By Juby Babu
March 12 (Reuters) - BuzzFeed on Thursday flagged going concern doubts and said it will not provide a forecast for 2026 as it evaluates strategic options, sending the digital media company's shares down 7.3% after the bell.
BuzzFeed has been grappling with a cash crunch as digital advertisers increasingly favor social media platforms such as TikTok and Meta Platforms' Instagram.
Founded by Jonah Peretti and John Johnson in 2006, BuzzFeed built its audience through listicles before expanding
into a newsroom to challenge stalwarts like the New York Times.
It went public via a blank-check merger in 2021 with an enterprise value of $1.5 billion. The stock has lost 98% of its value since then.
"The current market value of the company does not reflect the strength of our individual brands," CEO Peretti said on a post-earnings call. "In other words, we believe the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole."
BuzzFeed, with a market capitalization of $28.3 million, said it may lack sufficient cash to meet its financial obligations over the next 12 months. It ended 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $8.5 million.
Though BuzzFeed was one of the defining brands of the social-media-driven digital publishing era, its "situation could be a sign that being well-known and getting a lot of clicks isn't enough anymore," said Emarketer analyst Grace Harmon.
While BuzzFeed has significantly reduced operating costs and real estate obligations, it still faces "legacy commitments that are burdening the business," CFO Matt Omer said in a statement.
It offloaded a few assets in 2024 to enhance profitability, selling First We Feast, the creator of YouTube's popular talk show "Hot Ones," for $82.5 million. It divested publisher Complex to live-video shopping app NTWRK in an all-cash transaction valued at $108.6 million.
British media group the Independent took control of BuzzFeed's UK and Ireland editorial and commercial operations in a multi-year licensing deal the same year.
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, BuzzFeed reported revenue of $56.5 million, compared to $56.2 million in the same period last year.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
