Xcel Brands’ portfolio now reaches more than 46 million social media followers and approximately 200 million households through broadcast distribution as the company builds its strategy around influencer-led brands, livestream shopping and social commerce.
The company’s current portfolio includes Halston and C. Wonder along with several personality-driven and co-branded businesses, including Tower Hill by Christie Brinkley, Trust. Respect. Love by Cesar Millan, GemmaMade by Gemma Stafford and Off/Duty by Coco Rocha. Xcel also has an interest or long-term license agreement involving Mesa Mia by Jenny Martinez and manages the Longaberger by Shannon Doherty brand through its controlling interest in Longaberger Licensing.
Xcel is attempting to use the audiences associated with these brands and personalities to build a commerce model spanning interactive television, digital livestream shopping, social commerce, traditional retail and e-commerce. The company says its current and previously owned brands have generated more than $5 billion in retail sales through livestreaming across interactive television and digital channels.
The company has also accumulated more than 20,000 hours of livestream and social-commerce content production. Its portfolio now provides access to an audience of more than 46 million social media followers, while its broadcast reach extends to approximately 200 million households.
Management believes changes in internet search could create another distribution opportunity for this content. CEO Robert D’Loren pointed specifically to Google’s AI Mode, saying video content created by influencers who are authorities within particular categories can become part of cited AI answers.
The company is therefore positioning its influencer audiences not only as a source of direct social-media traffic but also as content assets that could gain additional visibility through AI-powered search experiences.
Xcel’s second-quarter operating performance also reflected the rollout of its influencer strategy. Management said adjusted EBITDA performance was the company’s best since June 2024, driven by product launches from two new influencer-led brands and additional reductions in operating expenses.
Second-quarter revenue totaled $1.1 million, declining 14% from the prior-year period primarily because of the divestiture of the Judith Ripka brand. The company reported a net loss attributable to Xcel Brands stockholders of approximately $2.5 million, compared with a $4 million loss a year earlier.
Adjusted EBITDA was negative $480,000, improving 32% sequentially from negative $700,000 in the first quarter. Compared with the prior-year quarter, Xcel said adjusted EBITDA improved by approximately $320,000 after excluding a non-recurring employee retention credit benefit recorded in the 2025 period.
Cost reductions are another component of the strategy. Xcel has reduced direct operating expenses to an expected annual run rate of less than $8 million. For the first six months of 2026, direct operating costs and expenses declined to approximately $4 million.
The company ended June with approximately $400,000 of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, approximately $12 million of long-term debt and roughly $12 million of stockholders’ equity. It also has a common stock purchase agreement under which a buyer has committed to purchase up to $15 million of Xcel common stock at the company’s discretion, subject to the agreement’s terms and conditions.
As Xcel works to improve profitability, management is increasingly emphasizing the combination of recognizable personalities, large built-in audiences and commerce-focused content. The company’s 46 million-plus social following and 200 million-household broadcast reach provide the distribution base for that strategy as newer influencer-led brands are brought to market.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our second quarter earnings on an Adjusted EBITDA basis were the best since June 2024, this was driven by the product launch of two of our new influencer led brands and additional reductions in operating expenses. I am very excited by the enormous potential of these brands going into the future. The recent changes in the search box since Google went to AI Mode, will make video content created by influencers that are authorities in their category part of the cited AI answer. I am excited to be managing a portfolio of brands that generate awareness through a combined existing audience of over 46 million people.”
Robert W. D’Loren, Chairman and CEO of Xcel Brands
