BuzzFeed's Q3 2025 Earnings Call: Contradictions in Advertising Resilience, Macroeconomic Impact, and Affiliate Revenue Volatility

Date of Call: None provided

Financials Results

• Revenue: $46.3M, down 17% YOY from $55.6M in Q3 2024

Guidance:

• Full-year 2025 revenue narrowed to $185M–$195M (reduced by approximately $10M).
• Full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA expected in range of break-even to $10M.
• Company expects a Q4 step-up driven by seasonal commerce and advertising strength, aiming for full-year adjusted EBITDA positivity.

Business Commentary:

• Challenging Financial Performance:
• BuzzFeed's revenue for Q3 2025 was $46.3 million, down 17% year over year from $55.6 million in Q3 2023.

• The decline was attributed to softer advertising demand, a decrease in affiliate partner bonuses, and tougher comparisons against last year's presidential election cycle.

• Audience Metrics and Engagement:

• BuzzFeed remained number one among Gen Z and millennials in its competitive set, with 10.7 million hours of time spent with this audience in Q3, up 25% from Q2.

• The company's flagship BuzzFeed brand generated 37.2 million hours of U.S. time spent, growing 4% year over year, and direct traffic accounted for 63% of BuzzFeed.com traffic, up from 61% in Q2.

• Advertising Revenue Decline:

• Advertising revenues totaled $22.2 million, down 11% year over year from $24.8 million in Q3 2024.

• The decline was driven by market softness in direct-sold advertising and a decrease in branded content partnerships.

• Commerce Revenue Decline:

• Commerce and other revenues totaled $17 million, down 15% year over year from $20.1 million in Q3 2024.

• The decline was primarily due to a decrease in supplemental bonuses from affiliate partners, including Amazon, as they refined their commission methodologies.

• Operational Efficiency and Financial Stability:

• Despite revenue declines, BuzzFeed maintained adjusted EBITDA profitability for the quarter, with adjusted EBITDA of $753,000.
• This was a result of the company's focus on cost discipline and operational efficiency, demonstrating the strength of its lean operating structure.
  

  Sentiment Analysis:

  Overall Tone: Neutral

  • Management called Q3 "a challenging quarter" with revenue declines due to softer ad demand and lower affiliate bonuses, but noted they "still expect to deliver positive adjusted EBITDA for the full year," remained adjusted-EBITDA positive in Q3, and cited audience growth (e.g., Gen Z time spent up 25% vs Q2).

Contradiction Point 1

Advertising Revenue Resilience

It reflects differing opinions on the resilience of programmatic advertising revenue during macroeconomic uncertainty, which is crucial for revenue forecasting and strategic planning.

Will you increase programmatic revenue in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, and what are the implications? - Juliana Clifton

2025Q3: Programmatic revenue is resilient and scalable, especially in times of uncertainty. It is efficient, tech-enabled, and measurable, making it appealing to advertisers. Programmatic revenue will likely be a higher percentage of total revenue in a downturn, but it will remain important even in a stable economy due to its advantages. - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

What is BuzzFeed's outlook for macro conditions, and how are advertisers planning their spending for the year? - Juliana Clifton

2025Q1: The overall economy seems fairly strong, but uncertainty in the environment causes some advertisers to adopt a wait-and-see approach. Uncertainty from the Trump administration's policies impacts advertiser decisions. The continued improvement of generative AI technology is expected to have a larger impact on the economy than current macroeconomic noise. - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

Contradiction Point 2

Macroeconomic Impact on Advertising Spend

It highlights differing perspectives on the impact of macroeconomic conditions, specifically the Trump administration's policies, on advertising spend, which directly affects BuzzFeed's revenue.

Will you rely more on programmatic revenue in an uncertain macroeconomic environment? What implications would this have? - Juliana Clifton

2025Q3: Revenue declined due to softer advertising demand, decreased affiliate partner bonuses, and comparisons to last year's presidential election cycle. - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

What is BuzzFeed's outlook for macro conditions and advertiser spending this year? - Juliana Clifton

2025Q1: The overall economy seems fairly strong, but uncertainty in the environment causes some advertisers to adopt a wait-and-see approach. Uncertainty from the Trump administration's policies impacts advertiser decisions. The continued improvement of generative AI technology is expected to have a larger impact on the economy than current macroeconomic noise. - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

Contradiction Point 3

Advertising Revenue Trends

It highlights differing perspectives on the trajectory of advertising revenue, which is a crucial component of BuzzFeed's overall financial health.

What were the key highlights of Q3 2025 financial performance? - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

2025Q3: Advertising revenues declined by 11% to $22.2 million. - Matt Omer(CFO)

Can you discuss BuzzFeed's recent business improvements and financial performance? - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

2024Q4: We are seeing a strong rebound in advertising demand, particularly on the direct sold side. - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

Contradiction Point 4

Affiliate Revenue Performance

It reflects contrasting views on the performance of affiliate revenue, which is another key revenue stream for BuzzFeed.

What were the key highlights of Q3 2025 financial performance? - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

2025Q3: Commerce and other revenues fell by 15% to $17 million. - Matt Omer(CFO)

What steps has BuzzFeed taken to improve its business and financial performance? - Jonah Peretti(CEO)

2024Q4: Our commerce business, which focuses on original affiliate content, grew 19% year-over-year and reached $23.4 million for the quarter. - Jonah Peretti(CEO)