Ziff Davis, Inc.
Nasdaq-listed digital media and internet company owning IGN, CNET, PCMag, Mashable, Everyday Health, Ookla, and RetailMeNot, headquartered in New York.
Company Type
public
Founded
1995
Headquarters
New York, New York, USA
Stock
NASDAQ: ZD
Revenue
$1.45 billion (FY2025)
Employees
Approximately 3,900
Primary Market
Global
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About Ziff Davis, Inc.
Is Ziff Davis publicly traded?
Yes. Ziff Davis, Inc. trades on Nasdaq under the ticker ZD. It has been public since its 1999 IPO as j2 Global.
Who owns Ziff Davis?
Ziff Davis is a public company owned by institutional investors and other shareholders. No single holder controls it. Vivek Shah is CEO.
Does Ziff Davis own IGN?
Yes. Ziff Davis owns IGN through its subsidiary IGN Entertainment, acquired in 2013 when the company was still named j2 Global.
What was j2 Global?
j2 Global was the former name of Ziff Davis, Inc., a cloud services company founded in 1995 that accumulated digital media properties over two decades. It adopted the Ziff Davis name in October 2021 after buying the publishing brand in 2012.
How much revenue does Ziff Davis make?
Ziff Davis reported revenue of $1.45 billion for fiscal 2025, up 3.5 percent, with adjusted EBITDA of $495.1 million and net income of $47.4 million.
Why is Ziff Davis cutting staff?
Google referral traffic to its sites fell more than 50 percent over two years as AI search features absorbed clicks, and gaming advertising weakened. The company ran cost programs in 2025 and 2026 that produced layoffs across IGN, CNET, and other properties.
History of Ziff Davis, Inc.
Jaye Muller and Jack Rieley founded JFax in 1995 around a simple product: receiving faxes by email. The company, renamed j2 Global, listed on Nasdaq in 1999 and grew through the 2000s on subscription communications services like eFax.
The pivot to media began in 2012 with the acquisition of the Ziff Davis digital publishing assets for about $167 million, bringing PCMag and related titles. j2 Global then accumulated properties steadily: IGN in 2013, Everyday Health in 2016, and a stream of deals that made media the larger half of the business by the late 2010s.
The transformation completed between 2020 and 2021. j2 Global acquired Mashable's assets, RetailMeNot, and Ookla, spun off the cloud business as Consensus Cloud Solutions, moved headquarters to New York, and renamed the company Ziff Davis in October 2021. The storied name came from the 1927 technology publisher whose magazines had defined early computing coverage.
Under CEO Vivek Shah, who took over in 2018, the company kept buying: Humble Bundle within IGN, CNET from Red Ventures in 2024, and Gamer Network's publications within IGN Entertainment the same year. The integration period has been difficult. Google AI Overviews have cut search referrals by more than half over two years, and cost programs produced layoffs at CNET, IGN, and other properties in 2025 and 2026. A portion of editorial staff unionized in 2024 and 2025, which Ziff Davis voluntarily recognized.
Fiscal 2025 revenue rose 3.5 percent to $1.45 billion with net income of $47.4 million, results shaped by goodwill impairments and a $58 million loss on the sale of a business.
Controversy, Regulation & Public Scrutiny
The company's principal scrutiny is labor. Editorial workers at IGN unionized as the IGN Creators Guild, with additional organizing at CNET; Ziff Davis recognized the unions, but repeated layoffs in 2025 and 2026 drew public criticism from guilds that say cuts have hit organizing members.
The goodwill impairments recorded in 2024 and 2025, and the $58 million loss on a business sale in 2025, reflect write-downs that critics of the roll-up model cite as evidence of overpayment for media assets.
Brands Owned by Ziff Davis, Inc.
Ziff Davis, Inc. owns 1 brand in our database. Explore the ownership tree below — click categories to expand and see individual brands.
Ziff Davis, Inc.
public · Founded 1995 · New York, New York, USA
1
brands
Stock Information
Ziff Davis, Inc. Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Diversified portfolio reduces dependence on any single traffic source
- +Subscription businesses in connectivity and cybersecurity provide stable margin
- +Strong free cash flow supports buybacks and opportunistic acquisitions
- +Category-leading brands like IGN and Speedtest retain direct audiences
Considerations
- -Search referral declines threaten the core digital media economics
- -Repeated layoffs damage morale, retention, and union relations
- -Goodwill impairments signal that some acquired assets have lost value
- -Small scale relative to platform competitors limits pricing power
Frequently Asked Questions About Ziff Davis, Inc.
Is Ziff Davis publicly traded?
Yes. Ziff Davis, Inc. trades on Nasdaq under the ticker ZD. It has been public since its 1999 IPO as j2 Global.
Who owns Ziff Davis?
Ziff Davis is a public company owned by institutional investors and other shareholders. No single holder controls it. Vivek Shah is CEO.
Does Ziff Davis own IGN?
Yes. Ziff Davis owns IGN through its subsidiary IGN Entertainment, acquired in 2013 when the company was still named j2 Global.
What was j2 Global?
j2 Global was the former name of Ziff Davis, Inc., a cloud services company founded in 1995 that accumulated digital media properties over two decades. It adopted the Ziff Davis name in October 2021 after buying the publishing brand in 2012.
How much revenue does Ziff Davis make?
Ziff Davis reported revenue of $1.45 billion for fiscal 2025, up 3.5 percent, with adjusted EBITDA of $495.1 million and net income of $47.4 million.
Why is Ziff Davis cutting staff?
Google referral traffic to its sites fell more than 50 percent over two years as AI search features absorbed clicks, and gaming advertising weakened. The company ran cost programs in 2025 and 2026 that produced layoffs across IGN, CNET, and other properties.
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