Q2 2026 Dolphin Entertainment Inc Earnings Call

August 12, 2026

Speaker #1: Good day. Welcome to the Dolphin Entertainment second quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.

Operator: Good day. Welcome to the Dolphin Entertainment Q2 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, James Carbonara, with Hayden IR. James, you may begin.

Speaker #1: If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, James Carbonara with Hayden Investor Relations.

Speaker #1: James, you may begin.

Speaker #2: Thank you, operator. And once again, good afternoon, everyone. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that during the course of this conference call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

James Carbonara: Thank you, operator. Once again, good afternoon, everyone. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that during the course of this conference call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that could differ materially from actual results. Please refer to the forward-looking statements contained in the earnings release published today, as well as the most recent SEC filings and reports. During the call, management will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA or loss. The company believes that these will provide helpful information for investors. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are provided in the earnings release. Now I would like to turn the call over to Bill O'Dowd, Chief Executive Officer of Dolphin. Bill, please proceed.

Speaker #2: These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that could differ materially from actual results. Please refer to the forward-looking statements contained in the earnings release published today as well as the most recent SEC filings and reports.

James Carbonara: Please refer to the forward-looking statements contained in the earnings release published today, as well as the most recent SEC filings and reports. During the call, management will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA or loss. The company believes that these will provide helpful information for investors. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are provided in the earnings release. Now I would like to turn the call over to Bill O'Dowd, Chief Executive Officer of Dolphin. Bill, please proceed.

Speaker #2: During the call, management will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA or loss. The company believes that these will provide helpful information for investors.

Speaker #2: Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are provided in the earnings release. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Bill O'Dowd, Chief Executive Officer of Dolphin.

Speaker #2: Bill, please proceed.

Speaker #3: Thanks, James. And welcome, everyone. As always, I'll start by walking through the key highlights, and then Mirta will take you through the detailed financials before we open it up for your questions.

Bill O'Dowd: Thanks, James, and welcome, everyone. As always, I will start by walking through the key highlights, and then Mirta will take you through the detailed financials before we open it up for your questions. Revenue for the quarter came in at $14.4 million, up 2.5% year over year, and $27.2 million for the H1, up 3.8% compared to last year. Driving that top line was another busy quarter for our agencies. We were front and center at several large events since we last spoke in May, including the Cannes Film Festival the week after our last earnings call, and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June, which is the preeminent conference of the year for the marketing industries. Also, 42West had a big presence at the 25th Tribeca Festival in June and picked up multiple Emmy nominations last month.

Speaker #3: Revenue for the quarter came in at $14.4 million, up 2.5% year over year, and $27.2 million for the first half, up 3.8% compared to last year.

Speaker #3: Driving that top line was another busy quarter for our several large events since we last spoke in May, including the Cannes Film Festival the week after our last earnings call and the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June, which is the preeminent conference of the year for the marketing industries.

Bill O'Dowd: . We were front and center at several large events since we last spoke in May, including the Cannes Film Festival the week after our last earnings call, and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June, which is the preeminent conference of the year for the marketing industries. Also, 42West had a big presence at the 25th Tribeca Festival in June and picked up multiple Emmy nominations last month.

Speaker #3: Also, 42West had a big presence at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival in June, and picked up multiple Emmy nominations last month. The digital department ran the Creator Gifting Lounge at VidCon Anaheim.

Bill O'Dowd: The Digital Department ran the creator gifting lounge at VidCon, Anaheim. Elle Communications' clients were on stage at the NEXUS Global Summit in New York City, and just a few weeks ago, we were all over, really all over San Diego Comic-Con, where I am pretty sure we saw James Carbonara dressed up as Darth Vader. The thing I really want to spend a minute on is something new, Graviteur Studios. We announced this after we last spoke in May and then announced it, excuse me, in June, timed to the start of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity I just mentioned. We built Graviteur Studios with our partners at KYNETIC Media Ventures, which is run by David Freeman, someone Dolphin and myself have been doing business with for over 15 years. David ran the digital division of Creative Artists Agency since its inception.

Speaker #3: El's clients were on stage at the Nexus Global Summit in New York City, and just a few weeks ago, we were all over—really all over—San Diego Comic-Con.

Speaker #3: Where I'm pretty sure we saw James Carbonara dressed up as Darth Vader. But the thing I really want to spend a minute on is something new.

Speaker #3: Gravitour Studios—we announced this after we last spoke in May, and then announced it, excuse me, in June, timed at the start of the Cannes Lions Festival I just mentioned.

Bill O'Dowd: We announced this after we last spoke in May and then announced it, excuse me, in June, timed to the start of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity I just mentioned. We built Graviteur Studios with our partners at KYNETIC Media Ventures, which is run by David Freeman, someone Dolphin and myself have been doing business with for over 15 years. David ran the digital division of Creative Artists Agency since its inception.

Speaker #3: We built Gravitour with our partners at Kinetic Media Ventures, which is run by David Freeman—someone Dolphin and I have been doing business with for over 15 years.

Speaker #3: David ran the digital division of CAA since its inception. When he left at the start of the year to found Kinetic, we developed together the idea of a production studio for leading creators and influencers.

Bill O'Dowd: When he left at the start of the year to start KYNETIC Media Ventures, we developed together the idea of a production studio for leading creators and influencers, many of whom he signed at Creative Artists Agency. Both KYNETIC Media Ventures and Dolphin believe that audiences will follow creators across platforms, and we have certainly witnessed that with the box office success of two movies directed by creators this spring. In fact, the name of our studio is a portmanteau of gravity and auteur, signaling that these creators are auteurs in their own right and that they wield gravitational pull on their audiences who follow them. We believe we can help produce, distribute, and market creator-led content across streaming platforms, television networks, and theatrical releases. It is a natural extension of everything we have learned running a marketing consortium sitting inside pop culture for years.

Speaker #3: Many of whom he signed at CAA. Both Kinetic and Dolphin believe that audiences will follow creators across platforms, and we certainly witnessed that with the box office success of two movies directed by creators this spring.

Speaker #3: In fact, the name of our studio is a portmanteau of 'gravity' and 'auteur,' signaling that these creators are auteurs in their own right and that they wield a gravitational pull on their audiences, who follow them.

Bill O'Dowd: In fact, the name of our studio is a portmanteau of gravity and auteur, signaling that these creators are auteurs in their own right and that they wield gravitational pull on their audiences who follow them. We believe we can help produce, distribute, and market creator-led content across streaming platforms, television networks, and theatrical releases. It is a natural extension of everything we have learned running a marketing consortium sitting inside pop culture for years.

Speaker #3: We believe we can help produce, distribute, and market creator-led content across streaming platforms, television networks, and theatrical releases. It's a natural extension of everything we've learned running a marketing consortium, sitting inside pop culture for years.

Speaker #3: We know these audiences. We know these creators. And now we have a vehicle to actually build and own something with them. We're in the early days here, but we think this can become a meaningful part of the story over the next few years, and we'll keep you posted as it develops.

Bill O'Dowd: We know these audiences, we know these creators, and now we have a vehicle to actually build and own something with them. We are early days here, but we think this could become a meaningful part of the story over the next few years, and we will keep you posted as it develops. Now let us talk about the bottom line, because the numbers this quarter need just a couple of notes of context. Two things to note, in fact. One, we had about $360,000 of one-time retention bonuses land in the second quarter across a few of our subsidiaries. Two, legal and professional fees related to our litigation ran about another $360,000 in the quarter. We believe this number will come down to normal levels in Q3 and going forward, and the underlying business held up just fine anyway.

Speaker #3: Now, let's talk about the bottom line, because the numbers this quarter need just a couple of notes of context. Two things to note, in fact.

Bill O'Dowd: Two things to note, in fact. One, we had about $360,000 of one-time retention bonuses land in the second quarter across a few of our subsidiaries. Two, legal and professional fees related to our litigation ran about another $360,000 in the quarter. We believe this number will come down to normal levels in Q3 and going forward, and the underlying business held up just fine anyway.

Speaker #3: One, we had about $360,000 of one-time retention bonuses land in the second quarter, across a few of our subsidiaries. And two, legal and professional fees related to our litigation ran about another $360,000 in the quarter.

Speaker #3: We believe this number will come down to normal levels in Q3 and going forward. The underlying business held up just fine anyway. We expect a real step up in profitability in the third quarter as these two items roll off.

Bill O'Dowd: We expect a real step up in profitability in the third quarter as these two items roll off. Here is how we think about the bigger picture. The core engine of this business is already pointed toward meaningfully better free cash flow, independent of anything new we do. Our bank debt matures in just over two years, actually two years from next month, freeing up almost $2.2 million a year in principal and interest payments. Our large New York and Los Angeles leases roll off in the back half of next year, which we believe will lead to savings of another roughly $1 million a year. With approximately $127 million of NOLs on the balance sheet, almost all of those savings will flow straight to the bottom line. That is the base case, and it does not require anything new to go right, just running the businesses we already have.

Speaker #3: Here's how we think about the bigger picture. The core engine of this business is already pointed toward meaningfully better free cash flow, independent of anything new we do.

Speaker #3: Our bank debt matures in just over two years—actually, two years from next month—freeing up almost $2.2 million a year in principal and interest payments.

Speaker #3: Our large New York and Los Angeles leases roll off in the back half of next year, which we believe will lead to savings of another roughly $1 million a year.

Bill O'Dowd: Our large New York and Los Angeles leases roll off in the back half of next year, which we believe will lead to savings of another roughly $1 million a year. With approximately $127 million of NOLs on the balance sheet, almost all of those savings will flow straight to the bottom line. That is the base case, and it does not require anything new to go right, just running the businesses we already have.

Speaker #3: And with approximately $127 million of NOLs on the balance sheet, almost all of those savings will flow straight to the bottom line. That's the base case, and it doesn't require anything new to go right.

Speaker #3: Just running the businesses we already have. Finally, with insiders holding a substantial stake in the company, management remains deeply aligned with shareholders in the pursuit of long-term value.

Bill O'Dowd: Finally, with insiders holding a substantial stake in the company, management remains deeply aligned with shareholders in the pursuit of long-term value. In fact, under the 10b5-1 buying plan currently in place for myself, I expect to own over 5% of the DLPN common stock in the next week or two. What DealMaker and Graviteur Studios represent is optionality on top of that. With respect to DealMaker, our strategic partnership began in February, and we used the rest of Q1 and Q2 to put together our respective teams and processes and to evaluate a pipeline of potential deals. We believe we are getting closer to having our first deal and to creating a steady flow of deals coming to market after that. We both like a couple of the names we are evaluating, and we still expect to have our first deal in the market before the end of the year.

Speaker #3: In fact, under the 10b5-1 buying plan currently in place for myself, I expect to own over 5% of the DLPN common stock in the next week or two.

Speaker #3: What Dealmaker and Gravitour Studios represent is optionality on top of that. With respect to Dealmaker, our strategic partnership began in February, and we used the rest of Q1 and Q2 to put together our respective teams and processes, and to evaluate a pipeline of potential deals.

Bill O'Dowd: With respect to DealMaker, our strategic partnership began in February, and we used the rest of Q1 and Q2 to put together our respective teams and processes and to evaluate a pipeline of potential deals. We believe we are getting closer to having our first deal and to creating a steady flow of deals coming to market after that. We both like a couple of the names we are evaluating, and we still expect to have our first deal in the market before the end of the year.

Speaker #3: We believe we're getting closer to having our first deal, and to creating a steady flow of deals coming to market after that. We both like a couple of the names we're evaluating.

Speaker #3: And we still expect to have our first deal in the market before the end of the year. Between that, Gravitour, and our other ventures, we feel we've got real upside sitting on top of a business that's already heading toward strong free cash flow on its own.

Bill O'Dowd: Between that, Graviteur, and our other ventures, we feel we have got real upside sitting on top of a business that is already heading towards strong free cash flow on its own. With that, I will turn the call over to Mirta Negrini, our Chief Financial Officer, to walk through the numbers in more detail. Mirta?

Speaker #3: With that, I’ll turn the call over to Mirta Negrini, our Chief Financial Officer, to walk through the numbers in more detail. Mirta?

Speaker #2: Thank you, Bill, and good afternoon, everyone. I will now review our 2026 second quarter financial results. Total revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2026, was $14.4 million.

Mirta Negrini: Thank you, Bill, and good afternoon, everyone. I will now review our 2026 Q2 financial results. Total revenue for the three months ended 30 June 2026 was $14.4 million, an increase of 2.5% from $14.1 million in the same quarter of prior year. For the six months ended 30 June 2026, total revenue was $27.2 million, an increase of 3.8% from $26.3 million in the same period in prior year. Our operating loss was $1 million for the Q2 of 2026, compared to an operating loss of approximately $100,000 for the same period in 2025. Operating expenses for Q2 2026 were $15.5 million. As Bill noted, this included approximately $400,000 of non-recurring retention bonuses for certain employees, which will not be included in Q3 of 2026 or Q2 of next year.

Speaker #2: An increase of 2.5% from $14.1 million in the same quarter of the prior year. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, total revenue was $27.2 million.

Speaker #2: An increase of 3.8% from $26.3 million in the same period in the prior year. Our operating loss was $1 million for the second quarter of 2026, compared to an operating loss of approximately $100,000 for the same period in 2025.

Mirta Negrini: Our operating loss was $1 million for the Q2 of 2026, compared to an operating loss of approximately $100,000 for the same period in 2025. Operating expenses for Q2 2026 were $15.5 million. As Bill noted, this included approximately $400,000 of non-recurring retention bonuses for certain employees, which will not be included in Q3 of 2026 or Q2 of next year.

Speaker #2: Operating expenses for Q2, 2026, were $15.5 million. As Bill noted, this included approximately $400,000 of non-recurring retention bonuses for certain employees which will not be included in Q3 of 2026 or Q2 of next year.

Speaker #2: In addition, we had approximately $400,000 of legal and professional fees related to our litigation that we are working to reduce going forward. This compares to operating expenses of $14.1 million in Q2 2025.

Mirta Negrini: In addition, we had approximately $400,000 of legal and professional fees related to our litigation that we are working to reduce going forward. This compares to operating expenses of $14.1 million in Q2 of 2025. Net loss for Q2 of 2026 was $1.6 million, compared to a net loss of $1.4 million in Q2 2025. Basic and diluted loss per share for Q2 2026 was $0.13, based on approximately 12.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of $0.13 in Q2 2025, based on approximately 11.2 million weighted average shares outstanding. Turning to adjusted EBITDA, after adding back non-cash and other one-time items, our adjusted EBITDA for the Q2 of 2026 was approximately $243,000, compared to approximately $628,000 in the Q2 of 2025.

Speaker #2: Net loss for Q2 of 2026 was $1.6 million, compared to a net loss of $1.4 million in Q2 2025. Basic and diluted loss per share for Q2 2026 was $0.13, based on approximately 12.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of $0.13 in Q2 2025, based on approximately 11.2 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Mirta Negrini: Basic and diluted loss per share for Q2 2026 was $0.13, based on approximately 12.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of $0.13 in Q2 2025, based on approximately 11.2 million weighted average shares outstanding. Turning to adjusted EBITDA, after adding back non-cash and other one-time items, our adjusted EBITDA for the Q2 of 2026 was approximately $243,000, compared to approximately $628,000 in the Q2 of 2025.

Speaker #2: Turning to adjusted EBITDA, after adding back non-cash and other one-time items, our adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2026 was approximately $243,000, compared to approximately $628,000 in the second quarter of 2025.

Speaker #2: As Bill discussed, the year-over-year change is driven almost entirely by the retention bonus timing and the elevated litigation costs. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, adjusted EBITDA loss was approximately $224,000, compared to a loss of approximately $82,000 in the prior year period, reflecting the same factors.

Mirta Negrini: As Bill discussed, the year-over-year change is driven almost entirely by the retention bonus times and the elevated litigation costs. For the six months ended 30 June 2026, adjusted EBITDA loss was approximately $224,000, compared to a loss of approximately $82,000 in the prior year period, reflecting the same factors. This quarter, we introduced adjusted earnings per share. Adjusted EBITDA basic and diluted earnings per share for Q2 2026 was $0.02, based on approximately 12.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to $0.06 basic earnings per share for Q2 2025, based on approximately 11.2 million weighted average shares outstanding, and $0.04 fully diluted earnings per share for Q2 2025, based on 17.4 million weighted average shares outstanding. We think this gives you another way to track our progress on a per-share basis, and we plan to continue reporting it alongside adjusted EBITDA for future quarters.

Speaker #2: This quarter, we've introduced adjusted earnings per share. Adjusted EBITDA, basic and diluted earnings per share for Q2 2026 was $0.02, based on approximately 12.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to $0.06 basic earnings per share for Q2 2025, based on approximately 11.2 million weighted average shares outstanding, and $0.04 fully diluted earnings per share for Q2 2025, based on 17.4 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Mirta Negrini: This quarter, we introduced adjusted earnings per share. Adjusted EBITDA basic and diluted earnings per share for Q2 2026 was $0.02, based on approximately 12.8 million weighted average shares outstanding, compared to $0.06 basic earnings per share for Q2 2025, based on approximately 11.2 million weighted average shares outstanding, and $0.04 fully diluted earnings per share for Q2 2025, based on 17.4 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Speaker #2: We think this gives you another way to track our progress on a per-share basis, and we plan to continue reporting it alongside adjusted EBITDA for future quarters.

Mirta Negrini: We think this gives you another way to track our progress on a per-share basis, and we plan to continue reporting it alongside adjusted EBITDA for future quarters.

Speaker #2: Our cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2026, were $7.7 million, compared to $8.8 million as of December 31, 2025. With that, I'll turn it back to the operator to open the floor for questions.

Mirta Negrini: Our cash and cash equivalents as of 30 June 2026, were $7.7 million compared to $8.8 million as of 31 December 2025. With that, I will turn it back to the operator to open the floor for questions. Operator, would you please poll for questions?

Speaker #2: Operator, would you please open the line for questions?

Speaker #1: Certainly. At this time, we will be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad.

Operator: Certainly. At this time, we will be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment please while we poll for questions. Your first question today is coming from Derek Greenberg from Maxim. Derek, your line is live.

Speaker #1: A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue.

Speaker #1: For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions.

Operator: For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment please while we poll for questions. Your first question today is coming from Derek Greenberg from Maxim. Derek, your line is live.

Speaker #1: And your first question today is coming from Derek Greenberg from Maxim. Derek, your line is live.

Derek Greenberg: Hi. I wanted to ask about the Graviteur Studios project. Maybe if you could just explain the structure of that a little bit more in terms of how much you own versus KYNETIC, how much financing do you provide creators, and just the overall economics of that project.

Speaker #3: Hi. I wanted to ask about the Gravitour Studios project. Maybe if you could just explain the structure of that a little bit more, in terms of how much you own versus Kinetic, kind of how much financing you provide creators, and just the overall economics of that project.

Speaker #4: Sure. And hi, Derek. Thank you for the question. Yeah, Gravitour is something that was a natural fit for us and David. As I say, we go back 15 years with David, who ran the creator division, the digital division of CAA.

Bill O'Dowd: Sure. Hi, Derek. Thank you for the question. Graviteur is something that was a natural for us and David. As I say, we go back 15 years with David, who ran the creator division, the digital division of Creative Artists Agency. Why? Because we are used to structuring films and TV shows and streaming series. We have done that for 30 years, right? Using creators as either talent in front of the camera or talent as directors is certainly something that all of Hollywood has shown an interest in in the last three or four months. I am proud to say we were building this at the start of the year before it became in vogue. Mostly because we know that the people who follow these influencers will look for their content across platform.

Speaker #4: And why? Because we're used to structuring films and TV shows and streaming series—for we've done that for 30 years, right? And then, using creators as either talent in front of the camera or talent as directors is certainly something that all of Hollywood has shown an interest in, in the last three or four months.

Speaker #4: I'm proud to say we were building this at the start of the year, before it became in vogue—mostly because we know that the people who follow these influencers will look for their content across platforms.

Bill O'Dowd: I am proud to say we were building this at the start of the year before it became in vogue. Mostly because we know that the people who follow these influencers will look for their content across platform.

Speaker #4: We see in the world seeing popular people that do short-form video on TikTok are creating long-form videos on YouTube, and they're creating quite a following.

Bill O'Dowd: We see in the world seeing popular people that do short-form video on TikTok are creating long-form videos on YouTube, and they are creating quite a following. If anything was proven by a couple of the films that were released theatrically in May, they were wild successes. These movies, "Backrooms" and "Obsession," highest grossing films in their distributors' histories, is saying something. They were each with creator directors who had built a following online and then made their first feature film, or second feature film in one case. They do not need big budgets. "Obsession" was made for $750,000, and it has done over $200 million at the box office. So it gives you a sense of just how successful I was referencing. The level of success I was referencing.

Speaker #4: And if anything, it was proven by a couple of the films that were released theatrically in May—they were wild successes. These movies, 'Back Rooms' and 'Obsession.'

Speaker #4: Highest grossing films in their distributors' histories. That's saying something. And they were each with creator directors who had built a following online and then made their first feature film, or second feature film in one case.

Bill O'Dowd: They were each with creator directors who had built a following online and then made their first feature film, or second feature film in one case. They do not need big budgets. "Obsession" was made for $750,000, and it has done over $200 million at the box office. So it gives you a sense of just how successful I was referencing. The level of success I was referencing.

Speaker #4: And they don't need big budgets. Back rooms—excuse me, 'Obsession'—was made for $750,000. And it's done over $200 million at the box office.

Speaker #4: So it gives you a sense of just how successful I was referencing—the level of success I was referencing. So, in terms of financing, we'll look to finance those movies as we would if they were part of Dolphin Films.

Bill O'Dowd: In terms of financing, we will look to finance those movies how we would if they were part of Dolphin Films. Oftentimes, we lay off the risk. When we can, occasionally, something like a "Blue Angels" that worked out very well for us, we might split the cost with a distributor like IMAX in that case. In other cases, we may be able to lay it off entirely, as we did for the most part with "Youngblood." The budgets will be a little smaller than the other projects, I would think, on average. Again, because with some of these projects, you can make them for even less than USD 1 million or around USD 1 million. It would not be a big capital investment anyway, but most of the time, we will try and lay them off as they are, if that is helpful.

Speaker #4: Oftentimes, we lay off the risk when we can. Occasionally, with something like Blue Angels—which worked out very well for us—we might split the cost with a distributor, like IMAX in that case.

Speaker #4: In other cases, we may be able to lay it off entirely, as we did for the most part with Youngblood, right? So the budgets will be a little smaller.

Bill O'Dowd: In other cases, we may be able to lay it off entirely, as we did for the most part with "Youngblood." The budgets will be a little smaller than the other projects, I would think, on average. Again, because with some of these projects, you can make them for even less than USD 1 million or around USD 1 million. It would not be a big capital investment anyway, but most of the time, we will try and lay them off as they are, if that is helpful.

Speaker #4: Then the other projects, I would think, on average—again, because with some of these projects, you can make them for even less than $1,000,000, or around $1,000,000.

Speaker #4: So it wouldn't be a big capital investment anyway. But most of the time, we'll try and lay them off as they are, if that is helpful.

Derek Greenberg: Okay, got it. I was wondering if you could possibly unpack how to think about the performance of the business across all your divisions. If you are seeing relative outperformance in certain areas versus others, specifically maybe within The Digital Department, I was wondering how growth is there and how that segment is performing.

Speaker #3: Okay, got it. I was wondering if you could possibly unpack how to think about the performance of the business across all your divisions. If you're seeing relative outperformance in certain areas versus others, specifically maybe within the digital department, I was wondering how gross is there and how that segment is performing.

Speaker #4: Yeah. The digital department is definitely the subsidiary that we believe will have tremendous mid- and long-term growth potential for us. We are happy with how the first half of the year went.

Bill O'Dowd: Yeah. The Digital Department is definitely the subsidiary that we believe will have tremendous mid and long-term growth potential for us. We are happy with how the H1 of the year went. Also, we have some visibility going into their prime season of the H2 of the year. So much of their success in any given 12-month period depends on the time period between back to school and the holidays, and especially the holidays. You generally do not need to wait till November and December for that. You will get a really strong indication by September, because the brands will start reaching out to talent, the influencers in this case, to contract for brand campaigns that will be running in November and December. They will need to start contracting in September and October.

Speaker #4: Also, we have some visibility going into their prime season in the second half of the year. So much of their success in any given 12-month period depends on the time period between back-to-school and the holidays.

Speaker #4: And especially the holidays. So you generally don't need to wait till November and December for that. You'll get a really strong indication by September, because the brands will start reaching out to talent—the influencers in this case.

Bill O'Dowd: You generally do not need to wait till November and December for that. You will get a really strong indication by September, because the brands will start reaching out to talent, the influencers in this case, to contract for brand campaigns that will be running in November and December. They will need to start contracting in September and October.

Speaker #4: To contract for brand campaigns that will be running in November and December, they'll need to start contracting in September and October. We certainly don't have a reason to believe that the business won't grow from last year, when it really had a great second half of the year.

Bill O'Dowd: We certainly do not have a reason to believe that the business will not grow from last year when it really had a great H2 of the year. We believe that will happen again this year. We are seeing encouraging signs on that already here in the H1 of August. We are so weighted to. A couple of our companies are so seasonal, I should say, like The Digital Department, that the H1 of the year numbers, while very comparable to last year, revenue is up a little. Some core operating income metrics might be down a couple hundred thousand. But it really comes down to the H2 of the year for us and what our success will look like as we continue to grow the companies.

Speaker #4: We believe that'll happen again this year. We're seeing encouraging signs on that already here in the first half of August. We're so weighted to a couple of our companies are so seasonal, I should say, like the digital department that the first half of the year numbers while very comparable to last year.

Speaker #4: Revenue is up a little. Some core operating income metrics might be down a couple hundred thousand. But it really comes down to the second half of the year for us and what our success will look like as we continue to grow the companies.

Bill O'Dowd: Some core operating income metrics might be down a couple hundred thousand. But it really comes down to the H2 of the year for us and what our success will look like as we continue to grow the companies.

Speaker #3: Okay. Thank you. And then on the Youngblood movie, I was wondering I think last call, you said there is still potential for an international distribution agreement, possibly streaming distribution agreement.

Derek Greenberg: Okay. Thank you. On the Youngblood movie, I was wondering, I think last call, you said there was still potential for an international distribution agreement, possibly streaming distribution agreement. I was wondering if there's any updates on those two items.

Speaker #3: I was wondering if there are any updates on those two items.

Speaker #4: No. And that's— the streaming is a little disappointing to us. We had thought that we would have a streaming deal by about now. International will often take through the international sales markets, which are in the second half of the year and have not occurred yet.

Bill O'Dowd: No, and the streaming's a little disappointing to us. We had thought that we would have a streaming deal by about now. International will often take through the international sales markets, which in the H2 of the year have not occurred yet. That's often Toronto International Film Festival, which is the week after Labor Day, and the American Film Market, which is in Los Angeles in November, in the first week of November. We might need those two markets to start firming up some of our international sales on Youngblood. We're working with our distributor, Well Go USA Entertainment, to really make a stronger push to get a streaming sale in the US, certainly here in the H2 of the year, but it would be great if we could see what we can do here in Q3. It has not occurred yet.

Speaker #4: You'll notice that's often Toronto Film Festival, which is the week after Labor Day, and the American Film Market, which is in Los Angeles in November, the first week of November.

Speaker #4: So we might need those two markets to start firming up some of our international sales on Youngblood. But we're working with our distributor, Well Go, to really make a stronger push to get a streaming sale.

Bill O'Dowd: We might need those two markets to start firming up some of our international sales on Youngblood. We're working with our distributor, Well Go USA Entertainment, to really make a stronger push to get a streaming sale in the US, certainly here in the H2 of the year, but it would be great if we could see what we can do here in Q3. It has not occurred yet.

Speaker #4: In the US, certainly here in the second half of the year, but it would be great if we could see if we could what we can do here in Q3.

Speaker #4: But it has not occurred yet.

Speaker #3: Okay, got it. And then on another initiative that was fairly new, the Dolphin Intelligence—like marketing capabilities for AI—I was wondering just how that's progressing, what you're seeing there.

Derek Greenberg: Okay, got it. On another initiative that was fairly new, the Dolphin Intelligence marketing capabilities for AI. I was wondering just how that's progressing, what you're seeing there.

Speaker #4: I would say we have a couple of big calls coming up here in the next two weeks. And many clients have expressed an interest in it, but it's what we're seeing in the it's being layered on top of existing PR contracts.

Bill O'Dowd: I would say we have a couple of big calls coming up here in the next two weeks, and many clients have expressed an interest in it, but what we're seeing in the early days is we're folding it into existing PR contracts, or it's being layered on top of existing PR contracts. What we're going to try and do is break out the service to be more of a standalone because we think it's valuable in its own right, and we haven't had the signature client yet that would take it and say, "Look, we've signed up blank for this service." I think that's a mission for us here in the H2 of the year, just because it's all upside to us. If we get it, there's no additional cost to us to service or provide the service from what we've already invested in.

Speaker #4: And what we're going to try and do is break out the service to be more of a standalone, because we think it's valuable in its own right.

Bill O'Dowd: What we're going to try and do is break out the service to be more of a standalone because we think it's valuable in its own right, and we haven't had the signature client yet that would take it and say, "Look, we've signed up blank for this service." I think that's a mission for us here in the H2 of the year, just because it's all upside to us. If we get it, there's no additional cost to us to service or provide the service from what we've already invested in.

Speaker #4: And we haven't had the signature client yet that would take it and say, "Look, we've signed up [blank] for this service." So I think that's a mission for us here in the second half of the year, just because it's all upside to us.

Speaker #4: If we get it, there's no additional cost to us to service or provide the service from what we've already invested in. So it's something that we're excited about because it's just a great return on investment from this point forward, right?

Bill O'Dowd: So it's something that we're excited about because it's a great return on investment from this point forward, right? So I think that one is something we're looking to accomplish before the end of the year. I think definitely, speaking of upside, the first of the DealMaker ventures to enter the market will be the poster child for upside for Dolphin as we put a pipeline together, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks with DealMaker, to be able to do ventures together with consistency.

Speaker #4: So, I think that one is something we're looking to accomplish before the end of the year. And I think, definitely, speaking of upside, the first of the dealmaker ventures to enter the market will be the poster child for upside for Dolphin.

Speaker #4: As we put a pipeline together, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks with Deal Maker, to be able to do ventures together with consistency.

Speaker #4: But just to remind everyone, those would be what qualifies as a venture, I should say—something that a startup or an existing company that's starting a new product line, or a venture of some sort—which would pay Dolphin, through its subsidiaries, cash marketing fees that we would get paid to market the venture.

Bill O'Dowd: But just to remind everyone, what qualifies as a venture, I should say, would be something that a startup or an existing company that's starting a new product line or a venture of some sort, which would pay Dolphin through its subsidiaries cash marketing fees, that we would get paid to market the venture, but we would also receive an ownership stake in the venture as well. So those are the perfect combination of upside with cash contracts. We're not trading our work for equity. We're actually getting both. With DealMaker being a tool in our tool belt together with the venture to go raise capital, then it won't be for lack of funds that someone could actually then hire Dolphin and its subsidiaries to market the product. So it's a pretty interesting one-two punch of you get the best-in-class marketing companies with access to capital that DealMaker provides.

Speaker #4: But we would also receive an ownership stake in the venture as well. So, those are the perfect combination of upside with cash contracts. We're not trading our work for equity.

Bill O'Dowd: We're not trading our work for equity. We're actually getting both. With DealMaker being a tool in our tool belt together with the venture to go raise capital, then it won't be for lack of funds that someone could actually then hire Dolphin and its subsidiaries to market the product. So it's a pretty interesting one-two punch of you get the best-in-class marketing companies with access to capital that DealMaker provides.

Speaker #4: We're actually getting both. And with DealMaker being a tool in our tool belt, together with the venture to go raise capital, then it won't be for lack of funds that someone could actually then hire Dolphin and its subsidiaries to market the product.

Speaker #4: So it's a pretty interesting one-two punch of you get the best-in-class marketing companies with access to capital that deal maker provides. So that I would say that's our biggest focus as management is to get the first deal in market before the end of the year.

Bill O'Dowd: So I would say that's our biggest focus as management, is to get the first deal in market before the end of the year. Then maybe even how close can we be to announcing a second venture by the end of the year as well? That's where our focus is.

Speaker #4: And then, maybe even, how close can we be to announcing a second venture by the end of the year as well? That's where our focus is.

Speaker #3: Okay. Great. That's super helpful. Maybe just on deal maker, just maybe if you could talk about the pipeline a little bit more. I mean, you just said that you could possibly have another deal right after.

Derek Greenberg: Yeah. Great. That's super helpful. Maybe just on DealMaker, just maybe if you could talk about the pipeline a little bit more. You just said that you could possibly have another deal right after. I was wondering the cadence of how many deals per year, kind of the timing from here.

Speaker #3: I was wondering about the cadence of how many deals per year, kind of the timing, from here.

Speaker #4: Yeah, it's a little bit like starting up Gravitour, right, or a film slate. You need a few months, or whatever period of time, depending on what you're starting, right?

Bill O'Dowd: Yeah. It's a little bit like starting up Graviteur, right? Or a film slate. You need a few months or whatever period of time, depending on what you're starting, to build the deal flow or have the pipeline. No different here. We announced this project at the end of February, or second half February, I believe, and worked with DealMaker to evaluate. We set out that we would give each other three months. I think I even said that maybe on the last quarterly earnings call, and evaluate deals together and then pick the first one we'd go out with. We have two deals we like quite a bit. We both would look to proceed, and we're in the process of seeing if we can close on them to then take them to market.

Speaker #4: To build the deal flow or have the pipeline—no different here. We announced this project at the end of February, or second half of February, I believe.

Speaker #4: And worked with deal maker to evaluate we set out that we would give each other three months. I think I even said that maybe on the last quarterly earnings call.

Bill O'Dowd: We set out that we would give each other three months. I think I even said that maybe on the last quarterly earnings call, and evaluate deals together and then pick the first one we'd go out with. We have two deals we like quite a bit. We both would look to proceed, and we're in the process of seeing if we can close on them to then take them to market.

Speaker #4: Pick the first one we'd go out with. We have two deals we like quite a bit. We both would look to proceed, and we're in the process of seeing if we can close on them to then take them to market.

Speaker #4: I think we were hoping to do at least one by the end of the year. I feel very confident we'll be able to do that, and hopefully another one.

Bill O'Dowd: I think we were hoping to do at least one by the end of the year. I feel very confident we'll be able to do that, and hopefully another one, like I said. I think I mentioned we would be comfortable saying we could do two next year if we did one this year. But obviously, we're going to shoot to get to the point where we could do three to four a year with pretty steady regularity. That's our hope. Then, since they can span all types of industries and/or categories, some might be consumer products, some might be live events, some might be something unique that's not in one of those two categories. It allows us to both create a variety in our slate, as well as put different subsidiaries of ours as kind of like the lead marketing agency.

Speaker #4: Like I said, and I think I mentioned, we would be comfortable saying we could do two next year if we did one this year. But obviously, we're going to shoot to get to the point where we could do three to four a year with pretty steady regularity.

Speaker #4: That's our hope. And then, since they can span all types of industries and/or categories, some might be consumer products, some might be live events, and some might be something unique that's not in one of those two categories.

Bill O'Dowd: Then, since they can span all types of industries and/or categories, some might be consumer products, some might be live events, some might be something unique that's not in one of those two categories. It allows us to both create a variety in our slate, as well as put different subsidiaries of ours as kind of like the lead marketing agency.

Speaker #4: It allows us to both create variety in our slate, as well as put different subsidiaries of ours as, kind of like, the lead marketing agency.

Speaker #4: So it won't be six straight ventures that all need one agency to market a particular consumer product that they have an expertise in. We would be spreading it out, and that allows us to create a pretty robust and steady pipeline. And then we just imagine the day, in three years' time, when we've got half a dozen to a dozen of these in market in three or four years, and you've got these—what, choose your flavor, right?

Bill O'Dowd: So it won't be six straight ventures that all need one agency to market a particular consumer product that they have an expertise in. We would be spreading it out, and that allows us to create a pretty robust and steady pipeline. Then, we just imagine the day in three years' time, and we've got half a dozen to a dozen of these in market in three or four years. You've got these, choose your flavor, right? Optionality, lottery tickets, upside catalysts, whatever it may be, that any one of them, we would hope, would have exit values to us in the certainly eight figures and hopefully even higher. So that's what makes it a venture versus just a joint project of a couple of our companies. So that's what we're building, and we're pretty excited about it.

Speaker #4: Optionality, lottery tickets, upside catalysts—whatever it may be—that any one of them we would hope would have exit values to us in the certainly eight figures, and hopefully even higher.

Bill O'Dowd: Optionality, lottery tickets, upside catalysts, whatever it may be, that any one of them, we would hope, would have exit values to us in the certainly eight figures and hopefully even higher. So that's what makes it a venture versus just a joint project of a couple of our companies. So that's what we're building, and we're pretty excited about it.

Speaker #4: So that's what makes it a venture versus just a joint project of a couple of our companies. So that's what we're building, and we're pretty excited about it.

Speaker #3: Okay. That makes a lot of sense. Last one for me, just on the copy books partnership, just maybe we could talk about how that's going.

Derek Greenberg: Okay. That makes a lot of sense. Last one from me, just on the Copper Books partnership, just maybe if you could talk about how that's going.

Speaker #4: Sure. On the copper books—and one other thought I had, just as I wrapped that last one—I just remembered after the fact, and I should point out again: with the dealmaker partnership, those ventures I was mentioning require zero capital from Dolphin.

Bill O'Dowd: Sure. On the Copper Books. One other thought I had just as I wrapped that last one, I just remembered, as a fact, I should point out again, with the DealMaker partnership, those ventures I was mentioning require zero capital of Dolphin. Each of that slate, those projects we envision having in three to four years that are growing in the market, we hope to an eventual exit, they required zero capital off our balance sheet. That is why we went looking for a partnership. That is why DealMaker was so strategic to us. As a matter of fact, in each of those ventures, we imagine we are getting paid to market them. That is the upside for us. In terms of Copper Books, yep. A lot of our publicists, a lot of our PR agencies in general, are excited about having this partnership.

Speaker #4: So each of that slate, those projects we envision having in three to four years, that are growing in the market, we hope to an eventual exit. And they required zero capital off our balance sheet.

Speaker #4: So, that's why we went looking for a partnership. That's why Deal Maker was so strategic for us. As a matter of fact, in each of those ventures, we imagine we're getting paid to market them.

Bill O'Dowd: That is why we went looking for a partnership. That is why DealMaker was so strategic to us. As a matter of fact, in each of those ventures, we imagine we are getting paid to market them. That is the upside for us. In terms of Copper Books, yep. A lot of our publicists, a lot of our PR agencies in general, are excited about having this partnership.

Speaker #4: So that's the upside for us. In terms of copper books, yep. A lot of our publicists, a lot of our PR agencies in general are excited about having this partnership.

Speaker #4: Many of our clients either want to write books or have already written books. Many of our clients have already written books and want to write more.

Bill O'Dowd: We have many of our clients either want to write books or have already written books. Many of our clients have already written books and want to write more. So having that partnership that gives us national distribution, and in many cases, global distribution through Simon & Schuster, is really a great asset. We are fans of Allie Trowbridge, who started Copper Books and is the CEO, and she is very tight with many members of our senior management, and we are excited. It will take us time, just like with Graviteur and just like with DealMaker, to build up a pipeline of things that would otherwise go through this partnership. A book that has already been written and finished in the last six months already has a distribution partner, so it will take a little bit of time to get the water through the pipes, so to speak.

Speaker #4: So having that partnership that gives us national distribution in many cases global distribution through Simon and Schuster is really a great asset. We're fans of Ally Troebridge who started Copper Brooks and is the CEO.

Speaker #4: And she's very tight with many members of our senior management, and we're excited. It will take us time, just like with Gravitour and just like with Dealmaker, to build up a pipeline of things that would otherwise go through this partnership.

Bill O'Dowd: It will take us time, just like with Graviteur and just like with DealMaker, to build up a pipeline of things that would otherwise go through this partnership. A book that has already been written and finished in the last six months already has a distribution partner, so it will take a little bit of time to get the water through the pipes, so to speak.

Speaker #4: A book that's already been written and finished in the last six months already has a distribution partner. So, it'll take a little bit of time to get the water through the pipes, so to speak.

Speaker #4: But it's a great tool for us to have. It's something different from any competitor in the PR space or the influencer space that we know of.

Bill O'Dowd: It is a great tool for us to have. It is something different from any competitor in the PR space or the influencer space that we know of. It could become a nice little resource for us, too, to who knows, identify new clients that we can offer this to that sways them to hire our marketing firms for it, because, of course, we would be marketing those books as well. So it might take a minute. Maybe we would have something to say on Q3. I would imagine by the time we get to the 10K next year, we will be able to talk about it more in depth. That is another of the three announcements we made in the first half of the year that speak to the upside potential of having built this group, DealMaker, Copper Books, and Graviteur. That is how we see all of them.

Speaker #4: And it could become a nice little resource for us too, to, who knows, identify new clients that we can offer this to that sways them to hire our marketing firms for it.

Speaker #4: Because, of course, we’d be marketing those books as well. So it might take a minute—maybe we’d have something to say on Q3. I would imagine by the time we get to the 10-K next year, we’ll be able to talk about it more in depth.

Bill O'Dowd: So it might take a minute. Maybe we would have something to say on Q3. I would imagine by the time we get to the 10K next year, we will be able to talk about it more in depth. That is another of the three announcements we made in the first half of the year that speak to the upside potential of having built this group, DealMaker, Copper Books, and Graviteur. That is how we see all of them.

Speaker #4: But that's another of the three announcements we made in the first half of the year. That speak to the upside potential of having built this group, deal maker, copper books, and Gravitour.

Speaker #4: That's how we see all of them. They're great in their own right, and they're additionally great at business development for us because they're differentiated.

Bill O'Dowd: They are great in their own right, and they are additionally great at business development for us because they are differentiated. No one competitor of any of our companies has any of those three capabilities. We are pretty excited for all three.

Speaker #4: No competitor of any of our companies has any of those three capabilities, so we're pretty excited for all three.

Speaker #3: Okay. That makes a lot of sense. All right. Well, thank you for taking my questions.

Derek Greenberg: Okay. Makes a lot of sense. All right. Well, thank you for taking my questions.

Speaker #4: Yeah. Thank you for asking them, Darren.

Bill O'Dowd: Yeah. Thank you for asking them, Darren.

Speaker #1: Thank you. There were no other questions in Q at this time. I would now like to hand the call back to Bill O'Dowd for closing remarks.

Operator: Thank you. There were no other questions in queue at this time. I would now like to hand the call back to Bill O'Dowd for closing remarks.

Speaker #4: Oh, well, thank you. And thank you, everybody, for listening. We're continuing to build, as you heard. And every quarter is three months closer to the happy days of the free cash flow from the leases that expire in the second half of the year now.

Bill O'Dowd: Well, thank you. And thank you, everybody, for listening. We are continuing to build, as you heard, and every quarter is 3 months closer to the happy days of the free cash flow from the leases that expire in the H2 of the year now and next year. And 1 year after that, we are finished paying off our bank loan that was used to make those acquisitions that built this super group. So brick by brick, as they say. And we are entering our fun season. The H2 of the year is always better for us than the H1 of the year. And many of our companies surge, as I said, between September and December. The Digital Dept. is certainly one of them. 42West is another. And of course, those two are our biggest revenue companies.

Speaker #4: And next year. And one year after that, we're finished paying off our bank loan that was used to make those acquisitions that built this super group.

Speaker #4: So, brick by brick, as I say. And we're entering our fund season. The second half of the year is always better for us than the first half of the year.

Bill O'Dowd: So brick by brick, as they say. And we are entering our fun season. The H2 of the year is always better for us than the H1 of the year. And many of our companies surge, as I said, between September and December. The Digital Dept. is certainly one of them. 42West is another. And of course, those two are our biggest revenue companies.

Speaker #4: And many of our companies surge. As I said, between September and December. TDD, the digital department, certainly one of them, 42 West is another.

Speaker #4: And of course, those two are our biggest revenue companies. So when they swing up, the whole company swings up. But many of our companies are having a great start to the second half of the year, sure fire is doing very, very well to name.

Bill O'Dowd: When they swing up, the whole company swings up. But many of our companies are having a great start to the second half of the year. Shore Fire Media is doing very well, to name a leader for us. And we are excited to report our numbers in November. With that said, I will look forward to speaking to everybody again then. Thank you very much for your time.

Speaker #4: A leader for us. And we're excited to report our numbers in November. So with that said, I look forward to speaking to everybody again then.

Speaker #4: Thank you very much for your time.

Operator: Thank you. This does conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.