IAC Inc.

What does IAC own?
IAC's primary holdings are Dotdash Meredith (digital and print media publisher owning People, InStyle, Better Homes and Gardens, Investopedia, Allrecipes, and over 40 other brands) and a controlling stake in Angi Inc. (home services marketplace operating under the Angi, HomeAdvisor, and Handy brands). IAC has historically created and spun off major companies including Match Group (2020), Expedia (2005), and LendingTree (2008).

Is IAC publicly traded?
Yes. IAC Inc. is listed on Nasdaq under ticker IAC. Barry Diller controls the company through a dual-class share structure: Class A shares carry one vote per share and trade publicly, while Class B shares carry 10 votes per share and are held by Diller. Angi Inc., a subsidiary, is separately listed on Nasdaq under ticker ANGI, with IAC controlling approximately 85% of voting power.

Who founded IAC?
IAC was built by Barry Diller, who acquired Silver King Communications in 1992 for approximately $25 million and used it as the vehicle for constructing IAC's portfolio. Diller previously served as Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company. He restructured Silver King through multiple iterations, including Home Shopping Network and USA Networks, before the entity became IAC.

Where is IAC headquartered?
IAC is headquartered in New York City, New York, USA. The company's corporate offices are in Manhattan. Dotdash Meredith also maintains operations in Des Moines, Iowa, reflecting Meredith Corporation's historical headquarters. Angi is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

How many brands does IAC own?
IAC owns over 40 consumer media brands through Dotdash Meredith, including People, Better Homes and Gardens, InStyle, Allrecipes, Investopedia, Verywell, The Spruce, Food & Wine, and Travel + Leisure. Through Angi, IAC operates three brands: Angi, HomeAdvisor, and Handy. Previously, IAC owned brands that have been spun off, including Tinder, Match.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com.

Who owns IAC?
IAC is publicly traded on Nasdaq under ticker IAC. Barry Diller is the controlling shareholder through Class B super-voting shares that carry 10 votes per share. Diller holds approximately 8% of economic equity but controls approximately 29% of voting power. Major institutional holders of Class A shares include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and Capital Research Global Investors.

What is IAC's revenue?
IAC reported FY2024 revenue of approximately $2.0 billion. The majority of revenue is generated by Dotdash Meredith through digital and print advertising, affiliate revenue, and content licensing. Angi contributes additional revenue at the consolidated level, though Angi also reports separately as a public company. IAC's revenue has been under pressure from digital advertising headwinds and Google AI Overviews reducing search traffic to Dotdash Meredith properties.

What companies has IAC spun off?
IAC has spun off several major companies: Expedia Group (2005, Nasdaq: EXPE), Match Group (partial IPO 2015, full separation 2020, Nasdaq: MTCH), and LendingTree (2008, Nasdaq: TREE). Ticketmaster was sold to Live Nation. These spin-offs represent IAC's most distinctive corporate strategy: building internet businesses to scale and distributing them to shareholders as independent public companies.

Barry Diller acquired Silver King Communications, a television broadcasting company, in 1992 for approximately $25 million. Silver King owned UHF television stations in several U.S. markets. Diller, who had left Fox Broadcasting in 1992, used Silver King as the vehicle for building a diversified media company. The company was renamed Home Shopping Network before being restructured as USA Networks in 1997, reflecting its mix of television and online properties.

IAC's internet era began in 1996 when the company acquired CitySearch, a local online city guide. This acquisition marked the beginning of IAC's strategy of building a portfolio of online consumer services. Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, IAC acquired or built a series of internet properties that would become major companies in their own right.

Ticketmaster was acquired in 1997 for approximately $400 million. Hotels.com was built within IAC's travel portfolio. Expedia was acquired from Microsoft in 2001 for approximately $1.5 billion and grown into the largest online travel agency before being spun off in 2005. LendingTree was acquired and later spun off in 2008. Match.com was acquired in 1999 for approximately $400 million and became the foundation of Match Group, which added OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, and Tinder over the following years. Ask Jeeves (later Ask.com) was acquired in 2005 for approximately $1.85 billion.

The spin-off model began with Expedia in 2005, when IAC distributed its travel businesses to shareholders as a separate public company. This established the template that IAC would follow repeatedly: build or acquire a business, grow it to scale, and then separate it as an independent entity. The rationale was that independent public companies trade at higher valuations than they would as subsidiaries of a conglomerate, and shareholders benefit from the value unlock.

Match Group was partially IPO'd in 2015 at $12 per share, raising approximately $400 million. IAC retained a controlling stake. In 2020, IAC fully separated Match Group, distributing its Match shares to IAC shareholders. The separation was structured to give Match Group independence while returning value to IAC shareholders. At the time of separation, Match Group had a market capitalization of approximately $30 billion, with Tinder as its primary revenue driver.

IAC acquired About.com from The New York Times Company in 2012 for $300 million. The property was rebranded as Dotdash in 2017 under the leadership of Neil Vogel, who pivoted the publishing model from ad-supported page views to a content quality approach that prioritized reader utility over traffic volume. The strategy was contrarian: while most digital publishers were maximizing page views and programmatic ad impressions, Dotdash reduced content volume and focused on high-quality, authoritative articles that performed well in search rankings.

In 2021, Dotdash acquired Meredith Corporation's magazine and digital brands for approximately $2.7 billion, creating Dotdash Meredith. The acquisition brought legacy magazine brands including People, Better Homes and Gardens, InStyle, and Allrecipes into IAC's portfolio. The combined entity became the largest magazine and digital media publisher in the United States, reaching approximately 175 million monthly unique visitors.

Angi Inc. was formed through the merger of Angie's List and HomeAdvisor in 2017, both of which were IAC properties. Angi was separately listed on Nasdaq under ticker ANGI, with IAC retaining a controlling stake of approximately 85% of voting power. In 2024 and 2025, IAC explored strategic options for Angi, including potential full separation or sale, consistent with its portfolio management approach.

In 2025, IAC continued to face challenges in its digital media business. Google's introduction of AI-generated summaries in search results, known as AI Overviews, reduced traffic to traditional content publishers. Dotdash Meredith, along with most major digital publishers, experienced traffic declines. The company pursued content licensing partnerships with AI companies, including a reported deal with OpenAI, to generate revenue from AI training data and maintain traffic through featured placements.

In 2026, IAC's strategic focus remained on maximizing the value of Dotdash Meredith through digital transformation and cost optimization, while exploring separation options for Angi. The company has also indicated interest in new acquisition opportunities, consistent with its historical model of building and spinning off internet businesses.

IAC does not publish a standalone ESG report but includes sustainability and governance information in its annual proxy statements and SEC filings. The company is not a Certified B Corporation.

On environmental impact, IAC's footprint is primarily digital, as its businesses are internet-based. Dotdash Meredith's print magazine operations generate paper and distribution-related environmental impact. The company has stated commitments to sustainable paper sourcing for its print publications, though specific targets and progress metrics are not prominently disclosed.

On governance, IAC's dual-class share structure has been flagged by proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis as a governance concern. The structure gives Barry Diller effective voting control despite holding a minority of economic equity. This is a common pattern in media companies founded by strong personalities, including similar structures at News Corp and Fox Corporation.

Dotdash Meredith's editorial standards vary by brand. The company has invested in editorial quality and expertise-based content, particularly at Investopedia and Verywell, which employ subject matter experts and financial reviewers. However, the combination of digital and print brands under one umbrella has raised questions about editorial consistency across the portfolio.

IAC and its subsidiaries have received recognition for digital media innovation. Dotdash (prior to the Meredith acquisition) was recognized for its contrarian content quality strategy, which bucked the trend of volume-based digital publishing. Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith, has been profiled in business media for the strategy.

Individual Dotdash Meredith brands have received editorial recognition. Investopedia has been recognized as a leading financial education resource. People magazine remains one of the most recognized celebrity and entertainment brands in the United States. Better Homes and Gardens is one of the longest-running lifestyle magazines in the country.

IAC as a corporate entity does not appear on major brand rankings, as its consumer-facing brands operate under their own names rather than the IAC umbrella. The company's recognition is primarily within the investment and technology communities, where its spin-off model is studied as a case study in corporate value creation.

IAC's dual-class share structure has been a persistent governance concern. Proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended voting against certain board nominees or compensation proposals due to the concentrated voting control. Barry Diller's effective control despite minority economic ownership limits public shareholder influence on strategic decisions, including the timing and structure of spin-offs.

Dotdash Meredith has faced scrutiny over the impact of Google's AI Overviews on its traffic and revenue. In 2024 and 2025, digital publishers including Dotdash Meredith publicly criticized Google for using publisher content to generate AI summaries that reduce traffic to original sources. The company has pursued licensing deals with AI companies as a mitigation strategy, but the structural risk to content-dependent media businesses remains.

Angi has faced consumer protection scrutiny related to its lead generation model. Service professionals have filed complaints and lawsuits alleging that Angi charges for low-quality or fake leads. The Better Business Bureau has received numerous complaints about Angi's billing practices. Angi has responded by shifting toward a fixed-price project model and improving lead verification, but the marketplace's reputation among service professionals remains mixed.

IAC's historical acquisitions have occasionally drawn regulatory scrutiny. The acquisition of Ticketmaster in the 1990s and its subsequent sale to Live Nation raised antitrust concerns that were examined by regulators, though these issues were resolved through the Live Nation merger review rather than direct IAC enforcement actions.