Former President Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial Continues In New York

Vivek Ramaswamy (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

3 theories on why Vivek Ramaswamy is buying up BuzzFeed

Maybe the media company is his answer to Truth Social?

5/22/24 5:35PM

If you asked me, like, eight months ago, what would be the funniest activist investment into a struggling public company, I think “Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy making a strategic investment in BuzzFeed” would have been a top five answer.

This morning, we got to see that fantasy come to life, as former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he had taken an activist stake in BuzzFeed, acquiring 2.7 million shares between $1.47 and $2.51 per share, and call options representing an additional 210,000 shares with a $2 strike price.

The filing’s Purpose of Transaction states that, “The Reporting Person (Vivek) will seek to engage in a dialogue with the Issuer's Board of Directors (the "Board") and/or management about numerous operational and strategic opportunities to maximize shareholder value, including a shift in the Company's strategy.”

My question is, what strategic opportunity is Vivek considering at this point?

An timeline of the events that led us here:

June 2021: BuzzFeed announced that it was going public through a $1.5 billion reverse merger with a SPAC in June 2021, and it was acquiring Complex Networks for $300 million ($200 million in cash, and $100 million in BuzzFeed equity).

December 2021: Days before BuzzFeed went public, 94% of the SPAC’s sponsors redeemed their shares. In SPAC deals, investors can redeem their shares for $10 cash before the deal closes, leaving BuzzFeed with just $16 million in cash in the SPAC’s trust, as well as a $150 million convertible note that it raised to help fund the Complex acquisition.

April 2023: BuzzFeed shut down its BuzzFeed News arm, and the company laid off 180 employees.

June 2023: BuzzFeed received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, as its stock price was floundering below $1.

February 2024: BuzzFeed sold Complex for $108.6 million, or roughly one third of its purchase price, and used about $66 million of the cash to pay off a revolving credit facility and redeem a portion of its convertible notes due in 2026.

And, according to their Q1 earnings report released 9 days ago, BuzzFeed lost $27 million on $45 million in revenue. The outlook isn’t good!

Of course, these are rookie loss numbers for recently IPO’d media companies. Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, disclosed a net loss of over $327 million in Q1, on total revenue of $770,500.

I have three hypotheses:

Vivek has a plausible vision to return BuzzFeed to its former glory.
Vivek thinks he has a plausible vision to return BuzzFeed to its former glory, but the company is probably cooked.
After a poor finish in the Republican primaries, Vivek decided to emulate Trump to prepare for a 2028 run, and, as part of the decision, he found it necessary to, like Trump, own a large stake in a publicly traded media company.

Whatever the reason, Vivek’s purchase inspired investor confidence, with BuzzFeed finishing the day up 20%.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”