Bumble Q4 Revenue Exceeds Expectations

Dating app Bumble just reported revenue in Q4 of 2020 that exceeded expectations, prompting shares to jump as high as 5 percent. This news comes on the heels of the company’s stock market debut.

The company reported revenue of $165.6 million in the fourth quarter, a 31.1 percent increase for the first earnings report since the company went public, according to Reuters. (Analysts had originally expected revenue of $163.3 million.) Bumble expects the current quarter to generate between $163 million and $165 million as well. 

Reuters also reported that Bumble attributed the fourth quarter success to daters having “pent-up demand” for in-person dates again after a year of lockdowns in the wake of a global pandemic. They expect their numbers to grow as more people get vaccinated and restrictions are lifted.

Dating apps in general have benefitted from the pandemic, as many singles began to use them for the first time. Virtual dating was a necessity this past year - and dating apps clamored to add video chat features to keep users engaging on their apps. Now that the novelty of virtual dating wears off and the vaccine rollout is giving people hope about socializing again, dating apps are preparing for another increase in user activity as people start to schedule in-person dates.

Bumble has 12.7 percent of the U.S. dating market with close to 5.5 million active monthly users, according to Apptopia. Its biggest competitor is Match Group, which owns a suite of popular dating apps including Tinder, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish and Hinge which comprise a larger share of the market. Bumble operates a suite of apps including its signature female-friendly dating app, Bumble BFF, and Bumble Bizz as well as Badoo, another popular dating app.

The company also said in its earnings call that it plans to expand Bumble BFF, its friendship connection app, as platonic relationships are expected to be a growth opportunity in the dating app market going forward. Bumble and other dating apps have also noted a trend among young Gen Z daters of moving conversations over to social media, where they feel less pressure to “date” and can be more casual with connecting. 

Dating app Snack recently debuted to provide a more Gen Z-friendly platform, eliminating traditional swiping in favor of short form video similar to TikTok and Instagram. Match Group also recently purchased a popular social media platform in South Korea, which indicates it will expand in this direction, too.

Bumble raised $2.2 billion in its IPO last month, and Whitney Wolfe Herd became the youngest female CEO to take a company public.