ZDZIFF DAVIS, INC.

Telegraph & Other Message Communications

Revenue: $1.5B; 3.5% YoY
Operating margin: 12.6%; 56% YoY
EBITDA: $412M; 26% YoY
Market cap: $1.9B
Employees: 3,900; $372K revenue each
Net debt / EBITDA: -0.3×; −$144M net debt
AI in 10-K: 3.9; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 3 of 13

Fixable underperformance 0 of 7

TSR below peersNo
—
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
—
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashNo
860% of net income
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
3% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
43% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyNo
32% of assets
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
88% lowest support
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 3 of 4

Low revenue per employeeYes
$372K · 23rd pct
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
3.9 per 10K words · 78th pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashYes
Net cash · 0.3× EBITDA
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedYes
$1.9B market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 0 of 2

Active 13DNo
0 filings
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingNo
−$2M net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$1.4B	$1.4B	$1.4B	$1.4B	$1.5B	3.5%
Operating income	$167M	$199M	$133M	$114M	$183M	61%
Net income	$497M	$64M	$42M	$63M	$47M	25%
Operating cash flow	$517M	$336M	$320M	$390M	$407M	4.3%
Capex	$114M	$106M	$109M	$107M	$119M	12%
Stock-based comp	$25M	$27M	$32M	$41M	$45M	9.8%
Buybacks	$78M	$78M	$109M	$185M	$174M	6.2%
Dividends	$0	—	—	—	—

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

Filed	Filer	Form	Stake	Intent
Mar 3, 2026	Pale Fire Capital SE	SCHEDULE 13D	6.9%	Passive

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $0 · 0
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $2M · 10
Net: −$2M

Pay vs performance

No pay-versus-performance disclosure yet.