Part 5/8:
BuzzFeed's expansion included acquisitions of properties like Complex and the Huffington Post, intended to capitalize on digital content's virality. Yet, as growth slowed, the company's revenue largely plateaued at around $321 million in 2022—considerable for a blog but not enough to sustain its costly operations.
Most of BuzzFeed's operational costs include expensive office spaces, highly paid executives, and overstaffed operations. This overextension, combined with the declining effectiveness of their viral strategies and overreliance on affiliate links, suggests significant financial instability.