Nonetheless, the influx of cash and offloading of expenses could prompt an uptick in the value of BuzzFeed stock. A strong fourth-quarter performance from the company, which will report its results in March, could also bump up the price.
If those measures fail, the company pledged in its extension appeal to Nasdaq that it would execute a reverse stock split to meet the minimum bid requirement, according to public filings. This would mean consolidating the existing shares of its stock into fewer, higher-priced shares. No value is lost, but it often indicates a company in financial distress, weakening investor confidence.
Selling assets like Tasty
To meet its $150 million debt obligation at the end of the year, the company could consider offloading some of its other assets, which include Tasty, First We Feast, Hot Ones and HuffPost, said media analyst Adam Ryan.
Doing so would produce immediate liquidity and reduce overhead expenses, but it would also shrink the business, reducing its capacity to generate future revenue and contracting the scale that it can offer advertisers.
In November, the company announced a strategic shift in its editorial and commercial structure, in which it transitioned to selling by brand rather than as an aggregated network. Since then, three executives—chief financial officer Felicia DellaFortuna, publisher Dao Nguyen and president Marcela Martin—have left the company.
Developing paid products
The company could also consider developing paid products—part of a larger effort to monetize its existing audience more efficiently—by treating its franchises more like standalone products and converting readers into paying customers.
By operating verticals like Tasty and First We Feast as products and levying registration walls, BuzzFeed could generate reader revenue while gathering first-party data about some of its most passionate readers, said Clinch. It could then pitch those audiences to premium advertisers.
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