Location

Dating app Grindr closes out 2022 on a high note, reporting a 34 percent increase in year-over-year earnings to $195 million, showing a positive outlook for the coming year to investors since the app went public.

According to Fast Company, monthly average users rose to about 12 million, up from 11 million at the same time last year. Paying users also grew from 703,000 to 873,000 over the last year.

This was the company’s first earnings report as a public company, and with the impressive numbers, shares more than doubled throughout the trading day, according to Fast Company. The article was quick to point out that the dating app industry in general is still volatile despite earnings, as shown by Bumble’s fluctuating share price and secondary stock offering, as well as the recent Match Group dip. Since Grindr’s report came out, the company’s stock has gone down.

Dating app company Bumble Inc announced a secondary stock offering by majority stockholders Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble’s founder and CEO, and Blackstone. The price set for the secondary offering is at $22.80.

The price of Bumble stock fell 7 percent after this announcement, and after news that the previously announced 12.5 million secondary shares the company was originally going to sell went up to 13.75 million shares. Blackstone offloaded about $313 million in their stake in Bumble at the $22.80 share price, below the previous day’s closing price of $24.54. Another $47 million in stock “has been earmarked for over-allocation purposes,” according to Investing.com.

Blackstone offloaded the majority of shares, with Wolfe Herd cashing out just under $2 million in her shares of the company.

Image: Chispa

Chispa, the dating app for Latine singles, has announced the launch of its new Advocacy Council, created to highlight important issues affecting its diverse community.

The company announced the move in a press release, saying that the Council will also be developing “actionable programs to make a positive impact in the community beyond dating.” Chispa is seeking to build a trusted community and to be a “passionate advocate for the wellness and advancement of all Latines,” according to the release.

The Advocacy Council will meet regularly to discuss important issues facing the community, and to help create initiatives around mental health, finances, education, immigration, equality, politics, and other topics.

Match Group, parent company of popular dating app Tinder, is in talks to purchase a strategic stake in Shaadi, an India-based online matchmaking service.

The Economic Times first reported that the two companies were in talks, and that Match Group was looking to buy out Shaadi’s institutional stakeholders, but few details have emerged.

According to Ink 42, this latest development comes after Match Group has refocused its efforts and brought on a new executive team to run Tinder, which last year saw its first quarter of revenue decline since the company went public. Match Group has set its sights on the fast-growing Asian market, especially India and its large under-30 market.

Bumble surprised investors and analysts with its latest earnings report, which showed better-than-expected revenue in the last quarter of 2022. Shares of the company’s stock rose about 2 percent as a result.

According to Seeking Alpha, Wall Street analysts had expected fourth quarter revenue to reach only $235.9 million, but the company reported revenue of $241.6 million, up from $207 million in the same quarter the previous year.

Bumble also reported 3.4 million paying users during the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 3 million in the same quarter of 2021. Total average revenue per paying user was about $23.01 for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 22.68 the year before.

Dating app Bumble found that more singles in India are practicing “dry dating” or dating while sober. In fact, the dating app expects this to be the number one dating trend in the country in 2023, thanks to young daters.

A recent poll taken by the app found that 24 percent of single Indians who drink say they don’t plan to do so on dates this year, even past dry January. When asked why, the majority (56 percent) said they wanted to get to know the other person “without being distracted,” according to The Economic Times.

Forty-five percent said they were choosing not to drink on dates to improve their health and wellness by consuming less alcohol.