You’ve seen the logo on vintage T-shirts at Urban Outfitters. Maybe you found an old yellow box of Gold 200 in your grandmother’s junk drawer. For most people, the name Kodak is a ghost of a bygone era—a cautionary tale of a giant that forgot to innovate. But if you’re asking is Eastman Kodak still in business, the answer isn’t just a "yes," it’s a "yes, and they’re actually making a killing in ways you wouldn't expect."
Honestly, it’s kinda wild. While the world moved on to iPhones and Instagram, the company that basically invented photography didn't just curl up and die after its 2012 bankruptcy. They transformed. They’re still in Rochester, New York. They still make film. But today’s Kodak is a strange, hybrid beast that does everything from printing high-speed labels for Amazon packages to manufacturing chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry.
What Most People Get Wrong About Kodak’s "Death"
There is this massive misconception that Kodak just vanished because they missed the digital boat. It’s a great story for business schools, but it’s only half true. Kodak actually invented the first digital camera back in 1975. They knew it was coming; they just couldn't figure out how to make money on it without killing their lucrative film business.
Fast forward to 2026, and the company is surprisingly stable. Under CEO Jim Continenza, they’ve stopped trying to be a "tech" company and embraced being a "chemical and industrial" company. They aren't trying to sell you a smartphone anymore. Instead, they are leaning into the stuff they’ve always been good at: coating things with chemicals.
The $600 Million Pivot and the Debt Drama
Last year, some scary headlines started floating around. You might have seen news in August 2025 about Kodak having "substantial doubt" regarding its ability to stay afloat. It sent the stock into a tailspin. But if you look at the SEC filings, it was mostly technical accounting jargon.
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The "going concern" warning was triggered because they had about $500 million in debt coming due and the money to pay it off was locked in a pension fund. By the end of 2025, they pulled off what they call a "pension reversion." Basically, they settled their obligations to retirees and walked away with a massive cash injection.
By early 2026, the books look totally different:
- Debt is way down: They used the pension cash to pay off high-interest loans.
- Cash is up: They’re aiming to keep a balance of over $300 million.
- Profits are real: In Q3 2025, their gross profit jumped to 25%, up from 17% the year before.
What Does Kodak Actually Do Now?
If they aren't selling disposable cameras at CVS, how are they making hundreds of millions of dollars? It's a mix of old-school nostalgia and heavy-duty industrial science.
1. The Film Resurgence is No Joke
Analog is having a massive moment. Gen Z has decided that grain is better than megapixels. Kodak’s "Advanced Materials and Chemicals" division saw a 15% revenue jump recently because people can't get enough of Portra 400 and Tri-X. They’ve even had to add shifts at the Rochester plant to keep up with the demand for 35mm film. Hollywood is also keeping them alive; directors like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino still insist on shooting on Kodak motion picture film.
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2. The Move Into Pharmaceuticals
This is the part that sounds like a fever dream. Kodak is now an FDA-registered drug manufacturer. They built a "cGMP" facility (that's industry speak for super clean and regulated) to make pharmaceutical ingredients. They started with things like Phosphate Buffered Saline but are moving into more complex "Key Starting Materials." It turns out, the skills needed to coat film are almost identical to the skills needed to make certain drug components.
3. Commercial Printing (The Real Money Maker)
Most of Kodak’s revenue actually comes from "Print." Not the kind of printing you do at home, but massive, building-sized inkjet presses that print thousands of pages a minute. If you get a direct mail flyer or a cereal box, there’s a decent chance a Kodak Prosper press printed the ink on it.
The Kodak Lifestyle: From Seoul to Soho
If you walk through the streets of Seoul, South Korea, you’ll see Kodak-branded clothing stores everywhere. It’s bizarre. They’ve licensed their brand to fashion companies, and it’s working. People are wearing the "K" logo because it represents a "retro-cool" aesthetic, even if they’ve never used a darkroom in their life. This licensing revenue is basically free money for the company, helping them fund the more expensive chemical Research and Development.
Why Kodak Still Matters in 2026
Is Kodak out of the woods? Kinda. They still face huge competition from digital printing giants and the volatility of chemical costs. But they are no longer the "dying" company they were a decade ago. They’ve simplified. They’ve deleveraged. They’ve accepted that they are a "chemistry company" first and a "camera company" second.
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The fact that they survived the transition from the 19th-century analog world to the 21st-century digital landscape—and came out the other side as a profitable industrial manufacturer—is nothing short of a miracle.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you’re looking to engage with the "new" Kodak or just want to see if the hype is real, here is how you can actually interact with the brand today:
- For Photographers: Don't panic-buy film. Despite the 2025 debt scare, production is stable. Check out the Kodak Professional app or their official site for the latest "Product Change Notices" to see which film stocks are being prioritized.
- For Investors: Keep a close eye on the KODK ticker for their 2025 annual report. The "pension reversion" was the big hurdle; seeing how they deploy that leftover cash in 2026 will tell you if they are a long-term play or just a lucky survivor.
- For Business Owners: Look into their Advanced Materials division if you're in the battery or textile space. They are currently pivoting their coating tech to help make EV battery components and light-blocking fabrics (branded as KODALUX).
Kodak isn't just "still in business"—it's a case study in how a legacy brand can survive its own obsolescence by remembering what it was actually good at in the first place: the science of the surface.