Ziff Davis

Advertising Agencies · Communication Services

Price

$56.08

+0.68 (+1.23%)

Market Cap

$2.07B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Good

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Good

Valuation

Good

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Share count falling — buybacks

−14.1% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 47.9M (2021) → 41.1M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Ziff Davis is a digital media and technology company that owns a large collection of websites and online brands. Its properties cover topics like technology reviews (CNET, PCMag, Mashable), health and wellness (Everyday Health, Verywell), gaming (IGN, Humble Bundle), and cybersecurity software (IPVanish, Ekahau). The company sells advertising, software subscriptions, and digital content to consumers and businesses across these categories.

Ziff Davis makes most of its money through digital advertising on its high-traffic websites, plus subscription revenue from its cybersecurity and software products. It operates primarily in the United States but has some international reach through its gaming and tech brands. Its main competitive advantage is owning trusted, well-known brand names that attract large audiences without needing to pay for traffic. The biggest risk the company faces is the ongoing decline in digital advertising spending and the growing threat from AI-powered search tools, which could reduce the number of people visiting its websites for information.

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Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

84.1%

Premium pricing power — 84.1% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

-15.6%

Losing money on operations — -15.6%

Return on the money invested

ROCE

2.6%

Weak — 2.6% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

-8.5%

Shrinking sales (-8.5% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

>+1,000%

Earnings growing fast (>+1,000% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

5/8 quarters

Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

70%

Modest — 70% of profit becomes cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

23.9%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (23.9%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.39

Conservative — low debt load (0.39)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

1.58x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.6x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

3.2x

Attractive valuation — P/E 3.2

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

-7.5

SLOWING

Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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