Dolphin CEO Issues Letter to Shareholders: Highlights Organic Growth, Financial Strength, AI Leadership, Insider Buying and Positive 2026 Outlook

Rhea-AI Summary

Dolphin (NASDAQ:DLPN) reported a strong 2025 and outlined a confident 2026 outlook driven by organic growth, cost efficiencies, AI initiatives and insider buying.

Key facts: Q3 2025 revenue $14.8M (+16.7% YoY); the company turned positive on GAAP operating income. Management paid final contingent acquisition consideration and saw warrants expire, simplifying reporting. Multiple office leases in NY and LA are set to expire (NY within 13 months; LA by Nov 2027) and a commercial term loan principal fell to under $5M with current annual principal+interest >$2M; combined actions are expected to generate over $3M in annual cash savings beginning Oct 2028.

Strategic moves include the December launch of Dolphin Intelligence (AI-driven marketing) and a theatrical release of the film Youngblood on March 6, 2026. CEO Bill O'Dowd purchased >2% of outstanding shares since April 2025 and is buying weekly through end-2026.

Positive

• Revenue +16.7% YoY in Q3 2025 ($14.8M)
• GAAP operating income turned positive in 2025
• Expected $3M+ annual cash savings beginning Oct 2028 from leases and loan payoff
• Term loan principal reduced to <$5M
• CEO insiders purchased >2% of shares and continues weekly buys
• Launched Dolphin Intelligence to drive AI-led marketing

Negative

• Ongoing lease obligations in NY and LA until expirations through Nov 2027
• Current annual $2M+ principal and interest cash burden until loan payoff in 2028

Key Figures

Q3 2025 revenue $14.8 million Third quarter 2025 revenue; described as 16.7% year-over-year growth

Revenue growth rate 16.7% Year-over-year revenue increase for Q3 2025

GAAP operating income Positive (amount not specified) Turned positive in Q3 2025 despite non-cash amortization

Term loan principal Less than $5 million Remaining principal after December payment on commercial term loan

Annual debt service Over $2 million per year Principal and interest paid annually on the commercial term loan

Expected cash savings Greater than $3 million per year Annual savings from lease expirations and loan payoff starting October 2028

New York leases 3 leases expiring within 13 months Office leases in New York expected to drive cost savings

Los Angeles leases 2 leases expiring by November 2027 LA office leases providing future footprint rationalization

Market Reality Check

$1.61 Last Close

Volume Volume 191,161 vs 20-day average 40,914 (relative volume 4.67x) shows elevated interest ahead of this shareholder letter. high

Technical Price $1.63 is trading above the 200-day MA at $1.28, reflecting an established uptrend into this news.

Peers on Argus 1 Down

DLPN is up 3.82% with strong volume, while key advertising/marketing peers show mixed to negative moves: KRKR -5.01%, CHR -3.68%, LDWY +1.59%, others flat. Action appears company-specific rather than sector-driven.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 30	Client campaign win	Positive	+11.4%	Hooters repositioning campaign led by subsidiary The Door.
Dec 23	Client accolades	Positive	-0.7%	Shore Fire Media clients named among 2025’s best podcasts.
Dec 16	AI division launch	Positive	-4.5%	Launch of Dolphin Intelligence AI-driven marketing unit.
Dec 10	Awards nominations	Positive	-3.1%	42West clients receive four Golden Globe nominations.
Dec 04	Film distribution deal	Positive	-1.2%	U.S. distribution partnership for feature film YOUNGBLOOD.

Pattern Detected

Recent headlines have mostly been positive, yet four of the last five news events saw negative next-day price reactions, showing a tendency for the stock to sometimes sell off or fade on good news.

Recent Company History

Over the past month, Dolphin announced multiple brand and content wins across its agencies, including a high-profile Hooters repositioning campaign that coincided with a +11.36% move on Dec 30. Other positive updates around podcast recognition, film distribution for YOUNGBLOOD, and awards-season nominations drew modest negative reactions. The prior AI-tagged launch of Dolphin Intelligence on Dec 16 also saw shares down 4.55%. Today’s shareholder letter revisits those themes, emphasizing organic growth, AI positioning and financial efficiency.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights record organic growth, a shift to positive GAAP operating income, and future cost savings from lease rationalization and term-loan amortization. It also reinforces Dolphin’s AI strategy via its Dolphin Intelligence division and notes ongoing insider share purchases. Recent news flow includes brand wins, award recognition and film distribution deals, but past market reactions have been mixed. Investors may watch upcoming quarters for sustained profitability and progress on the AI-driven marketing initiatives outlined here.

Key Terms

GAAP financial

"we turned positive on GAAP operating income, despite the large non-cash"

GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, are a set of standardized rules and guidelines that companies follow when preparing their financial statements. They ensure consistency, transparency, and comparability across different companies, making it easier for investors to understand and compare financial information accurately. This helps investors make informed decisions based on trustworthy and uniform financial reports.

non-cash amortization financial

"despite the large non-cash amortization expenses we record as a result"

Non-cash amortization is an accounting entry that spreads the cost of intangible assets—like patents, trademarks or purchase-price goodwill—over several years without any actual cash payment at the time. Investors care because it reduces reported profit while leaving cash untouched, so comparing earnings with cash flow is like checking both a car’s odometer and its fuel gauge: one shows usage over time, the other shows immediate ability to run.

earned media technical

"leveraging our expertise in earned media across all of pop culture"

Publicity a company receives from independent news outlets, bloggers, social media users or industry commentators without paying for placement; it comes from press coverage, reviews, interviews or viral posts rather than paid advertising. For investors it matters because third‑party attention acts like word‑of‑mouth—boosting credibility, customer interest and visibility at low cost—and can quickly influence sales expectations, reputation and short‑term stock moves.

large language models technical

"influence the Large Language Models (LLMs) that drive modern search"

Large language models are advanced AI systems trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like writing, like a very fast reader and writer that learns patterns in words and sentences. They matter to investors because they can change how companies operate—automating customer service, speeding analysis, cutting costs, creating new products—and they introduce risks around accuracy, security and regulation that can affect a firm’s revenue and reputation.

free cash flow financial

"Continuous revenue growth towards positive net income and free cash flow"

Free cash flow is the amount of money a company has left over after paying all its expenses and investing in its business, like buying equipment or updating facilities. It shows how much cash is available to reward shareholders, pay down debt, or save for future growth. This helps investors understand if a company is financially healthy and able to grow.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / January 6, 2026 / Dolphin (NASDAQ:DLPN) a leading entertainment marketing and premium content production company, today issued a letter to shareholders from Dolphin CEO, Bill O'Dowd:

To My Fellow Shareholders,

As we settle into the New Year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what was a pivotal 2025 for Dolphin and share why we are entering 2026 with such tremendous momentum.

Record-Setting Organic Growth

The revenue and operating income trajectory established throughout 2025 has been undeniable. As we discussed in our last earnings call, after a very strong second quarter, the third quarter of 2025 was yet another milestone for the company. We delivered revenue of $14.8 million, up 16.7% year-over-year, and, perhaps most importantly, we turned positive on GAAP operating income, despite the large non-cash amortization expenses we record as a result of our years-long acquisition strategy. This was achieved entirely through organic growth, as 2025 was the first year since uplisting to NASDAQ in 2017 that we did not make an acquisition. We expect this momentum to continue, proving the power of our collaborative model where our best-in-class marketing agencies are delivering outstanding results and creating further tailwinds simply by working better together. And the strength of this group, and of our team-first approach, has been recognized within our industry. In March, our PR firms were ranked #1 in the country by the New York Observer, which gave as the rationale behind its choice: "For orchestrating a supergroup that's greater than the sum of its already impressive parts, Dolphin takes the crown as our 2025 agency of the year."

Operational Efficiency and Improved Financial Results

We have spent the last few years building toward this moment. We are now seeing the results of our operational cost efficiencies, and the elimination of almost all of our "below-the-line" expenses. We paid out the last of the contingent consideration from our acquisitions in the spring, and the last of our warrants expired in the fall. Thus, our financial reporting now much more clearly reflects the true operational performance of the business.

And our financial results will receive added boosts for each of the next 3 years. As part of our acquisition strategy, we inherited multiple office leases, and we now have a clear opportunity to rationalize our footprint. Working as a true collective has created meaningful synergies across our agencies-allowing teams to collaborate more fluidly, share infrastructure, and operate with greater flexibility. That integration is also driving tangible financial efficiencies. In New York, three leases are set to expire within the next 13 months, and in Los Angeles, two leases expire by November 2027. In a post-Covid operating environment, our collective structure enables us to refine our space in both markets without sacrificing collaboration, generating meaningful and durable operating savings that will benefit results over the next several years.

We are also more than halfway through our only commercial term loan, taken out over 3 years ago to facilitate our last few acquisitions. The principal on this loan was reduced to less than $5 million with our December payment. We currently pay over $2 million in principal and interest per year to service this loan, which matures in September 2028.

Thus, we see strong cash catalysts for Dolphin with the expiration of our NY leases, the expiration of our LA leases, and the payment in full of our only term loan expected to result in total cash savings greater than $3 million on annual basis beginning in October 2028.

Leading the Way in AI and Earned Media

Looking ahead, we are not just resting on the stability of our core agencies; we are actively reimagining what this group can do.

In December, we launched Dolphin Intelligence, a new division dedicated to optimizing marketing results in an AI-driven world. This isn't just about using new tools; it is about ensuring our clients dominate in the new era of "Generative Engine Optimization." By leveraging our expertise in earned media across all of pop culture to influence the Large Language Models (LLMs) that drive modern search and recommendation engines, we are flexing our capabilities in PR, influencer marketing and celebrity events to create strategy and drive results that no other single PR firm or influencer agency could do alone.

We Are Only Getting Started

By assembling our supergroup of marketing agencies with an entertainment focus, we have created unique horizontal scale across culture and vertical scale in earned media. We expect to have further announcements in the first half of this year regarding other important initiatives that will allow us to leverage our unique breadth and capabilities. Stay tuned.

A Personal Commitment to Our Future

Finally, I want to remind you that my confidence in Dolphin's future is backed by action. Since April 2025, I have personally purchased more than 2% of our outstanding shares, and I have entered into a trading plan to continue buying on a weekly basis through the end of 2026. I believe our stock price does not yet reflect the company's proven performance or the significant growth opportunities ahead as outlined herein.

Looking Ahead with Confidence

We have reported back-to-back strong quarters, and we expect to deliver more of the same for Q4 and in 2026. We are growing, and we are doing so organically. As set forth above, we have additional operational and cash flow tailwinds coming in each of the next 3 years. And we have near term opportunities to create optionality, with our December announcements of the launch of Dolphin Intelligence and the theatrical release on March 6 of our feature film "Youngblood" representing just two recent examples.

This is our vision at work. Continuous revenue growth towards positive net income and free cash flow with upside "options" created by opportunities in content, consumer products and live events.

We couldn't be more excited.

Sincerely,

Bill O'Dowd
CEO
Dolphin

CONTACT:

James Carbonara
HAYDEN IR
(646)-755-7412
james@haydenir.com

SOURCE: Dolphin Entertainment

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What did Dolphin (DLPN) report for Q3 2025 revenue and growth?

Dolphin reported Q3 2025 revenue of $14.8M, a 16.7% year-over-year increase.

Did Dolphin (DLPN) report positive GAAP operating income in 2025?

Yes, Dolphin turned positive on GAAP operating income during 2025 despite non-cash amortization.

How will Dolphin (DLPN) achieve the projected >$3M annual savings starting Oct 2028?

Savings are expected from NY and LA lease expirations and the full repayment of the term loan reducing occupancy and debt service costs.

What is Dolphin's (DLPN) new AI initiative and when was it launched?

Dolphin launched Dolphin Intelligence in December 2025 to optimize marketing via AI and generative engine optimization.

How much insider buying has Dolphin CEO Bill O'Dowd done and what is his plan?

Since April 2025 the CEO purchased >2% of outstanding shares and has a trading plan to continue weekly buys through end-2026.

When is Dolphin's (DLPN) feature film Youngblood releasing theatrically?

The company stated a theatrical release date of March 6, 2026 for Youngblood.