects its partnership with UTG Brands Management Group to close “as early as this week.” The company previously announced the sale of 50% of its China licensing business to UTG for $122 million in total contracted cash payments, which management broke down as $45 million in purchase price, $67 million in guaranteed minimum distributions over the next eight years, and $10 million in brand support payments.
Management said nearly $52 million of proceeds are earmarked for debt reduction, and Crossman said the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive, including through anticipated interest expense reduction. Kohn also emphasized that Playboy will retain 50% ownership with “profit share upside” while adding what he described as a strong operating partner in China.
Media rebuild, subscriptions, and experiences
Kohn said the company is investing in content and media to drive audience growth, subscription revenue, and experiences, while also building out its digital and hospitality footprint. He highlighted two senior hires: David Miller as President, Media and Brand, and Phillip Picardi as Chief Brand Officer and Editor-in-Chief.
Picardi’s mandate includes rebuilding Playboy’s editorial engine with journalism and photography centered on relationships, dating, intimacy, and “modern masculinity,” with expansion areas including entertainment, sports, gaming, and fashion, according to Kohn. The company is also rebuilding its website “from the ground up,” with a full relaunch expected later in 2026. Kohn described the website as a “digital hub” designed first for brand building and second for monetization via subscription and membership offerings.
In response to an analyst question, Kohn said the membership offering has been rolled out with the most recent magazine issue, priced at $79 for digital and $149 for digital plus print. He said Playboy plans to add utility to the membership over time, including opportunities to participate in events, and that the company has hired a digital agency and now has data tools to focus on conversion.
Kohn also said the magazine remains a “top-of-the-funnel differentiator” for creators and celebrities. He noted an upcoming cover featuring a “major female music star” with more than 70 million Instagram followers, which he said reflects the caliber of talent interested in the brand.
He pointed to a social footprint of more than 25 million followers generating “billions of impressions annually,” and called the Playmate Search a standout initiative, with “tens of thousands” of creator entries and daily user-generated content. Kohn said paid voting, launched in the fourth quarter, is proving to be a scalable recurring revenue mechanism with “multimillion-dollar potential.”
On programming, Kohn said Playboy is developing original content inspired by legacy franchises such as the Playboy Interview and Playboy After Dark, including a feature film with Hefner Capital and a television adaptation of the Great Playmate Search. He said the TV project is structured as a licensing revenue and profit share model to keep the company asset-light. He added that the company is also building original audio and video content to monetize through advertising, sponsorships, and paid subscriptions. The company is pairing content with events and experiences, including Midsummer Night’s Dream parties and poker and golf tournaments, as part of the media and experiences pillar.
Licensing scale and Honey Birdette momentum
Kohn described licensing as the company’s “most predictable, highest margin” business. He said Playboy generated more than $46 million in licensing revenue in fiscal 2025, representing over 38% of total revenue at a 90% gross margin. He added that 90% of licensing revenue was guaranteed through contractual commitments, and that the company has more than $343 million in unrecognized future revenue. Kohn also said the company is becoming more selective in licensing, focusing on fewer, larger partners, and pointed to “white space” in EMEA, Latin America, and APAC. He referenced a digital licensing agreement with Byborg that includes a $20 million annual minimum guarantee.
For Honey Birdette, Kohn said fourth-quarter sales rose 9% year over year, with full-price sales up 21%. Gross product margin expanded to 77.8%, up 140 basis points, which management attributed to more full-price selling and disciplined discounting. Retail was up 17% like-for-like, with Kohn noting all markets were positive and citing the UK (up 36%) and the U.S. (up 21%). Digital grew 7%, with the U.S. up 16%, while average order value increased 17% across regions.
Asked about performance drivers, Kohn said the company implemented a 10% price increase around the time tariffs went into effect and saw “zero pushback” from customers, helping lift margins alongside reduced promotional activity. He said Valentine’s Day was the “best” the brand has ever had, with less promotion and higher year-over-year performance, though he did not provide specific figures.
Kohn also said the company plans to launch a Playboy capsule collection by Honey Birdette and indicated there “might or might not be a paid voting contest tied to that” as part of the marketing approach.
Hospitality plans: Miami Beach club as a “new mansion”
On hospitality, Kohn said Playboy is relaunching membership clubs beginning with a Miami Beach Club concept positioned as the “new mansion.” He said the company has signed a non-binding letter of intent to raise capital from third parties for the build-out and selected an operating partner, a structure he said is intended to limit capital expenditure risk while allowing participation through licensing, membership revenue, and brand association.
Looking ahead, Kohn said the company is entering 2026 with momentum across its four pillars and reiterated expectations for the UTG transaction to close soon, providing additional balance sheet flexibility to invest in growth initiatives including the media rebuild, digital subscriptions, and hospitality development.
About PLBY Group (NASDAQ:PLBY)
PLBY Group, Inc is a global media and lifestyle company best known for its iconic Playboy brand. The company operates across multiple business segments, including consumer products, licensing, subscription commerce, sexual wellness and digital offerings. Through its diversified portfolio, PLBY Group brings its signature aesthetic and brand heritage to categories such as apparel, accessories, gaming, beverages, home goods and intimate lifestyle products.
In the consumer products segment, PLBY Group designs and markets a range of branded goods under licensing agreements with major retailers and distributors worldwide.
