BuzzFeed sees a decline in user engagement as total revenue falls short of expectations –

After posting in the first quarter, BuzzFeed reported revenue of $91.6 million, which fell short of Wall Street expectations, and a 4% decline in user engagement.

Most of BuzzFeed’s revenue came from advertising, which generated $48.7 million. Content revenue reached $32.3 million in the quarter, with most of the increase coming from BuzzFeed’s acquisition of Complex Networks last December, executives said of the company’s earnings on Monday.

But revenue from the business fell 27% in the quarter to $10.6 million. Net loss also increased 294% as BuzzFeed reported a loss of $44.6 million for the quarter, up from $11.3 million a year ago. Like other digital pioneers, BuzzFeed has been partially affected by ongoing supply chain disruptions, according to Felicia Delafortuna, chief financial officer at BuzzFeed.

According to FactSet, the company also reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $16.8 million, slightly beating the consensus of $17.5 million.

The decrease in user engagement was due to time spent owning and operating BuzzFeed from the websites, YouTube, Apple News and Facebook, but did not include user engagement on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.

BuzzFeed shares fell about 10 percent in after-hours trading on Monday.

In a call for the company to turn a profit, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti discussed the role of short-form vertical video for BuzzFeed’s future growth, saying he expects second-quarter revenue to exceed $100 million. He also reiterated that BuzzFeed’s decision to go public would promote the company compared to other digital media companies.

“That gives us an advantage,” Peretti said. “We can navigate the turbulent market… [and] Stay away from many competitors in this space. ”