Is KODK a Buy or a Sell? The Bull and Bear Case (2026)

Last updated July 2026

Short answer

Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested. The bull case for Eastman Kodak Company (KODK) rests on Film demand and pricing: AM&C revenue rose 40% year over year in the June 2026 quarter to $105 million, and its Operational EBITDA nearly tripled to $22 million. The bear case rests on commodity costs are the most direct threat: aluminum is the main input for printing plates and silver for film, and in the June 2026 quarter higher aluminum costs took about $8 million out of Print and higher silver costs about $4 million out of AM&C, while inventory rose $37 million as Kodak bought metal at higher prices. We do not give a verdict. What follows is each case at full strength, so you can decide which set of assumptions you actually believe. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Eastman Kodak Company is no longer a camera company. It makes money in three reportable segments. Print (~$715 million of 2025 revenue) sells aluminum offset printing plates, the platesetters that image them, PROSPER continuous-inkjet presses and print heads, ink, and PRINERGY workflow software to commercial printers, publishers and packaging makers. Prepress plates alone were 52% of total 2025 revenue, a recurring stream because every print run needs a new plate. Advanced Materials and Chemicals (AM&C, ~$316 million) makes still and motion picture film, industrial film for printed circuit boards, specialty chemicals including starting materials for drugs and battery materials, and runs contract coating services. Brand (~$27 million) licenses the Kodak name to camera, eyewear, battery and apparel makers. More than half of sales come from outside the US, and the company employed about 3,500 people in 27 countries at the end of 2025. The history is long and uneven. George Eastman founded the business in 1880 and incorporated it in New Jersey in 1901. After losing its film and camera franchise to digital imaging, it filed for Chapter 11 in 2012 and emerged in 2013 as a much smaller printing and materials company. In 2020 a proposed federal loan to make pharmaceutical ingredients sent the stock on a brief, volatile spike and was never completed. In August 2025 the company flagged substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, because its term loans could come due within a year. That was resolved in late 2025: Kodak terminated its overfunded US pension plan (KRIP), transferred ~$1.8 billion of obligations to an insurer in October, and in December recovered ~$767 million of surplus assets, $609 million of it in cash. About $312 million went to prepaying term loans, cutting the balance to $200 million. Ownership is concentrated. Per the April 2026 proxy, B. Thomas Golisano's GO EK Ventures held ~15.5% of the common stock, a group including K.F. Investors and Moses Marx ~10.8%, and George and Renee Karfunkel ~5.2%. Funds affiliated with Kennedy Lewis bought all of the Series B convertible preferred stock in December 2025 and in March 2026 swapped it for a new 6.0% Series B preferred that converts at $10.00 per share and must be redeemed in June 2029 if not converted. Jim Continenza has led the company as Executive Chairman and CEO since 2019, and in February 2026 his contract was extended to the end of 2030. David Bullwinkle is CFO. Headquarters are in Rochester, New York, where Kodak also runs the Eastman Business Park. The investment picture changed in 2026. Revenue grew 18% in the June 2026 quarter to $311 million, GAAP net income was $17 million, and Kodak reported its fourth straight quarter of year-over-year growth in revenue, gross profit and Operational EBITDA. The open questions are whether price increases on plates and film hold, how much aluminum and silver costs claw back, and whether newer businesses become large enough to offset a slowly shrinking core in offset printing.

The bull case for KODK

1. Film demand and pricing

AM&C revenue rose 40% year over year in the June 2026 quarter to $105 million, and its Operational EBITDA nearly tripled to $22 million. The filing attributes the increase almost entirely to Industrial Film and Chemicals: about $14 million from higher pricing and $14 million from higher volume, with Motion Picture adding a little. Kodak has spent several years adding film manufacturing capacity, launched its own direct-to-distributor line of still films in the fourth quarter of 2025, and introduced KODAK VERITA 200D, a new color negative motion picture stock. Kodak Alaris, which resells consumer and professional still film, was about a third of AM&C revenue in 2025 and the only customer above 10% of total revenue. Whether film demand from photographers and studios stays at this level is one of the larger swing factors for the whole company.

2. Plate pricing in a shrinking print market

Print revenue grew 10% to $195 million in the June 2026 quarter, and segment Operational EBITDA swung from a $4 million loss to an $8 million profit. Most of the gain came from about $14 million of Prepress price increases, while plate volume fell by ~$3 million. That pattern (higher prices, slightly lower units) is typical of a mature market where printers still need plates but print fewer jobs. The 10-K names Fuji, ECO3, HP, Canon, Ricoh and Screen as key competitors. Kodak's pitch is its SONORA process-free plates, which skip the chemical processing step and save printers water and energy. Sustaining price increases without losing share is the core test for the segment.

3. PROSPER inkjet and software

Higher PROSPER volume added about $9 million to Print revenue in the June 2026 quarter. PROSPER presses and the ULTRASTREAM print heads sold to other equipment makers create a follow-on stream of ink, primer and service revenue tied to how many pages each press prints. Kodak stopped manufacturing its older VERSAMARK and NEXFINITY machines but still sells consumables and service to that installed base, a declining tail. Inkjet is the part of Print with a growth story, though it remains far smaller than plates.

4. A cleaner balance sheet

The pension reversion turned a large but untouchable surplus into cash. Kodak ended 2025 with $337 million of cash, prepaid $100 million more of term loans in March and June 2026, and held $290 million of cash at June 30, 2026. Remaining term loans mature in August 2028. Some reverted assets were not cash: redemptions brought in $87 million in the first half of 2026, about $12 million more is expected during the rest of 2026, and the remainder mostly in 2027 and 2028. Management says the debt reduction cut annual interest expense by about $40 million, a large number next to 2025 Operational EBITDA of $62 million.

5. Newer businesses at Eastman Business Park

Kodak is applying its coating and chemical know-how outside print. It is investing in a facility for coated substrates used in electric-vehicle battery cell assembly, with spending running through 2026. It finished a cGMP lab and plant in 2025, began producing phosphate buffered saline for lab use that year, and plans diagnostic test reagents. Revenue from what Kodak labels growth products was only about $2 million in the first half of 2025, so these are options rather than current earnings.

6. R&D spending and management continuity

In the June 2026 results Continenza described a new phase in which Kodak has the financial room to focus on growth, including faster research and development spending, which ran at about $9 million a quarter in the first half of 2026. His contract now runs to 2030, so the strategy of the past seven years (de-leveraging, raising prices, investing in plant and new products) is likely to continue. Terry Taber, the long-time chief technical officer who ran AM&C, retired in January 2026, a change to watch in the segment now driving the most profit growth.

The bear case for KODK

Commodity costs are the most direct threat: aluminum is the main input for printing plates and silver for film, and in the June 2026 quarter higher aluminum costs took about $8 million out of Print and higher silver costs about $4 million out of AM&C, while inventory rose $37 million as Kodak bought metal at higher prices. US tariffs on aluminum and other imported inputs add pressure, and refunds Kodak is seeking for some tariffs are uncertain. Offset printing is in long-term decline, and recent Print growth leaned on price rather than volume, which may not repeat. AM&C depends heavily on Kodak Alaris (about a third of the segment's 2025 revenue) and on film demand that could cool. Profitability is still thin: Print's Operational EBITDA margin was only 4% in the latest quarter, and TTM GAAP results show a ~$94 million net loss, mostly from one-off pension termination charges and excise tax in the fourth quarter of 2025. The 6.0% Series B preferred could add roughly 10 million shares if converted at $10, about a tenth of the ~97.6 million common shares, and its fair-value changes now run through earnings. A $63 million intercompany loan from a Chinese subsidiary matures in November 2026, and Brazilian operations face ~$33 million of tax and labor claims. The stock has traded between ~$5.78 and ~$14.87 over the past year.

The bear case deserves the same attention as the bull case, and usually gets less. If you are holding KODK already, the question is not whether these risks exist but whether any of them has moved from possible to actually happening in the reported numbers.

Where analysts land on KODK

Too few analysts publish on KODK for a consensus target to mean anything, so there is no professional average to weigh against your own view. That cuts both ways: less informed opinion to lean on, and less of it already priced in. The KODK forecast page covers what coverage does exist.

How is KODK valued? (as of October 2026)

Price

$9.21

Market cap

$901.72M

Price / book

1.45

Beta

1.57

52-week range

$5.78 to $14.87

Snapshot for KODK as of October 2026, sourced from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. Valuation figures move with price and earnings; verify the current numbers with your broker before deciding.

Revenue (TTM to June 2026): ~$1.14B
Operational EBITDA (TTM, non-GAAP): ~$102M
GAAP net income (TTM): ~-$94M (one-off pension charges in Q4 2025)
Q2 2026 GAAP net income: $17M on $311M revenue
Market cap: ~$0.9B (share price ~$9.21, ~97.6M shares)
Cash vs long-term debt (June 30, 2026): $290M cash, ~$108M debt

The last four quarters add up to revenue of about $1.14 billion and Operational EBITDA of about $102 million, against an equity value near $0.9 billion and net cash after the pension-funded debt paydown. That is under 10 times trailing Operational EBITDA, a measure that excludes pension income, restructuring and other items. GAAP results are messier: 2025 ended with a $128 million net loss driven by the pension termination, and the first half of 2026 was roughly break-even. The quarterly trend is the clearest signal, with Operational EBITDA rising from $2 million in Q1 2025 to $36 million in Q2 2026.

How do you decide if KODK is a buy?

Rather than asking whether KODK is a buy in the abstract, it tends to help to answer four questions:

Thesis: do you believe the bull case above, and is it still true today?
Time horizon: a single stock can be volatile, so a longer horizon absorbs more of the swings.
Position sizing: a thesis can be right and the sizing still wrong; decide how much of your portfolio one name should be.
Overlap: check whether you already hold KODK indirectly through an index or sector ETF before adding more.

What would change your mind on KODK

Write the tripwires down before you need them. Deciding what would falsify your view is far harder once a position is moving against you.

Bull case breaks if: Film demand and pricing stalls in the reported numbers rather than in the narrative around them.
Bear case breaks if: commodity costs are the most direct threat: aluminum is the main input for printing plates and silver for film, and in the June 2026 quarter higher aluminum costs took about $8 million out of Print and higher silver costs about $4 million out of AM&C, while inventory rose $37 million as Kodak bought metal at higher prices fails to materialise over several reporting periods while the drivers keep compounding.
Neither matters if: the position has grown large enough that being wrong would damage the whole portfolio. Sizing overrides the argument.

For the full picture, see the KODK stock guide (what the company does, the ETFs that hold it, similar stocks, and the themes it fits). In Walnut you can ask its AI about KODK against your real portfolio and see your actual exposure before deciding.

Investing in Eastman Kodak Company with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how KODK fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.

Does KODK fit me?

FAQ

Is KODK a good stock to buy right now?

That depends on which case you find more convincing, and both are on this page. The bull case rests on Film demand and pricing, with revenue (ttm to june 2026) at ~$1.14B. The bear case rests on commodity costs are the most direct threat: aluminum is the main input for printing plates and silver for film, and in the June 2026 quarter higher aluminum costs took about $8 million out of Print and higher silver costs about $4 million out of AM&C, while inventory rose $37 million as Kodak bought metal at higher prices. If you believe the thesis, the real questions become sizing and overlap rather than timing. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.

Should I sell KODK?

Nobody can answer that for you, and the honest version of the question is narrower: has anything changed in the reason you bought it? The bear case on this page is the place to check. Commodity costs are the most direct threat: aluminum is the main input for printing plates and silver for film, and in the June 2026 quarter higher aluminum costs took about $8 million out of Print and higher silver costs about $4 million out of AM&C, while inventory rose $37 million as Kodak bought metal at higher prices. If that risk is what you were worried about and it is now playing out, that is a real signal. If the price simply fell while the thesis held, that is a different situation entirely. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

What is the bull case for KODK?

Film demand and pricing. AM&C revenue rose 40% year over year in the June 2026 quarter to $105 million, and its Operational EBITDA nearly tripled to $22 million.

What is the bear case for KODK?

What does Eastman Kodak Company do?

Rochester-based maker of printing plates, PROSPER inkjet presses, still and motion picture film, and specialty chemicals, plus Kodak brand licensing.

What would have to change for KODK to stop being worth holding?

Decide that in advance, because it is far harder to think clearly once a position is moving against you. The concrete tripwires here: the driver behind the bull case (Film demand and pricing) stalling in the reported numbers rather than in the narrative, the risk above (commodity costs are the most direct threat: aluminum is the main input for printing plates and silver for film, and in the June 2026 quarter higher aluminum costs took about $8 million out of Print and higher silver costs about $4 million out of AM&C, while inventory rose $37 million as Kodak bought metal at higher prices) turning from a possibility into a reported fact, or the position growing large enough that a bad outcome would matter to your whole portfolio regardless of who is right.

What does Kodak do now?

Kodak mainly makes aluminum printing plates and equipment for commercial printers, PROSPER inkjet presses and ink, and PRINERGY workflow software. It also makes still and motion picture film, industrial film and specialty chemicals, and licenses the Kodak brand to other companies. Consumer cameras sold under the Kodak name are made by licensees, not by Kodak itself.

Is Kodak profitable?

On a GAAP basis Kodak earned $17 million in the June 2026 quarter but lost $16 million in the March quarter, for roughly break-even in the first half of 2026. Full-year 2025 showed a $128 million net loss because of one-time pension termination costs. Non-GAAP Operational EBITDA was $36 million in Q2 2026, up from $9 million a year earlier.

Does Kodak pay a dividend?

No. Kodak does not pay a dividend on its common stock. It does pay a 6.0% cumulative cash dividend on its Series B convertible preferred stock, held by funds affiliated with Kennedy Lewis, and that preferred ranks ahead of the common shares for dividends and in a liquidation.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice, and gives no verdict on KODK. Analyst targets referenced here come from a October 2026 pull of published third-party research and change constantly. Verify current figures with your broker before acting on them.