--- title: "BuzzFeed Stock in Free Fall as Pivot to AI Blows Up in Its Face" description: "BuzzFeed has yet to rescue itself. A brief glimpse at its share price paints a horrifying picture, as the stock continues to plummet." date: "2026-11-05" modified: "2026-11-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/buzzfeed-stock-free-fall-pivot-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" --- # BuzzFeed Stock in Free Fall as Pivot to AI Blows Up in Its Face ![A photo illustration of former BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.]() *Jason Bollenbacher/Getty/Futurism* In March, legacy content farm *BuzzFeed* [conceded]() that there was "substantial doubt" about its "ability to continue" doing business. At the time, the company was reporting a net loss of $57.3 million for 2025, suggesting former CEO Jonah Peretti's [controversial decision]() to double down on AI content had officially blown up in his face. Months later, it's looking like *BuzzFeed*'s fears are coming true. A brief glimpse at its stock price this morning paints a horrifying picture \[nice\] after its grim Q3 earnings report: its stock price fell off a cliff, sinking to $0.57 from a high of $2.09 earlier this year — a nausea-inducing 38 percent drop in a single morning. The company's earnings per share (EPS) of negative $0.22, 13 cents worse than analysts' already-gloomy expectations, clearly had investors spooked. That's despite drumming up some muted enthusiasm back in May, after TV personality Byron Allen's family affiliate company [bought a majority stake in *BuzzFeed*](). Peretti, who has for years been singing the praises of AI and [announced a slew of ill-conceived apps]() powered by the tech, came away with the flashy new title of "president of *BuzzFeed* AI." "Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of *BuzzFeed* and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content," Allen, who owns 13 network affiliate TV stations, proudly announced at the time. "As of this moment, with the power of AI, *BuzzFeed* is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service." Establishing a free video streaming service at a time when even Google is [admitting that ad revenues are plummeting thanks to AI]() takes some chutzpah, to say the least. But considering that *BuzzFeed* continues to hemorrhage money — it [laid off 33 percent of its remaining staff]() roughly two months after Allen took over — it feels more like *BuzzFeed* is chasing MySpace, straight into the abyss. *BuzzFeed* first started embracing AI back in 2023 after the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, using the tech to roll out [forgettable quizzes]() and strange [AI-generated travel guides]() that caught a world of flak. Since then, there's never been a moment when the gamble hasn't felt like a major unforced error. In May, shortly after Byron's acquisition, Peretti [sat down with *The Verge*]() for an interview in which he enthused that AI was the thing he was "most passionate about." He claimed that there was a "shift" in digital media "where AI is going to start creating a new medium for content that wasn’t really possible before." Needless to say, we haven't seen any evidence of that yet. **More on BuzzFeed:** [*BuzzFeed Lays Off 33 Percent of Remaining Staff After Bizarre Pivot to AI*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [BuzzFeed Lays Off 33 Percent of Remaining Staff After Bizarre Pivot to AI]() - [BuzzFeed Sells “Hot Ones” as It Pivots to AI-Generated Content]() - [BuzzFeed Says AI Will “Replace the Majority of Static Content”]() - [What Happened After BuzzFeed’s Pivot to AI: Catastrophic Stock Collapse]() - [BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI]() - [Crowd’s Reaction to BuzzFeed’s New AI App: Uncomfortable Laughter]() - [BuzzFeed AI Struggles to Recommend Recipe for Laid-Off Journalists]() - [BuzzFeed Says Its AI Is Outperforming Its Pesky Human Employees]()