BuzzFeed's big year: Listicles and crazy quizzes have paid off as BuzzFeed targets a $1.5bn valuation in SPAC deal

6/24/21 8:00PM

Almost 15 years since its founding BuzzFeed, the home of internet quizzes, listicles and insane clickbait, is going to join the public markets by virtue of a SPAC (learn more about SPACs here).

For BuzzFeed this is a big moment. Once heralded as the next big thing in digital media, the company has had tough years as the stream of traffic from social media giants became less reliable, and advertisers increasingly wanted the precision targeted advertising that Facebook and Google were able to offer.

Nevertheless this deal is set to value BuzzFeed at a cool $1.5bn — down just slightly on its $1.7bn valuation from 2016 — and if BuzzFeed's own forecasts are to be believed then the company is set to go on a tear. As part of the deal BuzzFeed is set to acquire Complex, and management are hoping to more than double revenues by 2024, by growing its direct commerce business significantly.

‍Clickbait... and Pulitzer

‍Although BuzzFeed is best known for its clickbait listicles and obscenely silly quizzes such as "Build A Nacho Plate That'll Have Your Mouth Watering And We'll Reveal What Your Engagement Ring Will Look Like" — which is a real quiz that we found in 10 seconds on their website — more recently BuzzFeed has been doing some serious journalism.

Two weeks ago BuzzFeed News, the sister site of BuzzFeed, won what is arguably the highest honor in journalism — a Pulitzer Prize. The award came for BuzzFeed's series of articles that used satellite imagery and in-person interviews to expose the infrastructure that was detaining hundreds of thousands of Muslims in China's Xinjiang region.

‍BuzzFeed is growing up (kinda) — but can it live up to those lofty forecasts? Time will tell.

Hyunsoo Rim

appy birthday

4/1/26

Apple is turning 50 today and it doesn’t look a thing like its younger self

From Macs to iPods, iPhones, and now services, here’s how Apple’s business has looked every 10 years.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones3/31/26

Max Knoblauch3/30/26

JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.