Kodak faces financial trouble even as Gen Z drives a film resurgence

Clair Sapilewski has dozens of rolls of camera film ready to use in her cupboard at all times.

A photography major at American University, the 21-year-old said she always keeps her film stocked to achieve that aesthetic that only film cameras can capture.

“It teaches you how to slow down, how to look at things more carefully and how to choose your shots more wisely,” she said.

It’s part of an ongoing trend as members of Generation Z have taken an interest in film cameras. Sapilewski said while her professors taught her the basics, she and her friends have used their film cameras to develop photos that their iPhones can’t quite replicate.

And in her college circle, the most popular brand for camera film is Eastman Kodak, a company she calls a “household name.”

“Pretty much everybody uses Kodak films — the average film user, when they reach for film, is going to reach for Kodak,” Sapilewski said.

But on the other side of the lens, Kodak may be singing a different tune.

The 133-year-old photography company indicated in its second-quarter earnings report on Monday that its finances “raise substantial doubt” in its ability to continue operations as a going concern.

The company reported a net loss of $26 million, down 200% from net income of $26 million for the second quarter of 2024. Kodak also posted a 12% decrease in gross profit with millions in debt obligations.

“Kodak has debt coming due within 12 months and does not have committed financing or available liquidity to meet such debt obligations if they were to become due in accordance with their current terms,” the company wrote in a regulatory filing.

Shares of the company are down more than 15% year to date.

Kodak plans to terminate its retirement pension plan and a company spokesperson told CNBC that Kodak aims to use money that it will receive from the settlement to pay off its debts.

“Kodak is confident it will be able to pay off a significant portion of its term loan well before it becomes due, and amend, extend or refinance our remaining debt and/or preferred stock obligations,” the spokesperson said.

This isn’t the first time the company has faced struggles.

Founded in Rochester, New York, in the late 1800s, Kodak rode the wave of photography with a goal of simplifying the process for consumers. But as the era of digital technology took over, the company faced increasing struggles with staying relevant as cameras moved beyond film and disposables.

In the 2000s, the company tried to keep up with the growing trend of digital cameras but struggled, according to Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes, who said Kodak was ignoring concerns at the time about the evolving macroenvironment.

“Digital technology wasn’t ready right away to cut sales of film — but common sense told us differently,” Reitzes wrote in a March note. “At the time, Kodak management told us that film would co-exist with digital cameras and more photos would be taken — and more would need to be printed by Kodak.”

Instead, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012. It reemerged a year later in 2013 with four main business components: print, advanced materials and chemicals, motion picture, and consumer, which includes cameras and accessories.

In 2020, then-General Manager Ed Hurley told NBC News that Kodak made more than twice the number of film rolls in 2019 than it made in 2015.

And on last year’s third-quarter earnings call, Kodak CEO Jim Continenza said the company was experiencing such high demand for film that it needed to upgrade its Rochester factory.

“Our film sales have increased,” Continenza said at the time. “As we continue to see our commitment and our customer commitment to film, still and motion picture, we are going to continue to invest in that space and continue with that growth.”

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global cinema camera market size is fast growing and estimated to reach $535 million by 2032. The Global Wellness Institute named “analog wellness” — including pre-digital technology — its top trend for 2025.

That growth has been driven in large part by Gen Z, which has turned to old-school aesthetics in what’s been a “divorce” from the hyperrealism of digital photography, according to Alex Cooke, the editor-in-chief of Fstoppers, a photography news site.

“I think there’s this rebellion against digital perfection where film feels real in this kind of hyper-curated Instagram and TikTok world, where images are filtered and Facetuned and algorithm-tested,” Cooke said.

For members of Gen Z, who grew up in the smartphone…