FT Column by Valerie Martinez Buy Recommendation12 Feb 2026 08:43
I quote
“The owner of LadBible and Unilad built its platform as a social-first publisher.
But like much of the digital media sector, it has been squeezed by falling referral traffic as Facebook and Google changed their algorithms, a problem now compounded by Al search.
Rather than chasing declining traffic volumes, management is pushing harder into selling to brands. "Direct" revenue, derived from selling custom campaigns to brands, grew 13 per cent.
LBG is increasing investment in generative Al to churn out more content at a lower cost. In the short term, though, higher spending on technology and people is weighing on profits, particularly as the revenue mix moves towards lower-margin direct work.
Concerns around Al disruption continue to weigh on the media sector, and LBG shares have drifted. At around 11.7 times forward earnings, the valuation suggests investors are still cautious about the durability of the new model. But if direct revenues continue to scale and Al investment starts to drive efficiencies, that caution may prove excessive. Valeria Martinez”