- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
In its first Q1 earnings report since going public, BuzzFeed reported $91.6 million in revenue, falling below Wall Street expectations, and a 4 percent decline in user engagement.
Advertising accounted for the majority of BuzzFeed’s revenue, bringing in $48.7 million. Content revenue followed with $32.3 million during the quarter, with the majority of the growth attributed to BuzzFeed’s acquisition of Complex Networks last December, executives said on the company’s earnings call on Monday.
But commerce revenue declined 27 percent year over year for a total of $10.6 million during the quarter. Net losses also ballooned by 294 percent as BuzzFeed reported $44.6 million in losses during the quarter, compared to $11.3 million the previous year. Similar to other digital-first companies, BuzzFeed was impacted, in part, by ongoing supply chain delays, according to BuzzFeed CFO Felicia DellaFortuna.
Related Stories
The company also reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $16.8 million, performing slightly ahead of a $17.5 million consensus, according to FactSet.
The decline in user engagement accounted for time spent on BuzzFeed’s owned and operated sites, YouTube, Apple News and Facebook, but did not include user engagement on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
BuzzFeed stock dropped roughly 10 percent in after-hours trading on Monday.
During the company’s earnings call, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti touted the role of short-form vertical video for BuzzFeed’s future growth and said he expects Q2 revenues to surpass $100 million. He also reiterated that BuzzFeed’s decision to go public would give the company a leg up over other digital media companies.
“It gives us a head start,” Peretti said. “We can navigate through a choppy market … [and] be further along than a lot of competitors in this space.”
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day