CONTINGENCIES |
6 Months Ended |
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Jun. 30, 2026 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| CONTINGENCIES | NOTE 11—CONTINGENCIES In the ordinary course of business, the Company is subject to various lawsuits and other contingent matters. The Company establishes accruals for specific legal and other matters when it determines that the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome is probable and the loss is reasonably estimable. Management has also identified certain legal and other matters where it believes an unfavorable outcome is not probable and, therefore, no accrual is established. Although management currently believes that resolving claims against the Company, including claims where an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible, and for which the Company cannot estimate a loss or range of loss, will not have a material impact on the liquidity, results of operations or financial condition of the Company, these matters are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s view of these matters may change in the future. The Company also evaluates other contingent matters, including unrecognized tax benefits and non-income tax contingencies, to assess the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome and estimated extent of potential loss. It is possible that an unfavorable outcome of one or more of these lawsuits or other contingencies could have a material impact on the liquidity, results of operations and/or financial condition of the Company. See “Note 8—Income Taxes” for information related to unrecognized tax benefits. People Inc. Ad-Tech Antitrust Litigation against Google On August 29, 2025, the Company’s People Inc. subsidiary filed an action against Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. (collectively, “Google”), alleging violations of federal antitrust and state law arising out of anticompetitive practices by Google in the ad-tech industry in connection with the sale of ad inventory for display on People Inc.’s online properties. The lawsuit follows on the Government’s antitrust enforcement action against Google, in which a federal district judge has ruled that Google acquired, maintained, and misused monopoly power in the publisher ad-server and ad-exchange markets, and tied use of its publisher ad-server to use of its ad exchange, in violation of the Sherman Act. People Inc.’s complaint asserts federal antitrust claims for monopolization and attempted monopolization of the publisher ad-server and ad-exchange markets and for unlawful tying in violation of the Sherman Act, as well as various state-law claims, and seeks among other things injunctive relief and damages, including treble damages, in an amount to be determined at trial. People Inc.’s lawsuit is part of a consolidated multidistrict litigation comprised of similar lawsuits filed by other online publishers, all pending before the same judge in the Southern District of New York. On October 27, 2025, in a ruling in one of the earlier-filed publisher lawsuits, the presiding judge held that Google is precluded from relitigating certain issues decided against it in the Government’s case, including that Google engaged in five separate types of anticompetitive conduct in willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power in the publisher ad-server and ad-exchange markets and that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server to its ad exchange in violation of the Sherman Act. People Inc.’s case is currently in discovery. People Inc. intends to vigorously pursue its claims in this action, but there is no guarantee that its efforts will be successful. Disputed Gain on Real Estate Transaction On October 24, 2025, the Company received an adverse jury verdict in a lawsuit related to the allocation of a gain recorded in 2015 related to a real estate transaction. The original gain was $34.3 million and was initially recorded as a non-operating gain in “Other income, net” in the year ended December 31, 2015. The proceeds have been and continue to be held in escrow since the transaction occurred in 2015. The total amount held in escrow at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025 was $39.0 million and $38.3 million, respectively. The Company recorded a net non-operating loss of $19.2 million in “Other income, net” in the statement of operations in the latter half of 2025 following this verdict and the subsequent court ruling that plaintiffs were not entitled to statutory prejudgment interest. The amounts held in escrow, net of the portion allocable to the plaintiffs, at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025 of $19.4 million and $19.0 million, respectively, are included in “Other current assets” in the balance sheet. The Company’s motion before the trial court to set aside the jury’s verdict remains pending.
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