BuzzFeed Stock Drops to $0.57 After Q3 Earnings as Company Cuts a Third of Staff

BuzzFeed shares fell 38% in one morning to $0.57 after the digital media company's third-quarter earnings report, which showed a loss of $0.22 per share. The Cool Down reported the drop and the company's disclosure of a $57.3 million net loss for 2025.

Inside BuzzFeed's Third-Quarter Results

BuzzFeed missed analysts' expectations by 13 cents with its $0.22 per-share loss. Shares had reached $2.09 earlier this year before the post-earnings slide. In March, the company expressed "substantial doubt" about its "ability to continue" doing business.

In May, a company affiliated with television personality Byron Allen's family bought a majority stake in BuzzFeed. Peretti took the title "president of BuzzFeed AI" after the deal, which set up a new streaming strategy. "With the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service," Allen said.

Roughly two months after that deal, BuzzFeed laid off 180 people, a third of its staff, The New York Times reported. The cuts followed former CEO Jonah Peretti's 2023 decision to embrace artificial intelligence, a strategy that drew criticism when AI-generated quizzes and travel guides appeared. BuzzFeed adopted AI after OpenAI introduced ChatGPT.

BuzzFeed's Streaming and Licensing Deals

According to akta.pro company records, Allen Family Digital acquired approximately 52% of BuzzFeed for $120 million in May 2026, made up of $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note, with Allen becoming chairman and CEO. The same records show BuzzFeed Studios signed a video licensing deal with Netflix in July 2026 for short-form content of 3 to 20 minutes, launching August 3, 2026 in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. BuzzFeed Studios also partnered with Amazon MGM Studios and AWS in May 2026 under the GenAI Creators' Fund to produce the AI-generated animated series "Cupcake & Friends" using Amazon's Project Nara platform, one of the first three projects greenlit for Prime Video.

How BuzzFeed Reached This Point

BuzzFeed's third-quarter earnings call was held on November 5, 2026, with CFO Matt Omer and CEO Byron Allen, Seeking Alpha reported. Ahead of the release, MarketBeat reported that analysts projected a loss of $0.09 per share and revenue of $47.64 million, with the stock opening at $0.99. The Times of India reported that Allen's family office acquired 40 million shares for $120 million, giving it roughly 51% of the company, with Allen becoming chairman and CEO and Peretti moving to a new AI-focused role.

What Comes Next for BuzzFeed

The Netflix licensing deal launches August 3, 2026 across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, according to akta.pro company records.