ZIFF DAVIS, INC. (ZD)

Item 2.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Information

In addition to historical information, certain statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may be forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company. These statements may include those concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business, strategy and current and future acquisitions, as well as the assumptions upon which such statements are based. These statements are based on our estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally are identified by use of the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “hopes,” “may,” “will,” “seeks,” “protects,” “potential,” “predicts,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “would,” “could,” “should,” or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including but not limited to those discussed below, the risk factors discussed in Part II, Item 1A - “Risk Factors” of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (if any) and in Part I, Item 1A - “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (together, the “Risk Factors”), the factors discussed in Part I, Item 3 in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q entitled “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk”, and any risks and uncertainties identified in our other filings with the SEC, as such risks, uncertainties and other important factors may be updated from time to time in our subsequent reports. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s opinions and speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to revise, update or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless required by law.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability and intention to:

◦Sustain growth or profitability, particularly in light of an uncertain U.S. or worldwide economy, including the possibility of an economic downturn or recession, global conflicts, continuing inflation, elevated interest rates, supply chain disruptions, increased tariffs and trade protection measures, and other factors and their related impacts on customer acquisition and retention rates, customer usage levels, and credit and debit card payment declines;

◦Maintain and increase our customer base and average revenue per customer;

◦Generate sufficient cash flow to make interest and debt payments, reinvest in our business, and pursue desired activities and business plans while satisfying restrictive covenants relating to debt obligations;

◦Acquire or divest businesses on acceptable terms, execute on our investment strategies, successfully manage our growth, and integrate and realize anticipated synergies from acquisitions;

◦Realize the anticipated benefits from the divestiture of our Connectivity business;

◦Continue to expand our businesses and operations internationally in the wake of numerous risks, including adverse currency fluctuations, difficulty in staffing and managing international operations, higher operating costs as a percentage of revenues, or the implementation of adverse regulations;

◦Maintain our financial position, operating results and cash flows in the event that we incur new or unanticipated costs or tax liabilities, including those relating to federal and state income tax and indirect taxes, such as sales, value-added, and telecommunication taxes;

◦Manage certain risks related to the unauthorized use of our content and the infringement of our intellectual property rights by developers and users of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”);

◦Prevent system failures, cybersecurity breaches, and other technological issues;

◦Achieve positive outcomes in our pending and future legal proceedings;

◦Accurately estimate the assumptions underlying our effective worldwide tax rate;

◦Maintain favorable relationships with critical third-party vendors that are financially stable;

◦Create compelling digital media content facilitating increased traffic and advertising levels and additional advertisers or an increase in advertising spend, and effectively target digital media advertisements to desired audiences;

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◦Manage certain risks inherent to our business, such as costs associated with fraudulent activity, system failure, or security breach; effectively maintaining and managing our billing systems; the time and resources required to manage our legal proceedings; liability for legal and other claims; our ability to consummate a sale of one or more of our business lines pursuant to our announced review of potential value-creating opportunities, or adhering to our internal controls and procedures;

◦Compete with other similar providers with regard to price, service, and functionality;

◦Achieve business and financial objectives in light of burdensome domestic and international telecommunications, internet, or other regulations, including regulations related to data privacy, access, security, retention, and sharing;

◦Successfully adapt to technological changes and diversify services and related revenues at acceptable levels of financial return;

◦Successfully develop and protect our intellectual property, both domestically and internationally, including our brands, content, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and domain names from infringement by third parties, and avoid infringing upon the proprietary rights of others;

◦Manage certain risks associated with environmental, social, and governance matters, including related reporting obligations, that could adversely affect our reputation and performance;

◦Recruit and retain key personnel and maintain the beneficial aspects of our corporate culture globally;

◦Meet any publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business and future operating results; and

◦Avoid disruptions to our operations, financial position, and reputation as a result of the collapse of certain banks and potentially other financial institutions.

In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements or materially impact our financial results include the risks associated with new accounting pronouncements, as well as those associated with natural disasters, public health crises, pandemics, and other catastrophic events outside of our control.

Overview

Ziff Davis, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 as a Delaware corporation through the creation of a holding company structure. Ziff Davis, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“Ziff Davis”, “the Company”, “our”, “us” or “we”), is a vertically focused digital media and internet company whose portfolio includes leading brands in technology, shopping, gaming and entertainment, health and wellness, cybersecurity, and martech. Our business specializes in the technology, shopping, gaming and entertainment, and healthcare markets, offering content, tools, and services to consumers and businesses and provides internet-delivered cloud-based services to consumers and businesses including cybersecurity, privacy, and marketing technology.

On June 17, 2026, the Company completed the sale of its Connectivity business (“Connectivity”) to Accenture Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of $1.2 billion in cash, subject to certain customary adjustments set forth in the purchase agreement. During the first quarter of 2026, the Company determined that the Sale met the held-for-sale and discontinued operations accounting criteria. The assets and liabilities of Connectivity have been classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented in accordance with ASC 205-20, Discontinued Operations as the disposition constitutes a strategic shift that will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results. Furthermore, upon reclassification of Connectivity as discontinued operations, the Company determined that Connectivity is no longer a reportable segment. Refer to Note 5 - Divestitures in Item 1 of Part I of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for further details.

Revenues Overview

The primary types of revenues that we generate are described below.

Advertising and Performance Marketing - We sell online display and video advertising on our owned-and-operated websites and applications and on third-party sites. We have contractual arrangements with advertisers either directly or through agencies. The terms of these contracts specify the price of the advertising to be sold and the volume of advertisements that will be served over the course of a campaign. Additionally, we have contractual arrangements with certain third-party websites and applications not owned by us, and third-party advertising networks to deliver online display and video advertising to their websites and applications or to third-party sites. We generate leads for advertisers, including vendors of consumer health and wellness products, consumer packaged goods, and information technology services, through various marketing methods. We also generate clicks to online merchants by listing products, deals, and discounts on our web properties, and earn a commission when customers “click-through” the ad to make a purchase.

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Subscription and Licensing - We provide cloud-based subscription services and generate “fixed” subscription revenues for customer subscriptions and, to a lesser extent, “variable” usage revenues generated from actual usage by our subscribers. We offer subscription and licensing services to businesses, including subscription packages to consumers through the Lose It! weight loss app and through Humble Bundle’s digital subscriptions and storefront for video games, ebooks, and software. We also generate revenue from the sale of perpetual software licenses, related software support, and maintenance used in conjunction with software and other related services. We license our proprietary technology, and intellectual property to third parties for various purposes.

Other - Other revenues primarily include those from online courses and revenues from a customer acquisition platform for subscription services companies.

Revenues from external customers classified by revenue source are as follows (in thousands):

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical information, the following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including but not limited to those discussed in the section titled “Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Information” and in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

Ziff Davis, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 as a Delaware corporation through the creation of a holding company structure. Ziff Davis, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“Ziff Davis”, “the Company”, “our”, “us”, or “we”), is a vertically focused digital media and internet company whose portfolio includes leading brands in technology, shopping, gaming and entertainment, health and wellness, connectivity, cybersecurity, and martech. Our business specializes in the technology, shopping, gaming and entertainment, healthcare, and connectivity markets, offering content, tools, and services to consumers and businesses and provides internet-delivered cloud-based services to consumers and businesses including cybersecurity, privacy, and marketing technology.

Segments

The Company has five operating segments which are presented as the following five reportable segments: 1) Technology & Shopping, 2) Gaming & Entertainment, 3) Health & Wellness, 4) Connectivity, and 5) Cybersecurity & Martech. Refer to Note 17 — Segment Information for additional detail.

Revenue Overview

The primary types of revenues that we generate are described below.

Advertising and Performance Marketing - We sell online display and video advertising on our owned-and-operated websites and applications and on third-party sites. We have contractual arrangements with advertisers either directly or through agencies. The terms of these contracts specify the price of the advertising to be sold and the volume of advertisements that will be served over the course of a campaign. Additionally, we have contractual arrangements with certain third-party websites and applications not owned by us, and third-party advertising networks to deliver online display and video advertising to their websites and applications or to third-party sites. We generate leads for advertisers, including vendors of consumer health and wellness products, consumer packaged goods, and information technology services, through various marketing methods. We also generate clicks to online merchants by listing products, deals, and discounts on our web properties, and earn a commission when customers “click-through” the ad to make a purchase.

Subscription and Licensing - We provide cloud-based subscription services and generate “fixed” subscription revenues for customer subscriptions and, to a lesser extent, “variable” usage revenues generated from actual usage by our subscribers. We offer subscription and licensing services to businesses, which offer up-to-date insights into global fixed broadband and mobile performance data, and we offer subscription packages to consumers through the Lose It! weight loss app and through Humble Bundle’s digital subscriptions and storefront for video games, ebooks, and software. We also generate revenue from the sale of perpetual software licenses, related software support, and maintenance used in conjunction with software and other related services. We license our proprietary technology, data, and intellectual property to third parties for various purposes.

Other - Other revenues primarily include those from the sale of hardware used in conjunction with software, online course revenues, game publishing revenues, and revenues from a customer acquisition platform for subscription services companies.

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Revenues from external customers classified by revenue source are as follows (in thousands):

(1)Amounts presented are net of inter-segment revenues.

Performance Metrics

We use certain metrics to generally assess the operational and financial performance of our businesses. These metrics are described in further detail below and are used by management in managing and monitoring the performance of each reportable segment when the respective revenues category is significant to the revenues of the reportable segment overall. For advertising and performance marketing revenues, these metrics are used for the Technology & Shopping, Gaming & Entertainment, and Health & Wellness reportable segments. For subscription and licensing revenues, these metrics are used for the Gaming & Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Connectivity, and Cybersecurity & Martech reportable segments. Since all revenues are not reflected in these metrics, management does not use these metrics on a consolidated basis to evaluate performance, but rather uses them on a reportable segment basis as shown further below.

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Advertising and Performance Marketing - For our advertising and performance marketing performance, management has identified net advertising and performance marketing revenue retention, the number of customers, and quarterly revenue per customer as relevant to investors’ and others’ assessment of our financial condition and results of operations. Net advertising and performance marketing revenue retention is an indicator of our ability to retain the spend of our existing advertisers year over year, which we view as a reflection of the effectiveness of our advertising and performance marketing platforms. Similarly, we monitor the number of our customers and the revenue per customer, as defined below, as these metrics provide further details related to our reported revenue and contribute to certain of our business planning decisions.

The following table sets forth certain key operating metrics for the advertising and performance marketing revenues based on the reportable segment for the three months ended December 31, 2025 and 2024:

(1)Net advertising and performance marketing revenue retention equals (i) the trailing twelve month revenues recognized related to prior year customers in the current year period (excluding revenues from acquisitions during the stub period) divided by (ii) the trailing twelve month revenues recognized related to prior year customers in the prior year period (excluding revenues from acquisitions during the stub period). This excludes customers that generated less than $10,000 of revenues in the measurement period.

(2)Excludes customers that generated less than $2,500 in the quarter.

(3)Represents total gross quarterly advertising and performance marketing revenues divided by customers as defined in footnote (2).

Subscription and Licensing - For our subscription and licensing performance, management has identified the number of customers and average quarterly revenue per customer as relevant to investors’ and others’ assessment of our financial condition and results of operations. We believe that the number of customers that we serve is an indicator of our customer retention and growth. We believe the average monthly revenue per customer provides insights that contribute to certain of our business planning decisions. Beginning in the first quarter of 2025, management no longer uses Subscription and Licensing churn rate in its assessment of broad performance of each reportable segment. Management no longer analyzes churn rate broadly because it believes that the number of total customers is a more meaningful reportable segment level metric due to the impact of expiring licenses on the metric. Additionally, due to the nature of certain of the Company’s services, changes in our customer base are expected and do not have significant financial implications to the Company as the Company generally does not have significant upfront customer acquisition costs for these customers.

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The following table sets forth certain key operating metrics for subscription and licensing revenues based on the reportable segment for the three months ended December 31, 2025 and 2024:

(1)    Represents the quarterly average of the end of month customer counts (rounded).

(2)    The metric includes the sale of perpetual software

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