BuzzFeed, Inc.

Disclosure about our existing risk factors is set forth in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. Other than as described below and in the risk factor disclosures included in Item 1A of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed during 2025, our risk factors have not changed materially since December 31, 2024.

At times, we rely on third-party loans and other external financing to fund our production and development of films, television programming, and other ancillary content. Although such financing is generally supported by minimum guarantees or other commitments, and not dependent on revenues generated from exploitation, there can be no assurance that our productions will ultimately be profitable or that co-financing partners will recover their investments.

Our business model involves securing external financing or co-financing commitments, including loans, credit facilities, and production advances, to fund the development, production, and distribution of live-action and animated films, television programming, interactive games, and other ancillary content. The availability and terms of such financing depend on a number of factors, including market conditions, lender appetite for entertainment-sector risk, and our own financial and operational performance. Most productions secure a completion bond to guarantee completion and delivery, and certain productions have contracts in place for minimum guarantees in exchange for distribution rights (and those minimum guarantees may be paid directly to any lender to repay debt). The repayment of these loans and other financing commitments are sometimes guaranteed by Company subsidiaries and we may not be able to successfully implement arrangements to reduce the risks of production exposure to those subsidiaries, such as failing to fully monetizing tax credits, unsuccessfully applying for government or industry rebates, or the inability to collect other soft money benefits that act as security.

There is inherent uncertainty in the commercial performance of any individual film or other studio content. Audience preferences are unpredictable and can be influenced by numerous factors outside our control, including competition, critical reception, marketing effectiveness, release timing, distribution strategy, and broader economic conditions. In the aggregate, these factors may adversely affect our cash flows and limit our access to additional financing. In addition, we may experience delays and increased costs due to disruptions or events beyond its control, such as strikes by the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists that could result in months-long shutdowns in television, film, and other studio production.

Investors in individual feature films and other studio productions also face the risk that a project may never yield a return. Factors such as shifting audience preferences, poor reception, or changes in distribution markets could result in a total loss of capital on a given project. This uncertainty could materially affect our financial position and investor returns.

AI-Enabled Search Functionality Has the Potential to Disrupt Traffic, Monetization, and Content Visibility, Particularly for Our News Operations.

The integration of generative AI features into search engines presents a potential risk to our digital business model, particularly for our news operations. These features increasingly surface AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, reducing user engagement with source content. This trend, along with broader platform changes, may adversely impact our traffic volumes and monetization capabilities. Potential risks include:

•Impacted referral traffic. AI-generated summaries, such as Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, often provide answers directly on the search results page, which could lead to fewer users clicking through to publisher websites.

•Reduced advertising revenue. Because our monetization strategy includes ad-supported revenue that relies on organic search traffic, any impact on click-through rates may lead to fewer page views and impressions, which could negatively affect advertising revenue.

•Loss of control over content visibility. Publishers that block AI crawlers to protect their content from use in AI summaries may be excluded from other search features, such as snippets, Discover, or general indexing. This creates pressure to permit AI access to content in order to maintain baseline visibility, weakening our leverage in negotiating content licensing or access terms.

•Platform dependency. The increasing control that search platforms exert over content visibility and distribution may limit our ability to reach audiences, monetize content effectively, or diversify our traffic sources in a competitive and sustainable manner.

•Diminished brand recognition. The rise of "zero-click searches," where users find the information they need in the AI summary, means a lack of direct engagement between users and publishers, thereby hindering the development of brand familiarity and loyalty. Furthermore, because an AI Overview can cite multiple sources for a generated answer, an individual publisher’s impact may be diluted to users, leading to diminished brand recognition.

To the extent these risks become material in the future and if we are unable to adapt to these changes by evolving our distribution strategies or expanding into more direct or subscription-based revenue models, our financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

We have recorded significant impairment charges in the past and could do so again in the future, which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

In 2022, we recorded material charges related to the impairment of our goodwill and certain long-lived assets. We had approximately $43.3 million of goodwill and $11.8 million of acquired intangible assets on our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2025. Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (i.e., U.S. GAAP), we are required to review our intangible assets, including goodwill, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of these assets may not be recoverable.

We perform an assessment of goodwill for impairment annually as of October 1, as well as whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. When testing goodwill for impairment, we first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, or we may determine to proceed directly to the quantitative impairment test. Circumstances which could trigger an assessment of goodwill for impairment include, but are not limited to: a significant decline in our stock price for a sustained period; significant negative industry or economic trends; our overall financial performance such as negative or declining cash flows or a decline in actual or planned revenue or earnings compared with actual and projected results of relevant prior periods; other relevant entity-specific events including changes in management, key personnel, strategy, or customers; and other events affecting our single reporting unit.

Additionally, we assess the impairment of intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. Circumstances which could trigger such a review include, but are not limited to, the following: significant decreases in the market price of the asset; significant adverse changes in the business climate or legal factors; accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the acquisition or construction of the asset; current period cash flow or operating losses combined with a history of losses or a forecast of continuing losses associated with the use of the asset; and current expectations that the asset will more likely than not be sold or disposed of significantly before the end of its estimated useful life.

Under U.S. GAAP, if we determine goodwill or intangible assets are impaired, we will be required to write down these assets. Any write-down could have a negative effect on the condensed consolidated financial statements and could impact our compliance with the equity requirement of the Nasdaq listing rules.

Some of our employees are unionized, and our business and results of operations could be adversely affected if labor agreements were to further restrict our ability to maximize the efficiency of our operations.

As of November 4, 2025, approximately 14.1% of our employees were unionized, with certain employees associated with BuzzFeed Canada, Inc. in Canada belonging to the Canadian Media Guild, and certain employees associated with HuffPost in the U.S. belonging to the Writers Guild of America, East. We (i) currently are out of contract with those BuzzFeed Canada, Inc. employees represented by the Canadian Media Guild and (ii) our collective bargaining agreement with those HuffPost employees represented by the Writers Guild of America, East, expires on January 31, 2026. As a result, we expect to negotiate, in 2025 and potentially into early 2026, the wage, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment with these employees collectively as part of the contract renewal process. Our results could be adversely affected if labor negotiations or the renewed collective bargaining agreements were to further restrict our ability to maximize the efficiency of our operations, or if a larger percentage of our workforce were to be unionized. If we are unable to negotiate renewed labor contracts on reasonable terms, or if we were to experience labor unrest or other business interruptions in connection with labor negotiations or otherwise, our ability to produce and deliver our products could be impaired. In addition, our ability to make adjustments to control compensation and benefits costs, change our strategy, or otherwise adapt to changing business needs may be limited by the terms and duration of our collective bargaining agreements.