Getty Images Holdings, Inc. 8-K

What Happened

• Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (GETY) filed an 8-K (Jan 16, 2026) reporting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion on January 15, 2026 affirming the district court’s judgment in the warrant litigation brought by Alta Partners, LLC and CRCM Institutional Master Fund (BVI), LTD.
• The district court (S.D.N.Y.) had entered judgment for the plaintiffs on breach-of-contract claims for certain public warrants, awarding $36.9 million to Alta (2,066,371 warrants) and $51.0 million to CRCM (3,010,764 warrants), plus pre-judgment interest at 9% per annum. The district court had ruled for Getty Images on other claims, including Alta’s claim regarding 11,593,149 later-acquired warrants; the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court in all respects (one judge dissenting).
• Getty recorded a loss on this litigation in 2023 under ASC 450 and maintains a litigation reserve covering the full judgment amount and related interest; the company is reviewing the appellate decision and evaluating next steps.

Key Details

• Appellate decision date: January 15, 2026 (Second Circuit opinion affirmed district court judgment).
• Judgment amounts: $36.9M (Alta, 2,066,371 warrants) + $51.0M (CRCM, 3,010,764 warrants) = $87.9M, plus pre-judgment interest at 9% per annum.
• Accounting/reserve: Loss recorded in 2023 under ASC 450; litigation reserve covers the full judgment and related interest.
• Case captions: Alta Partners, LLC v. Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (No. 1:22-cv-08916) and CRCM Institutional Master Fund (BVI) LTD, et al. v. Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (No. 1:23-cv-01074).

Why It Matters

• The Second Circuit’s affirmation makes the district court’s monetary awards final at the appellate level unless Getty pursues further review. The company previously recognized the accounting loss and set aside a reserve covering the full amount and related interest, so the financial impact was reflected in 2023 results. Investors should note this resolves a significant legal exposure on the appellate level and that Getty is assessing next steps following the opinion.