BuzzFeed, the deeply troubled digital media company that’s struggled to adapt to changes in the market, reported first-quarter revenue of $67.2 million and a net loss per share of $0.26 Tuesday. The company had previously warned Wall Street to expect a dreary report, and it delivered on that promise.
In the fourth quarter, BuzzFeed reported a net loss of $106.2 million against quarterly revenue of $134.6 million.
Wall Street has mostly given up on tracking BuzzFeed’s misadventures. A lone analyst surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had predicted a loss of 29 cents per share for the quarter and didn’t offer a revenue forecast.
The company’s struggles come as CEO Jonah Peretti has launched efforts at reinvention, including courting creators and experimenting with AI. He also shuttered BuzzFeed News, a product he had previously championed despite its lack of profits. Peretti has attributed some of BuzzFeed’s failings to his efforts to integrate Complex Networks, a media property BuzzFeed acquired in 2021 as it went public through a SPAC merger.
BuzzFeed anticipated that Q2 should show signs of improvement with revenues between $76 to $81 million and Adjusted EBITDA between $0 and $4 million, the latter of which would be an improvement over Q1’s Adjusted EBITDA loss of $20.2 million.
According to the company, “Facebook now contributes an immaterial amount of advertising revenue,” with Q1 audience engagement on the platform dropping to 22 million hours, a 50-million drop-off from the 72 million hours of Q1 2022.
BuzzFeed also reiterated its commitment to AI experimentation with a statement from the company’s founder and CEO, Jonah Peretti. “By leaning into Creators and AI, I believe we can unlock new opportunities across our portfolio of trusted brands — including Tasty, First we Feast, Complex, HuffPost, and BuzzFeed,” said Peretti.
