Match Group expects quarterly revenue below estimates as spending on dating apps falls

(Reuters) – Tinder-parent Match Group forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as users are likely to dial back spending on dating apps.

Match Group – which offers dating apps services such as Hinge, Tinder, OkCupid and Plenty of Fish, among others – has been grappling with slowing revenue due to weaker discretionary spending by users in an uncertain economy.

The company also faces stiff competition from smaller rival Bumble’s eponymous dating app and social media companies including Meta Platforms-owned Facebook and Instagram.

Dating app operators have remained under pressure, with Match’s stock dropping about 14% while its rival Bumble has fallen around 30%, as of Tuesday’s close, on concerns of slowing growth.

In the first quarter, global Tinder downloads fell 6% from a year earlier, the third consecutive quarter of decreasing downloads, while download growth at Hinge rose 18%, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower on Monday.

Total monthly active users (MAUs) for Tinder dropped 21% globally in the reported quarter from the prior year, while the MAUs fell 17% in the United States, Sensor Tower added.

“Tinder continues to see pressure on MAU and is also facing increasing pressure on à la carte revenue, due in part to weaker consumer discretionary spending,” CEO Bernard Kim said in a letter to shareholders.

The company’s payers declined 6% to 14.9 million in the quarter ended March 31 from a year earlier.

It expects revenue in the range of $850 million to $860 million for the second quarter ending in June, the mid-point of which is below analysts’ average estimate of $882 million, according to 23 analysts polled by LSEG.

Match’s first-quarter revenue grew 9% to $859.6 million, beating estimates of $855.5 million.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)