The Arena Group (AREN) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $195.08M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 94.71K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 1.5
• Beta (1Y): -0.22
• Revenue Growth: -10.90%
• EPS Growth: N/A
• Country: US
• Employees: 190
• Sector: Communication Services
• Sector Strength: 97
• Industry: Internet Content & Information
• EPS (TTM): 0.14
• Shares Outstanding: 47,465,748
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 88,203
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 94,712
• PEG Ratio: -0.03
• Price to Book (P/B): -0.36
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.38
• P/FCF Ratio: -2.94
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.85
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.53
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 4.81
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 7.28
• 1Y Price Target: $10.00
• Price Target Upside: 130.41% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 47 Neutral
• Price Target: $4.00 ▼(-7.83% Downside)

The score is held down primarily by weak financial quality—negative equity/high leverage and poor cash-flow conversion—despite strong gross margins and improved operating profitability. Technicals also remain unfavorable with the stock below key moving averages and a negative MACD. Offsetting factors include a very low P/E and a constructive earnings narrative (profitability, cash from operations, debt reduction), with refinancing-related corporate actions providing incremental support.

Positive Factors

High Gross Margins

Sustained gross margin above 50% and improving operating margins indicate the business retains pricing power and cost efficiency in content production. This supports durable profitability even if top-line growth is uneven, enabling reinvestment in content and product initiatives over the next several quarters.

Operational Cash Generation

Quarterly cash from operations of $12.1M and year-to-date debt reduction show the company can convert operations into liquidity when margins hold. Persistent OCF generation improves refinancing prospects and funds strategic investments without immediate equity raises, strengthening medium-term financial flexibility.

Refinancing Extends Runway

Extending term loan and line maturities while reducing principal materially lengthens the company's runway and lowers imminent refinancing risk. This structural improvement gives management time to execute on higher-margin video, social commerce, and acquisition integration plans without near-term liquidity pressure.

Negative Factors

Negative Equity / High Leverage

Negative equity and extreme leverage signal a precarious capital structure that constrains strategic options. High debt levels increase refinancing risk, limit ability to fund growth organically, and raise vulnerability to adverse ad market cycles or revenue shocks over the coming 2–6 months.

Revenue Decline

A multi-period revenue decline indicates challenges monetizing audience or offsetting traffic volatility. Sustained top-line pressure can erode operating leverage and make margin gains harder to sustain, prolonging dependence on cost measures and nonrecurring gains to meet profitability targets.

Weak Cash Conversion

Very low OCF-to-net-income and negative FCF growth show earnings are not translating into durable cash. Poor cash conversion undermines debt servicing and limits investment in product initiatives, making the company reliant on refinancing or asset sales to fund strategic priorities over the medium term.

The Arena Group Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

The Arena Group Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates digital media platform the United States and internationally. The company offers the Platform, a proprietary online publishing platform comprising publishing tools, video platforms, social distribution channels, newsletter technology, machine learning content recommendations, notifications, and other technology. The company was formerly known as TheMaven, Inc. and changed its name to The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. in February 2022. The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in New York, New York.

How the Company Makes Money

The Arena Group generates revenue through multiple streams, primarily through digital advertising, subscription services, and partnerships with brands. Their advertising revenue comes from displaying ads on their digital platforms, leveraging their extensive audience reach to attract advertisers. Additionally, they offer premium content subscriptions, allowing users to access exclusive articles, videos, and other materials, which provides a steady income. Significant partnerships with brands for sponsored content and events also contribute to their earnings, allowing them to monetize their audience through branded experiences and collaborations.

The Arena Group Financial Statement Overview

Summary

The Arena Group faces significant financial challenges. Despite improvements in operational efficiency, the company struggles with declining revenue and high leverage. The balance sheet is weak, with negative equity and high debt levels. Cash flow metrics indicate poor cash generation and conversion, raising concerns about liquidity and financial sustainability.

Income Statement

The Arena Group's income statement shows a mixed performance. The TTM gross profit margin is strong at 52.64%, indicating efficient cost management. However, the net profit margin is exceptionally high at 84.23% due to a one-time gain, which is not sustainable. Revenue has declined by 2.59% in the TTM, suggesting challenges in maintaining growth. EBIT and EBITDA margins have improved significantly, reflecting better operational efficiency.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet reveals significant financial instability. The debt-to-equity ratio is extremely high at -6.67, indicating heavy reliance on debt financing. Return on equity is negative, reflecting poor profitability relative to equity. The equity ratio is also negative, highlighting a precarious financial position with liabilities exceeding assets.

Cash Flow

Cash flow analysis shows concerning trends. Free cash flow growth is negative, indicating declining cash generation. The operating cash flow to net income ratio is low at 0.11, suggesting weak cash conversion. The free cash flow to net income ratio is negative, pointing to insufficient cash flow to cover net income.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	142.81M	125.91M	143.63M	220.94M	189.14M	128.03M
Gross Profit	75.11M	55.72M	55.27M	88.01M	78.61M	24.97M
EBITDA	49.66M	16.94M	-12.67M	-33.86M	-55.99M	-47.69M
Net Income	126.40M	-100.71M	-55.58M	-70.86M	-89.94M	-89.23M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	121.36M	116.35M	188.88M	203.72M	173.98M	214.20M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	12.52M	4.36M	9.28M	13.87M	9.35M	9.03M
Total Debt	112.94M	123.69M	131.49M	116.85M	83.26M	90.32M
Total Liabilities	131.75M	246.68M	247.87M	255.87M	225.66M	216.10M
Stockholders Equity	-10.39M	-130.33M	-58.99M	-52.15M	-51.68M	-1.90M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	7.92M	-21.25M	-28.55M	-17.01M	-19.93M	-37.26M
Operating Cash Flow	17.56M	-16.08M	-24.77M	-11.30M	-14.73M	-32.29M
Investing Cash Flow	-9.65M	-5.17M	-3.21M	-38.59M	-13.15M	-4.93M
Financing Cash Flow	-1.17M	16.33M	22.89M	54.42M	28.19M	37.28M

The Arena Group Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 4.34
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For AREN, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 4.34 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 4.05, above the 50-day MA of 4.32, and below the 200-day MA of 5.09, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.07 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 49.62 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 62.40 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for AREN.

The Arena Group Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
Sector *	60 Neutral	$48.67B	4.58	-11.27%	4.14%	2.83%	-41.78%
SCOR	56 Neutral	$39.92M	-1.44	-5.12%	―	0.77%	74.60%
TRVG	55 Neutral	$204.68M	75.13	1.22%	―	17.38%	―
BODI	50 Neutral	$69.96M	-1.59	-102.66%	―	-37.41%	60.58%
AREN	47 Neutral	$195.08M	1.55	―	―	-10.90%	―
SEAT	46 Neutral	$105.24M	-0.30	-51.54%	―	-16.83%	-485.31%
BZFD	41 Neutral	$33.59M	48.76	-45.88%	―	―	―

The Arena Group Corporate Events

Arena Group Extends Debt Maturities in Refinancing Move

On December 31, 2025, The Arena Group amended two major debt facilities, extending maturities and adjusting terms as part of a broader refinancing strategy announced in a January 7, 2026 press release. The company pushed the maturity of its term loan with Renew Group Private Limited from December 31, 2026 to December 31, 2027 and paid down $13 million of principal, reducing the outstanding balance to $97.7 million as of December 31, 2025, while also extending the maturity of its undrawn line of credit with Simplify Inventions LLC from December 1, 2026 to December 1, 2027 and cutting the facility size from $50 million to $25 million; management highlighted that these steps extend the company’s runway, support its search for a long-term financing solution, and leave it with more than $9 million of cash and sufficient liquidity after the debt paydown.

The most recent analyst rating on (AREN) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on The Arena Group stock, see the AREN Stock Forecast page.

Arena Group Shareholders Back Directors and Auditor Slate

On December 17, 2025, The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. held its Annual Meeting, at which stockholders elected three directors—H. Hunt Allred, Cavitt Randall and Lynn Petersmarck—each receiving a strong majority of votes cast, despite a modest number of withheld votes and broker non-votes. Shareholders also overwhelmingly ratified the appointment of BDO USA, P.C. as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, reinforcing continuity in the group’s board leadership and external audit oversight for the coming year.

The most recent analyst rating on (AREN) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on The Arena Group stock, see the AREN Stock Forecast page.

The Arena Group Acquires ShopHQ to Expand Portfolio

On October 14, 2025, The Arena Group announced the acquisition of the digital assets of Lindy’s Sports, a historic sports publication, to expand its Sports & Leisure vertical. This acquisition strengthens The Arena Group’s position in the sports media market and aligns with its growth strategy of transforming established media brands with a modern digital approach. On October 17, 2025, the company also announced the acquisition of ShopHQ, further enhancing its portfolio.

The most recent analyst rating on (AREN) stock is a Buy with a $12.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on The Arena Group stock, see the AREN Stock Forecast page.