BuzzFeed Q1 Revenue Declines 27%, CEO Says Company ‘Leaning Into’ AI and Creators After BuzzFeed News Shutdown

BuzzFeed’s revenue was down substantially in the first three months of 2023, dropping 27% in the period — and the company projected sales would be off as much as 29% for Q2. Given the decline, last month BuzzFeed announced it was shuttering its unprofitable BuzzFeed News division and laying off about 180 people across the organization, about 15% of its employee base.

“We have reached an inflection point in digital media. Over the last few months, we have made significant strategic and organizational changes to position the business for long-term growth.

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Peretti continued, “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,” Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed founder and CEO, said in announcing the Q1 results.

According to a BuzzFeed spokesperson, the company was not replacing any jobs because of AI. BuzzFeed recently started using AI to assist in creating some content, including quizzes. According to an SEC filing, BuzzFeed expects to incur between $7 million to $11 million in charges related to the layoffs.

BuzzFeed posted Q1 revenue of $67.2 million, down 27% year over year, as ad revenue dropped 30% to $34.2 million and content revenue declined 33% year-over-year to $21.6 million. Commerce and other revenue grew 6% year-over-year to $11.3 million. The company’s net loss for the period was $36.3 million, improving from a net loss of $44.6 million in the first quarter of 2022.

For the second quarter of 2023, BuzzFeed expects overall revenue in the range of $76 million to $81 million — down between 24% and 29%. It said adjusted EBITDA would be in the range of $0 to $4 million, versus adjusted EBITDA of $2.1 million in the year-earlier quarter.

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