Bumble has published a positive financial report for the first quarter of 2021, as the female-first dating app prepares for users to start dating offline again.
Total revenue grew by 43% year-on-year to $170.7 million. This beat both internal and external estimates, which had the figure at closer to $165 million.
Average earnings per share also comprehensively exceeded predictions as Bumble proved to be profitable throughout the quarter. Diluted earnings per share was $1.69, despite the expectation of a three cents loss.
The number of paying users across the portfolio grew by 30% to 2.8 million, which can be broken down to 1.35 million on Bumble and 1.45 million from Badoo and other paying users. However, the latter is growing considerably slower compared to the former, which is a repeated cause for concern for some investors.
Bumble’s founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said in a statement: “Our results and first quarter momentum validate the strength of our mission and our brand. We were able to combine our safety, mission and women-first narratives throughout the quarter in a manner that drove notable growth in user engagement and retention globally.
“Our brand and products are resonating worldwide, and we are inspired by the resilience of our customers who have demonstrated the power of human connection during the pandemic. Safety and accountability are at the foundation of our business and this mission-first approach has been key in advancing our position as leaders in the space.”
There are big plans for dating over the next few months as singles get their vaccinations and begin mingling in the real world again. However, Bumble was much more cautious about its outlook compared to Match Group, which was very optimistic regarding plans for a “Summer of Love” during its Q1 report last week.
Bumble is predicting a modest revenue increase next quarter in the range of $175 million to $178 million.
According to Bloomberg, CFO Anu Subramanian added: “It’s still unpredictable. There isn’t always a perfect correlation between when a market opens up and when people actually start engaging actively in the dating ecosystem.”
Investors were clearly not impressed by Bumble’s outlook for the next quarter, with the company’s share price dropping by 14.3% during the day’s trading hours.
Read the full report here.
This article was updated to include information regarding Bumble’s stock performance on Thursday, 13th May.