Ziff Davis, Inc. (ZD)

Digital media publisher with software and data. Read November 8, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025, filed February 24, 2026. Ranked 14 of the 51 Communication Services companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

Ziff Davis states about 3,900 employees, 55% in the U.S., across five segments counted nowhere by people; its publishing segments lead at internet publishing, with cybersecurity and marketing software at software publishers and the Ookla connectivity data business at data processing, by segment revenue.

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 51% now, 66% at the end of 2027, 70% at the end of 2028, 71% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 71% desk work, 22% people work and 6% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 28% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 60% becomes checking a model's work and 10% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

3,900 employees as of December 31, 2025 (stated). 55% of employees are U.S. based and 45% non-U.S. based, the filing states.

The filing: “As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 3,900 employees, 55% of whom are U.S. based employees and 45% non-U.S based employees.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: About 3,900 employees, 55% U.S. based; a network of acquired businesses with their own micro-cultures; benefits cover about 80% of U.S. health premiums; no hourly, part-time or union counts.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.

• Meta (META, 78,865 employees)51% now, 69% by 2028
• Paramount Skydance Corporation Class B Common Stock (PSKY, 17,600 employees)45% now, 59% by 2028
• Netflix, Inc. (NFLX, 16,000 employees)49% now, 66% by 2028
• Pinterest, Inc. (PINS, 5,265 employees)51% now, 69% by 2028
• Snap Inc. (SNAP, 5,261 employees)51% now, 69% by 2028
• Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI, 5,119 employees)51% now, 69% by 2028
• Versant Media Group, Inc. Class A (VSNT, 4,400 employees)50% now, 69% by 2028
• Roku, Inc. (ROKU, 3,600 employees)51% now, 70% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

25 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 25 sentences, mostly as risks: the unauthorized use of its content by developers and users of generative AI, AI-based cybersecurity threats it may not keep pace with, and attacks that employ AI and machine learning such as deepfakes and adaptive malware.

• “We face risks associated with the unauthorized use of our content and the infringement of our intellectual property rights by developers and users of generative artificial intelligence ("AI").”
• “The rapid evolution and increased adoption of AI technologies may intensify our cybersecurity risks, as we may be unable to keep pace with the increasing sophistication of AI-based cybersecurity threats.”
• “Cyberattacks have become more difficult to detect and respond to since they increasingly employ AI and machine learning techniques, such as generative AI-phishing, deepfake impersonations, automated vulnerability discovery, adaptive malware, and large-scale credential-stuffing campaigns.”
• “Any system failure or security breach that causes interruptions or data loss in and to our operations and systems or those of our partners, vendors, customers, or other third parties, whether due to human error, including related to the improper use of AI, or misconduct, system errors, or vulnerabilities in our or our third party service providers' products, systems, or solutions, or which lead...”
• “Generative AI and related technologies could present risks and challenges to our business.”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20210median 0
• Fiscal 20220median 0
• Fiscal 20239median 1
• Fiscal 202411median 4
• Fiscal 202525median 10

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• The segment split is by revenue (c); the filing counts no employees by segment.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001084048-26-000005, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.