Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) has roots stretching back to 1927, but how does a nearly century-old media company remain a powerhouse in 2025, especially with a market capitalization of roughly $1.33 billion? It's not just about PCMag and IGN anymore; their strategic shift into high-growth areas like Health & Wellness is paying off, with that segment alone seeing 13% top-line growth in the third quarter of 2025. As the company reaffirms its full-year 2025 revenue guidance of up to $1.5 billion, you have to ask: is this digital media conglomerate's stock trading at a defintely attractive discount, or are the risks from search volatility too high to ignore?

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) History

You're looking at a company that's been through more reinventions than a Hollywood star, but the core lesson is always the same: adapt or die. Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) isn't just a digital media giant; it's a nearly century-old case study in strategic pivots, moving from hobbyist print magazines to a diversified, high-margin digital portfolio spanning technology, gaming, and health.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company was initially established in 1927, though it officially became the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company in 1936.

Original location

The original publishing company was founded in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Founding team members

The company was founded by William Bernard Ziff Sr., who had an advertising background, and Bernard George Davis, who was a photography and editing enthusiast.

Initial capital/funding

Specific details on the initial capital or funding from the 1927 founding are not widely available in historical records, but the foundation was William B. Ziff Sr.'s successful advertising agency, the William B. Ziff Company, established in 1920.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's history is a masterclass in strategic portfolio management, consistently shedding legacy assets to focus on high-growth, high-margin digital businesses. To be fair, this constant restructuring is why the company is still relevant today.

• The Tech Pivot (1980s): The decision to sell off consumer and business magazines in 1984 to focus almost entirely on computer magazines, solidified by the 1982 acquisition of PC Magazine, was the first major transformation. This move established Ziff Davis as the defintely dominant media authority in the personal computing boom.
• The Digital Leap (1990s): Launching ZiffNet in 1991 and later ZDNet in 1994 was a crucial, early recognition that content consumption was moving online. This digital groundwork allowed the company to survive the later decline of print media.
• The Rebranding and M&A Engine (Post-2012): The acquisition by J2 Global in 2012, and the subsequent 2021 rebrand back to Ziff Davis, Inc., marked the shift to an aggressive, acquisition-led growth strategy (M&A). The company has completed 97 acquisitions from 2013 through September 2025, deploying $3.3 billion in M&A spend to build its current portfolio of brands. This strategy is clearly paying off, with the company reaffirming its fiscal year 2025 Revenue guidance midpoint at $1.472 billion and Adjusted EBITDA guidance midpoint at $523 million.

If you want to dive deeper into how this strategy impacts the balance sheet, you should read Breaking Down Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Ownership Structure

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) is a company overwhelmingly controlled by institutional money, a common structure for a publicly traded digital media and internet company of its size, with the top two institutional investors alone holding over a quarter of the shares. This heavy institutional ownership means that major strategic decisions are defintely driven by the interests of large asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard.

Ziff Davis's Current Status

Ziff Davis, Inc. is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol ZD. As of November 2025, the company has a market capitalization of approximately $1.22 Billion USD, reflecting its standing as a mid-cap player in the digital media space. The company recently reaffirmed its guidance for fiscal year 2025, projecting revenues between $1,442 million and $1,502 million and Adjusted EBITDA between $505 million and $542 million. This public status allows for capital raising and provides liquidity, but it also subjects the company to the constant scrutiny and governance demands of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its massive institutional shareholder base.

Ziff Davis's Ownership Breakdown

The company's ownership structure is highly concentrated in the hands of institutional investors, who collectively hold the vast majority of outstanding shares. This structure dictates that Ziff Davis's stock performance is highly sensitive to the portfolio decisions of these large funds, so you need to keep a close eye on their 13F filings. Here's the quick math on who holds the equity as of late 2025 filings:

What this estimate hides is the power dynamic: BlackRock and Vanguard, as passive index fund giants, hold significant sway over corporate governance matters like board elections and executive compensation, despite not being 'activist' investors.

Ziff Davis's Leadership

The management team is seasoned, with an average tenure of 5.5 years, which provides stability but also suggests a consistent strategic direction. The leadership is organized around the company's vertically focused digital media segments, which is a smart way to manage their diverse portfolio of brands from IGN to Everyday Health.

• Vivek R. Shah: President, CEO, and Director. He is the central figure, having led the company since 2018 and directly owns a stake in the company.
• Bret Richter: Chief Financial Officer. He leads the worldwide finance and accounting organization, a critical role given the company's active M&A strategy.
• Steven Horowitz: President, Technology & Shopping.
• Nathaniel Simmons: President, Cybersecurity & Martech.
• Dan Stone: President, Everyday Health Group. This segment showed strong growth in Q3 2025, with 13% top-line growth and 18% Adjusted EBITDA growth.
• Yael Prough: President, Gaming & Entertainment.
• J.T. Farley: Director of Investor Relations. Appointed in October 2025 to manage communication with the investment community.

If you want to dive deeper into the financial performance that this team is delivering, you can check out Breaking Down Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. Your next step should be to look at the recent Q3 2025 earnings call transcripts to hear the CEO's commentary on the exploration of potential divestitures or a sale, which is a major near-term catalyst.

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Mission and Values

Ziff Davis, Inc. is a digital media powerhouse whose mission extends beyond its projected 2025 revenue of up to $1,502 million; it is fundamentally about empowering individuals and businesses to navigate the digital world safely. The company's core values-Integrity, Innovation, Collaboration, and Excellence-form the cultural DNA that drives its strategic focus on high-growth areas like cybersecurity and health & wellness.

Given Company's Core Purpose

The company's purpose is rooted in being a trusted, innovative provider of digital content and services, a commitment that is clearly reflected in its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. This focus helps them achieve a strong MSCI 'AA' rating, which defintely matters to institutional investors.

Ziff Davis, Inc. formalizes its broader purpose through its Five Pillars of Purpose, which guide business decisions from product development to community engagement:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Community
• Data Privacy and Security
• Governance

This shows their thinking is long-term: better governance and data security reduce risk, which supports the overall financial health of the business. You can dive deeper into that analysis in Breaking Down Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Official mission statement

Ziff Davis, Inc.'s mission is to deliver cutting-edge digital media and internet solutions that empower individuals and businesses to thrive in a connected world. This mission is a direct reflection of their vertically focused portfolio, which spans technology, shopping, gaming, health, connectivity, cybersecurity, and martech.

The mission translates into clear, actionable goals:

• Provide trusted and innovative digital content and services.
• Deliver top-notch cybersecurity solutions to protect customer data and privacy.
• Empower individuals and businesses with the tools and knowledge for success.

Vision statement

The company's vision is to be the leading digital media and internet company in the cybersecurity and connectivity space. This is a specific, market-driven goal, not just a vague aspiration.

The vision is actively supported by their aggressive Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) program, which has seen over $3 billion in capital deployed since 2013. For example, their Q2 2025 acquisitions included Forensic and Compliance Systems and Email Industries, directly strengthening their cybersecurity and martech offerings.

It's a simple, but powerful goal: dominate the high-value, high-growth digital security and connection markets.

Given Company slogan/tagline

Ziff Davis, Inc. does not promote a single, public-facing corporate slogan or tagline, preferring to let its diverse portfolio of brands speak for themselves. Instead of a catchy phrase, the company's core values and Five Pillars of Purpose serve as the de facto internal and external statement of intent.

The company's actions, like generating $108.2 million in free cash flow in Q3 2025, speak louder than any slogan. They focus on measurable impact through their commitment to ethical business practices and a diverse, inclusive organization.

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) How It Works

Ziff Davis, Inc. operates as a vertically focused digital media and internet company, generating revenue by connecting high-intent audiences-from consumers to IT professionals-with advertisers and subscription services across its diverse portfolio of brands. It works by creating high-quality, authoritative content and tools, then monetizing that engagement through performance marketing and subscriptions, all while maintaining a robust gross margin of around 86.4%.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

Given Company's Operational Framework

The operational model for Ziff Davis is built on a dual-engine approach: driving high-margin organic growth through content and subscriptions, and executing disciplined, value-accretive tuck-in acquisitions (M&A). Here's the quick math on how the model is performing: the company projects fiscal year 2025 revenues between $1.44 billion and $1.5 billion.

• Content-to-Commerce Funnel: The company uses its high-authority content brands (like PCMag) to attract large, high-intent audiences. This audience is then directed to performance-marketing assets (like RetailMeNot) or subscription services, converting traffic into revenue.
• Revenue Diversification: Revenue streams are split between Advertising and Performance Marketing, which grew 5.9% year-over-year in Q3 2025, and Subscription and Licensing, which grew 2%. This balance helps offset volatility in the ad market.
• Strategic M&A and Integration: Ziff Davis actively uses acquisitions to enter new verticals or deepen existing market penetration, like the Q2 2025 acquisition of Well+Good in the Health & Wellness space. They deploy capital for this, having invested $67.3 million in M&A year-to-date through Q3 2025.
• Capital Allocation: Management is defintely focused on shareholder returns, deploying nearly 85% of its year-to-date free cash flow-which was $261.2 million for the trailing 12 months as of Q3 2025-into share repurchases.

If you want to dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of their profitability, you should read Breaking Down Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

The company's primary edge comes from its portfolio of established, high-domain-authority brands, which is a powerful moat against new digital competitors and search engine volatility. You can't just replicate a 20-year-old brand overnight.

• Brand Authority and Trust: Long-standing, trusted brands like PCMag and Mashable maintain high organic search rankings, providing a stable, low-cost source of qualified traffic. This is critical in a world of increasing search volatility.
• Vertical Focus and High Margins: By focusing on specific, high-value verticals-especially Health & Wellness and Connectivity-the company achieves better monetization. Its overall adjusted EBITDA margin was a strong 34.1% in Q3 2025.
• AI Integration: Ziff Davis is actively integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations, launching products like Halo and Imagine to enhance ad targeting and provide deeper audience insights, which improves ad yield and operational efficiency.
• Financial Strength: The company's ability to generate significant free cash flow-$108.2 million in Q3 2025 alone-gives it the flexibility to fund its M&A strategy and aggressive share repurchase program.

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) How It Makes Money

Ziff Davis, Inc. generates revenue primarily by operating a diversified portfolio of digital media and internet services, essentially working as a two-sided business: they sell audience attention and performance leads to advertisers, and they sell recurring software subscriptions to both consumers and businesses. The company's financial engine is built on two core models: high-margin digital advertising and stable, predictable subscription revenue.

Ziff Davis's Revenue Breakdown

As of late 2025, Ziff Davis's revenue is split roughly 60/40 between advertising and subscriptions, a balance that gives the company both high-growth potential and structural stability. Management has indicated that approximately 60% of the company's revenue comes from advertising and performance marketing, with the remaining 40% from subscription and licensing services. This is defintely a key point of stability.

The Advertising and Performance Marketing segment, which includes brands like IGN and RetailMeNot, saw strong momentum in 2025, with revenue growth accelerating to 15.5% year-over-year in Q2 2025. The Subscription and Licensing business, which includes services like Ookla (Speedtest) and its Cybersecurity offerings, showed a recovery, moving from a 2.0% decline in Q1 to a 5% increase in Q2 2025, proving its resilience. For a deeper dive into the capital structure, you should check out Exploring Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Business Economics

The company's economic model is a classic digital media hybrid, blending high-volume advertising with recurring subscription cash flows. The key is that the digital media brands act as a top-of-funnel engine, attracting millions of users who can then be monetized through both advertising and subscription offers.

• Advertising and Performance Marketing: This revenue is generated through a mix of display advertising (priced on a CPM, or Cost Per Mille, basis-meaning cost per thousand views), and performance marketing (CPA/CPC models). For example, the Health & Wellness segment, which is a major driver here, operates as a pharma commercialization business, helping pharmaceutical companies drive prescription lift and adherence, a high-value B2B service.
• Subscription and Licensing: This is a more predictable revenue stream, primarily driven by fixed customer subscription fees for software and services. This includes cybersecurity products like StrongVPN and B2B software solutions like Ekahau for Wi-Fi network design, which benefit from high renewal rates. Ookla's Speedtest data is also licensed to carriers and enterprises, providing a stable, high-margin data revenue stream.
• Gross Margin Strength: The digital nature of the business results in a phenomenal gross margin of 86.4% as of November 2025, meaning the cost to deliver the service is very low relative to the revenue generated. That's a massive competitive advantage.

Ziff Davis's Financial Performance

Ziff Davis, Inc. has demonstrated a stable financial profile in 2025, characterized by modest top-line growth and strong profitability metrics, even while navigating macroeconomic headwinds and exploring potential divestitures of certain divisions.

• Full-Year Revenue: The company reaffirmed its fiscal year 2025 revenue guidance, projecting a midpoint of approximately $1.47 billion. This is consistent with market expectations and shows a commitment to growth, albeit one driven largely by strategic acquisitions rather than purely organic expansion.
• Profitability Metrics: The business is highly profitable on an adjusted basis. The full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) guidance midpoint stands at $523.5 million. This translates to a strong Adjusted EBITDA margin in the mid-30s.
• Earnings Per Share (EPS): For the full year 2025, Adjusted diluted EPS guidance is projected at a midpoint of $6.96. The Q3 2025 Adjusted EPS came in at $1.76, hitting the consensus estimate.
• Balance Sheet Health: The balance sheet is stable, with a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, suggesting the company maintains sufficient liquidity to cover its short-term liabilities. The company has been actively deploying capital, using approximately 85% of its cash flow in the first nine months of 2025 for stock buybacks, a clear signal of management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Market Position & Future Outlook

Ziff Davis, Inc. is a diversified digital media and internet services company, currently navigating a strategic review to unlock shareholder value and address a significant disconnect between its intrinsic value and market capitalization. The company's future trajectory hinges on successfully divesting non-core assets while continuing to drive double-digit growth in its high-margin Health & Wellness and Connectivity segments, which are the clear stars of the portfolio.

The company is projecting full-year 2025 revenue to land between $1.44 billion and $1.5 billion, with the midpoint at $1.47 billion, reflecting modest growth despite headwinds in digital advertising. This is a solid, diversified foundation, but the market is still waiting for sustained organic growth outside of acquisitions.

Competitive Landscape

Ziff Davis operates in a highly fragmented digital media and B2B technology market. While its overall market share in the massive global digital advertising space is small-less than 1%-its competitive advantage comes from dominant positions in niche verticals like health media (Everyday Health Group) and connectivity testing (Speedtest by Ookla), plus its extensive portfolio of owned and operated (O&O) web traffic, which provides valuable first-party data.

Opportunities & Challenges

As a seasoned analyst, I see Ziff Davis's strategic review as a necessary step to close the valuation gap, which currently sees the stock trading at roughly three to four times EBITDA. The key is executing a clean separation of the fast-growing, high-margin segments from the more volatile ones.

Industry Position

Ziff Davis is a middle-tier powerhouse in the digital content and services ecosystem, positioned as a diversified holding company of niche leaders rather than a single-platform giant. Its strength lies in its portfolio's defensive nature, with a significant portion of revenue coming from subscriptions and licensing, which grew 2% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

• High-Margin Segments: The Health & Wellness and Connectivity segments boast high margins, with the Connectivity division operating at a 50% margin, making them attractive core assets.
• Disciplined Capital Allocation: Management has been aggressive with share repurchases, deploying nearly 85% of free cash flow for buybacks through the first nine months of 2025, signaling confidence in the undervaluation.
• Cash Flow Generation: The company generated strong free cash flow of $108.2 million in Q3 2025, a 35% increase year-over-year, providing capital for M&A and buybacks.

The strategic review is a clear signal that management is serious about addressing the market's skepticism. For a deeper dive into who is buying and selling, check out Exploring Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Here's the quick math: The Health & Wellness segment's 18% adjusted EBITDA growth in Q3 2025 is a clear indicator of where the focus should be, even as the company invests $70 million in M&A year-to-date to bolster other areas. What this estimate hides is the potential one-time boost to capital from any major divestiture, which could be a game-changer for debt reduction or further buybacks.