BuzzFeed Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) reported third-quarter financial results on Thursday. The transcript from the company’s third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

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Summary

BuzzFeed Inc. reported a significant revenue decline for Q3 2026, with total revenue of $26 million compared to $46.3 million in Q3 2025, influenced by the absence of Amazon Prime Day revenue, which contributed $7 million in the prior year.

The company underwent a major restructuring, reducing its workforce by approximately 35% and targeting $30 million in annual savings, with a $7 million one-time expense in Q3 2026.

BuzzFeed is focusing on expanding its premium content and video offerings, with plans for new shows and enhanced streaming capabilities as it positions itself as a global free streaming platform.

Net loss for Q3 2026 was $18.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA was negative $4.8 million, reflecting the impact of restructuring costs.

The company provided no financial guidance for the future as it continues to integrate recent structural changes.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Hello and welcome to BuzzFeed Inc.’s third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker’s presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, you’ll need to press star one one again. Please be advised that today’s conference is being recorded.

I would now like to hand the conference over to Matt Omer, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Matthew Omer (Chief Financial Officer)

Hi everyone. Welcome to BuzzFeed Inc.’s third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. I’m Matt Omer, CFO of BuzzFeed. Joining me today is Chairman and CEO Byron Allen. Before we get started, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that our remarks today will include forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause these results to differ materially are set forth in the press release and the Form 10-Q to be filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on assumptions as of today and we undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

During this call, we present both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin. The use of non-GAAP financial measures allows us to measure the operational strength and performance of our business, to establish budgets and to develop operational goals for managing our business. We believe adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are relevant and useful information for investors because they allow investors to view performance in a manner similar to the method used by our management.

A reconciliation of these GAAP to non-GAAP measures is included in the earnings press release. Please refer to our investor relations website to find the press release. Now I’ll pass the call over to Byron.

Byron Allen (Chief Executive Officer)

Good afternoon everyone and thanks for joining us. BuzzFeed, Tasty, and HuffPost are beloved, recognizable brands with loyal direct audiences. I invested in BuzzFeed because I believe in these brands and their growth potential. As we previously discussed, however, our cost structure needed to be aligned with the realities of today’s market. At the core of our businesses are three popular brands with engaged audiences, particularly among Gen Z and Millennials.

Across our portfolio, BuzzFeed Inc. has more than 700 million social media followers, 75 million monthly active users and 2 billion monthly content views, while HuffPost maintains a highly loyal direct audience. In the third quarter 2026, BuzzFeed Inc. ranked number one in time spent among Gen Z and Millennials within our competitive set, generating 9.5 million hours, up 1.5% from the previous quarter. Direct visits and referrals from our websites and apps accounted for 67% of U.S. traffic to BuzzFeed’s owned and operated properties in the third quarter, up from 65% in the prior quarter. This reflects our progress in building direct audience relationships and reducing our reliance on third-party platforms and their algorithms.

On the BuzzFeed studio side, we have an opportunity to unlock significant value for our shareholders and partners. BuzzFeed is growing its premium content, video and social media businesses with a slate of new shows featuring top creators and A-list talent planned for 2027, and the vertical video content continues to have strong consumer demand. Our goal and our strategy this fourth quarter is to bring compelling content to audiences wherever they are.

Across digital platforms and connected TV, we see opportunities to expand our video and streaming capabilities, including through live events, music, comedy, sports and news. Ultimately, technology and distribution are only as valuable as the content they deliver. By combining our brands and storytelling capabilities, we believe we can engage audiences at scale and build new opportunities to monetize that engagement. I am completely energized by the progress we’re making towards positioning BuzzFeed to be a premier global free streaming platform.

Now I’ll hand it over to Matt, our CFO, who will walk you through our third quarter financial results.

Matthew Omer (Chief Financial Officer)

Thanks, Byron. The third quarter was a transitional quarter. We completed an approximate 35% reduction in our workforce and dedicated contractors in July. This restructuring is expected to yield approximately $30 million in annualized savings, but at a cost of $7 million in one-time expenses. From a cash perspective, more than half of the severance and related payments were paid in the third quarter, with the remainder largely to be paid in the fourth quarter.

As expected, this restructuring resulted in a short-term decrease in the amount of content we generated as we streamlined operational teams. The short-term decrease in content generation is reflected in the decrease in time spent. Along with passive advertising and affiliate commerce, we are laser focused on innovating with more sustainable, cost-effective content and achieving profitability and positive cash flow. Turning to Q3 results, total revenue for the three months ending September 30, 2026, was $26 million, compared to $46.3 million in Q3 2025. However, it’s important to note that Q3 2025 included approximately $7 million of revenue related to Amazon Prime Day, and there was no Amazon Prime Day in Q3 2026. So for the three months ending September 30, 2026, advertising revenue was $15.4 million, content revenue was $5.8 million and commerce and other revenue was $4.8 million.

But once again, it’s important to note that Q3 2025 included approximately $7 million of revenue related to Amazon Prime Day, and there was no Amazon Prime Day in Q3 2026. Net loss was $18.7 million in Q3 2026. Again, the third quarter reflected $7.1 million in one-time restructuring expenses. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $4.8 million. Q3 2026 time spent was 50.7 million hours. Following a transformative year that included the Allen Family Digital transaction in May and the restructuring announced in July, we are deferring our financial outlook as we continue to integrate these changes. That’s all for now. I’ll turn the call back to the operator for questions.

OPERATOR

Thank you. There are no questions right now in our Q&A session, so we will now be concluding our call. Thank you everyone for participating in today’s conference. You will now disconnect the call. Thank you so much.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company’s SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants’ and analysts’ statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.