Release Date: November 12, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD, Financial) achieved a 7% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 2024, reaching $64 million.
- Audience time spent increased by 13% quarter-over-quarter and 2% year-over-year to 80 million hours.
- Affiliate Commerce revenues grew by 53%, highlighted by the company's biggest Prime Day ever in July.
- Programmatic Advertising revenues increased by 9% year-over-year, showing an acceleration from Q2.
- Adjusted EBITDA improved significantly, reaching approximately $11 million, a nearly fourfold increase from Q2.
Negative Points
- Overall advertising revenues declined by 3% year-over-year, impacted by pressures in the direct sales channel.
- Content revenue trends, although improved from Q2, declined by 7% year-over-year.
- The direct sales channel has been reduced, affecting branded content sales.
- Despite improvements, the company acknowledges ongoing challenges in stabilizing the business.
- BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD) has yet to provide an update on its debt and Q4 financial outlook, indicating potential uncertainties.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you elaborate on the strategic changes made in Q3 and their impact on BuzzFeed's financial performance?
A: Jonah Peretti, CEO, explained that BuzzFeed focused on stabilizing the business by reorganizing around high-margin and scalable business lines, specifically Programmatic Advertising and Affiliate Commerce. These changes led to significant improvements in key metrics, including a 7% year-over-year revenue growth to $64 million and a fourfold increase in adjusted EBITDA to approximately $11 million.
Q: How did BuzzFeed's Affiliate Commerce perform during the quarter, and what contributed to its growth?
A: Jonah Peretti highlighted that Affiliate Commerce revenues grew by 53%, driven by a particularly strong performance during July's Prime Day, which was BuzzFeed's biggest ever, surpassing Amazon's overall Prime Day growth.
Q: What were the main drivers behind the growth in Programmatic Advertising revenues?
A: Matthew Omer, CFO, noted that Programmatic Advertising revenues grew 9% year-over-year to $17.3 million. This growth was attributed to the strategic shift towards prioritizing scalable, high-margin, and tech-enabled revenue lines, despite pressures in the direct sales channel.
Q: Can you provide more details on the improvements in audience engagement metrics?
A: Jonah Peretti reported a 13% quarter-over-quarter and 2% year-over-year increase in audience time spent, reaching 80 million hours. This growth was led by the flagship BuzzFeed brand, which continued to dominate its competitive set among millennials and Gen Z.
Q: What are BuzzFeed's plans for addressing outstanding debt and future financial outlook?
A: Jonah Peretti mentioned that BuzzFeed plans to provide an update on their debt, balance sheet, and Q4 financial outlook in the coming weeks, following the strategic review process initiated last year.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
