Ziff Davis (ZD) Deep Research Report: Undervalued Cash Generator or Just Another Stalled Media Roll‑Up?

Many investors recognize Ziff Davis from its brands—CNET, PCMag, IGN, Everyday Health—but not necessarily from their brokerage screen. That disconnect between consumer recognition and investor enthusiasm is exactly why we dug into the stock with a full institutional-style deep dive.

As of early 2026, Ziff Davis sits in a curious spot. The business is throwing off solid free cash flow, carrying moderate leverage, and buying back stock aggressively. Yet the shares trade at a distressed digital media multiple, below book value and around 6x EV/EBITDA, with analysts largely stuck on Hold or Reduce ratings and targets in the mid-$30s, according to recent coverage summaries (Nov–Dec 2025).

Our team at DeepValue thinks this disconnect is worth a closer look. The key question isn’t whether Ziff Davis is a “great company” in the abstract. It’s whether today’s price adequately discounts its mix of slow but steady growth, robust cash generation, and a portfolio that management is finally willing to reshape.

Before we get granular, here’s our high-level stance: Ziff Davis is a potential buy for value-oriented investors who are comfortable with execution risk and can give management 6–18 months to prove that the strategic review and capital allocation discipline are real, not just talk.

Within that context, we’ll walk through valuation, business quality, segment dynamics, market sentiment, and the specific catalysts and risk triggers we’re watching.

What does Ziff Davis actually do today?

Ziff Davis has evolved far beyond its legacy as a tech publisher. It now operates a diversified portfolio of digital media, connectivity analytics, and cybersecurity/martech businesses primarily in North America and Europe, with a global online reach. The company owns brands including CNET, PCMag, IGN, RetailMeNot, Everyday Health, Well+Good, theSkimm, Ookla (Speedtest), and VIPRE, among others.

According to the company’s corporate overview (Nov 2025), Ziff Davis monetizes these properties in several ways:

• Brand and performance advertising on owned and partner sites
• Affiliate and lead-generation fees (e.g., coupons, product recommendations)
• Subscriptions and licenses for data, cybersecurity, privacy, backup, and marketing tools

In 2024 the company shifted to a five-segment reporting structure—Technology & Shopping; Gaming & Entertainment; Health & Wellness; Connectivity; and Cybersecurity & Martech—reflecting a mix of cyclical ad-supported revenue and more recurring subscription/security streams, as laid out in the 2024 full-year results release (Feb 2025).

This structure creates strategic optionality (management can buy, sell, or spin off entire verticals) but also introduces integration and capital allocation complexity. The core reality: some segments are growing nicely and earning strong returns. Others are lagging badly.

Recent performance: slow growth, strong cash, segmented story

The headline numbers look unexciting but solid. In 2024, Ziff Davis generated:

• Revenue of $1,401.7 million, up 2.8% year over year
• Net income of $63.0 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $494.0 million
• Free cash flow of $283.7 million

Those figures, cited in the FY24 release (Feb 2025), show a company that weathered a choppy digital ad market while maintaining high margins and ample cash generation.

Through the first nine months of 2025, that momentum modestly improved:

• Revenue of $1.045 billion, up 5.6% year over year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $331.9 million, up 3.2%
• Adjusted diluted EPS of $4.12, up 1.0%

These stats come from the Q3 2025 press release (Nov 2025) and 10-Q summaries. Management is tracking toward the low end of 2025 guidance—hardly thrilling, but consistent.

The nuance hides in the segment mix:

• Health & Wellness: Grew about 12% year to date in 2025, powered by properties like Everyday Health, Well+Good, and theSkimm, plus increased investment, according to Q2 and Q3 2025 earnings releases.
• Connectivity: Delivered high single-digit revenue growth, driven by Ookla and related assets, also cited in the same releases.
• Technology & Shopping and Cybersecurity & Martech: Faced structural pressure, with impairments in Technology & Shopping and operating losses in Cybersecurity & Martech during 2025, as detailed in the Q3 2025 FilingInsight summary.

In Q3 2025 specifically, revenue was $363.7 million, up 5.6% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA margin remained robust in the low-to-mid 30s. Income from operations improved to $28.4 million from a loss the prior year, largely because goodwill impairments dropped from $85.3 million to $17.6 million, per the Q3 10-Q (Nov 2025).

From a cash perspective, Ziff Davis is still a machine. Over the trailing twelve months, free cash flow sits around $261 million, and for the first nine months of 2025, operating cash flow was $216.0 million and FCF $130.1 million after $85.9 million of capex, according to the Q3 2025 press release and balance sheet.

So when we talk about Ziff Davis as a potential value opportunity, this is the base we’re building from: modest topline growth, strong margins, heavy but mostly disciplined capital deployment, and a widening gap between cash generation and market valuation.

How is the market valuing Ziff Davis stock right now?

At around $38.22 per share (the anchor price in our report), Ziff Davis checks in at:

• Market cap: ~$1.57 billion
• Price-to-earnings: 14.3x trailing EPS of $1.42
• Price-to-book: 0.88x
• EV/EBITDA: ~6.05x
• Net debt/EBITDA: ~1.22x
• Interest coverage: ~3.45x

These figures are aggregated from Financial Modeling Prep and the Q3 2025 10-Q balance sheet.

In valuation terms, this is not how the market normally prices:

• A high-30s adjusted EBITDA margin business
• With trailing free cash flow in the ~$260 million range
• And sub-2x net leverage

Even in a structurally challenged media space, 6x EV/EBITDA and <1x book value for that cash profile signals that investors are skeptical about durability. They’re not paying for growth or for the roll‑up model. They’re paying for a slowly shrinking, cash-returning asset and applying a discount for potential missteps.

Our internal scenario work matches the company-level “one pager” from our deep research:

• Base case (45% probability): Implied value ~$38 per share, with revenue growth around 3–4%, flat to low-single-digit EBITDA growth, and free cash flow around $250–270 million.
• Bear case (30% probability): Implied value ~$32 per share, with revenue growth below 3%, EBITDA down 10–15%, and sharply reduced buybacks.
• Bull case (25% probability): Implied value ~$46 per share, with revenue growth 5–6%, EBITDA up 10–15%, and robust free cash flow plus portfolio optimization.

We view the stock as trim-above ~$46, attractive below ~$34. At current levels, the risk/reward skews slightly positive if management can sustain at least base-case outcomes.

Balance sheet and margin of safety: what’s really protecting you?

We see Ziff Davis’s margin of safety as balance-sheet- and cash-flow-driven, not as a “growth stock on sale.”

As of Q3 2025, the company held:

• Cash and equivalents: $503 million
• Long-term debt: ~ $866 million
• Shareholders’ equity: ~ $1.8 billion

Those figures are detailed in the Q3 2025 10-Q balance sheet. Net leverage stands at roughly 1.2x EBITDA, comfortably below most covenant tripwires, and Ziff Davis has an undrawn revolver with about $348.8 million of availability per the 2024 10-K liquidity discussion (2025).

On top of that:

• Trailing twelve-month free cash flow is around $261 million, as referenced on the Q3 2025 earnings call transcript (Nov 2025).
• Maintenance capex needs are relatively modest.
• The company owns numerous unencumbered brands—CNET, PCMag, IGN, Everyday Health, etc.—that retain strategic value even in a downturn.

This provides real downside cushioning. Even if growth stalls, Ziff Davis can:

• Keep servicing debt comfortably
• Keep buying back stock, at least to some degree
• Potentially monetize assets via sales or spin‑offs

Where we get more cautious is in the downside boundaries for that protection. Our thesis starts to break if any of the following conditions persist for 12–24 months, as outlined in our risk framework:

• Consolidated revenue growth drops below 3% and EBITDA stagnates or declines, undermining the 6x EBITDA valuation support.
• Cybersecurity & Martech and Technology & Shopping continue to produce operating losses and goodwill impairments, eroding book value and investors’ faith in the M&A machine, as already seen in the 2024 10-K segment note (2025).
• Free cash flow falls toward ~$150 million or lower while interest costs rise, forcing a steep cutback in buybacks and possibly pushing Ziff Davis into less attractive refinancing or distressed asset sales.

Our view: the balance sheet and cash generation are strong enough that downside to intrinsic value looks limited from here—unless operating performance decays and impairments keep piling up. This is why we stress continuous monitoring of segment profitability and capital allocation.

Is ZD stock a buy in 2026?

We think Ziff Davis is a selective buy at or below current prices for patient, value-focused investors. But that answer rests on clear expectations, not wishful thinking.

What the market is implicitly assuming, based on consensus coverage compiled from sources like TipRanks (Nov 2025) and Defense World (Dec 2025), is roughly:

• 3–5% annual revenue growth over the next 1–2 years
• EBITDA and EPS landing at the low end of 2025 guidance ranges
• Some portfolio optimization, but nothing transformative
• Ongoing but not hyper-aggressive buybacks supporting EPS

At 14x trailing EPS and 6x EV/EBITDA, you are not paying for heroic execution or double-digit growth. You are paying for:

• Mid-single-digit revenue growth
• Stable high-20s to low-30s EBITDA margins
• A management team that continues to shrink the share count and selectively recycle capital

Under those conditions, equity could compound at mid- to high-single-digit rates annually, with upside from any successful divestiture or significant re-rating toward a “safer” media/tech multiple.

Our base case assumes:

• Revenue growth around 3–4%
• Flat to modestly rising EBITDA
• Free cash flow in the $250–270 million range
• Continued buybacks at a meaningful clip

That supports fair value in the high $30s to low $40s, with upside toward mid-$40s if the strategic review leads to a high-ROIC portfolio reshuffle.

We would become more aggressive buyers if:

• The stock retested the low-$30s, boosting the free-cash-flow yield
• FY25 and initial 2026 guidance confirm at least low mid-single-digit growth and stable margins
• Management executes on one or more value-creating asset sales

Conversely, we would reconsider or reduce exposure if:

• FY25 revenues and EBITDA come in below the low end of guidance without obvious macro or regulatory shocks, as flagged in the FY24 guidance framework (Feb 2025).
• Cybersecurity & Martech posts operating losses for three or more consecutive quarters through Q3 2026.
• The strategic review concludes by late 2026 with no meaningful portfolio action, signaling management’s unwillingness or inability to pull the harder value‑unlock levers.

Will Ziff Davis deliver long-term growth?

The long-term growth question is really a portfolio mix question.

Management’s stated “big bets,” outlined in the FY24 results and subsequent conference appearances, are:

• A “programmatic” M&A strategy in vertical media, connectivity, and cybersecurity/martech to maintain mid-single-digit revenue growth and high-30s adjusted EBITDA margins.
• Building AI-enabled tools across health, wellness, gaming, and marketing to drive engagement and monetization, as discussed on the Q3 2025 earnings call (Nov 2025).
• Exploring portfolio optimization, including potential sale or spin-off of entire divisions, as disclosed in the Q3 2025 press release (Nov 2025).

The opportunity lies in tilting the mix toward structurally growing, recurring, and data-driven franchises, particularly:

• Health & Wellness — Everyday Health, Well+Good, and theSkimm have benefitted from structural growth in online health info and wellness content. These properties grew 12%+ in 2025 year to date, according to Q2 and Q3 2025 updates.
• Connectivity — Ookla’s Speedtest and related tools enjoy global brand recognition and recurring demand from telecoms, regulators, and enterprises. This segment grew high single digits in 2025, also cited in the same reports.

Medium term (6–18 months), we’re watching whether:

• 2025 acquisitions—such as theSkimm, Well+Good, Forensic and Compliance Systems, Email Industries, Semantic Labs, Etrality, and Maxroll—meet or exceed expectations on growth and margins versus their purchase prices. These deals are detailed in Q1, Q2, and Q3 M&A press releases (2025).
• Health & Wellness can sustain low-double-digit growth into 2026 and Connectivity can at least maintain high-single-digit growth to offset drag from Gaming & Entertainment and Cybersecurity & Martech.

Longer term (2–5 years), the bullish case is that Ziff Davis successfully:

1. Migrates its revenue mix further towards subscription, data, and security/martech streams that deserve something closer to a SaaS multiple, as hinted in the Q3 2025 MD&A.

2. Executes portfolio changes that prune structurally weak segments and recycle capital into higher-ROIC properties.

3. Maintains high-20s to low-30s adjusted EBITDA margins while compounding revenue at mid-single digits, validating the vertical roll‑up model.

We don’t think Ziff Davis is on a path to becoming a high-growth SaaS darling. But we do think a steady, capital-efficient compounder is plausible if management leans into its strengths (SEO-rich vertical media, connectivity data, health platforms) and gets more disciplined about laggards.

Strategic review and capital allocation: talk vs. action

Ziff Davis has been an active capital allocator for over a decade, with more than 90 acquisitions since 2012, including CNET and TDS Gift Cards in 2024 and seven “tuck-in” deals across key segments in 2025. This acquisition history is summarized in the 2025 M&A press releases.

On the capital returns side, the company has leaned heavily on buybacks:

• From 2020 through September 2025, Ziff Davis repurchased 11.77 million shares for $693.5 million under a 2020 authorization expanded to 15 million shares and extended to 2029, according to Note 10 of the Q3 2025 10-Q.
• That shrank the diluted share count from roughly 47 million to around 42 million, while TTM free cash flow remained sturdy.
• In 2024 alone, the company spent $185.2 million on buybacks, $217.6 million on acquisitions, and $135.0 million on debt repayment, per the FY24 release (Feb 2025).

The upside of this approach: shareholders have been rewarded with significant per-share value support even as operating growth lagged. The downside: some of the M&A dollars clearly went into assets that later needed impairments, particularly in Technology & Shopping (with $56.9 million impaired in 2023 and $85.3 million in 2024), as documented in the 2024 10-K segment notes (2025).

What’s different now is the formal strategic review and the willingness to discuss outright asset sales or spin‑offs. Management brought in outside advisors in 2025 to explore “value-creating opportunities” and portfolio optimization, as disclosed in the Q3 2025 press release (Nov 2025) and echoed in coverage like TipRanks (Nov 2025).

For investors, the scorecard here is simple:

• Positive: Management has preserved a strong balance sheet, weathered a tough ad cycle, and returned a lot of capital while keeping net leverage manageable.
• Negative: Persistent laggards and large impairments show that acquisition underwriting has been uneven, and the most value-destructive segments have taken too long to address.

We believe the next 6–18 months will be critical in establishing whether the strategic review is truly a catalyst or just signaling. We’re looking for at least one signed divestiture of a full segment or large business line at a reasonable multiple. If those proceeds are then used to either:

• Deleverage;
• Accelerate buybacks at attractive valuations; or
• Fund higher-ROIC acquisitions in Health & Wellness or Connectivity,

then the stock’s discount could narrow meaningfully.

Read our AI-powered value investing guide if you want to see how tools like DeepValue can help you quickly compare capital allocation track records and scenario outcomes across multiple potential investments without spending days per ticker.

Key risks: what could break the thesis?

We always force ourselves to articulate what has to go right—and what could go wrong—before we call any stock a buy.

For Ziff Davis, our top thesis breakers are:

• Failure to hit even low-end guidance. If FY25 revenue growth comes in below 3% and adjusted EBITDA fails to match or exceed the $494 million generated in 2024 (barring clear macro shocks), it suggests the portfolio cannot sustain even modest growth.
• Structural losses in Cybersecurity & Martech. If this segment posts operating losses for at least three consecutive quarters through Q3 2026, we’d see it as evidence that Ziff Davis lacks the scale or differentiation to compete profitably in that vertical, aligning with concerns raised in the Q3 2025 segment analysis.
• Strategic review with no substance. If by Q4 2026 management concludes the review without meaningful divestitures or restructuring, while Technology & Shopping and Cybersecurity & Martech continue to underperform, that would tell us the roll‑up model has stalled and management is reluctant to reset.

We also watch several early warning indicators, including:

• Revenue declines at flagship properties like CNET, PCMag, Everyday Health, and RetailMeNot, which might appear in commentary in quarterly releases such as the Q2 and Q3 2025 PRs.
• A sharp slowdown in share repurchases over multiple quarters despite stable free cash flow and leverage, as detailed in the repurchase tables in the 10-Qs and 10-Ks.
• New large goodwill impairments in Technology & Shopping or Cybersecurity & Martech—say >5% of annual revenue—signaling another round of overestimated long-term economics, as previously disclosed in the 2024 10-K (2025).

Investors who monitor these markers can adjust position sizing well before the market fully prices in either a thesis break or a positive inflection.

How we’d approach Ziff Davis as investors

Putting it all together, here’s how we at DeepValue would translate this analysis into a practical playbook:

• Position sizing: Treat ZD as a medium-conviction value idea rather than a core holding—our internal conviction score is around 3.5/5. The upside is real, but so is the execution risk.
• Entry points: We see current prices around the high $30s as reasonable for gradual accumulation, with more aggressive buying if the stock dips into the low $30s without a deterioration in fundamentals.
• Trim levels: If the shares rally toward the mid-$40s (our bull-case value around $46), we’d likely begin trimming, especially if the valuation lift comes without clear progress on divestitures or segment cleanup.
• Time horizon: Give management 6–18 months to reveal whether the strategic review, selective M&A, and continued buybacks can collectively unlock value. This ties directly into milestones like FY25 results and 2026 guidance (expected Feb 2026), as well as any major asset sale announcements.

Ultimately, Ziff Davis is not a “set it and forget it” compounder yet. It is a cash-generative roll‑up trading at an undemanding multiple, with a credible path to better outcomes but a real risk that underperforming segments continue to bleed.

For investors willing to monitor the story closely—and to be honest about thesis breaks—ZD offers an interesting asymmetry: a decent margin of safety backed by cash and assets, with underappreciated optionality from portfolio moves.

Sources

• Ziff Davis 10-K (2025)
• Ziff Davis 10-Q (Q3 2025)
• Ziff Davis 8-K (Dec 10, 2025)
• Ziff Davis DEF 14A (2025 Proxy Statement)
• Ziff Davis corporate overview, Nov 2025
• Ziff Davis FY24 results and 2025 guidance, Feb 2025
• Ziff Davis Q2 2025 earnings release, Aug 2025
• Ziff Davis Q3 2025 earnings release, Nov 2025
• FilingInsight Q3 2025 summary
• Ziff Davis Q1 2025 M&A PR
• Ziff Davis Q2 2025 M&A PR
• Ziff Davis Q3 2025 M&A PR
• Ziff Davis Q3 2025 earnings call transcript, Investing.com
• TipRanks coverage of Q3 2025 results
• AAII analysis of ZD stock performance, Dec 2025
• Defense World analyst rating summaries, 2025
• StockAnalysis overview of ZD, Jan 2026
• MarketBeat FY25 guidance update, Aug 2025
• Ainvest coverage of FY25 guidance raise, Aug 2025
• Axios on G/O Media asset sales, Jul 2025
• The Verge on CNET layoffs, Jul 2025