ZDZiff Davis, Inc.
Is it safe?
Forensics clean, with a caveat: a safe balance sheet and clean books, but big price swings.
Financially healthy, low distress risk Altman Z-score, a bankruptcy-risk model from five balance-sheet ratios.
Reported earnings show no manipulation flags Beneish M-score, a forensic model that detects earnings-manipulation patterns (receivables outrunning sales, margins slipping, accrual-heavy profit).
High fundamental quality Piotroski F-score, nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year financial health across profitability, balance sheet and efficiency. 7 to 9 is strong, 0 to 3 weak.
Insiders were net sellers (-$425K, 90 days to Oct 8, 2026), selling is often routine.
Net cash and profitable. A rule of thumb on leverage, not a credit rating.
Large price swings, high volatility. Worst drawdown -80% · now 4% below its 52-week high.
Unless marked, from SEC EDGAR, as of Dec 31, 2025.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. Altman sits structurally low for utilities and pipelines; Beneish runs high for fast growers, since sales growth alone lifts it; banks and REITs are excluded.
Can ZD take a bad year?
Ziff Davis, Inc. holds $738M more cash than debt, so a bad year is a question about profits, not about lenders.
Net cash
- Net debt / EBITDA
- net cash
Net debt / EBITDA · no net borrowings to measure against earnings
- Altman Z-score
- 1.73
Altman Z-score · distress zone, below 1.8
- Debt / equity
- 0.39×
Debt / equity
Details›
- Total debtQ2 2026
- $868M
- Cash and short-term investments
- $1.61B
- Net cash
- $738M
- EBITDA, trailing twelve months
- $285M
- Operating profit, trailing twelve months
- $73M
- Debt / equity
- 0.39×
- Total debt / EBITDA
- 3.05×
- Annualised volatilitytwo years of daily moves
- 57%
- Worst drawdown on file
- −80%
- Below its 52-week high
- 4.5%
Balance sheet from SEC filings; drawdown and volatility from end-of-day closes; Altman Z from the filed statements.