Match Group Reports Q4 2018 Results
Match Group, parent company to dating sites including Tinder, OkCupid and POF, has announced its Q4 financial results.
Q4 revenue grew 21% year-on-year, with the figure landing at $457 million. The increase was driven by 17% Average Subscriber growth and 4% ARPU growth (Match says “Direct Revenue from users who are not Subscribers and have purchased only à la carte features is not included in ARPU.”)
The number of Average Subscribers (“the number of Subscribers at the end of each day in the relevant measurement period divided by the number of calendar days in that period.”) increased from 7.0 million in Q4 2017 to 8.2 million in Q4 2018.
4.3 million of these subscribers were on Tinder. Tinder memberships were up some 233,000 sequentially, and 1.2 million year-on-year. Aside from Tinder, ARPU has been stable across Match Group’s properties since 2016.
Profits, as measured by adjusted EBITDA, increased 15% over the prior year quarter to $176 million.
Match Group announced it has acquired all of the remaining shares of Hinge, after taking a majority stake in June 2018. One chart shows the app positioned as a competitor to Bumble; it was downloaded around 30% as much as Whitney Wolfe Herd’s startup last quarter.
The investor presentation highlights Ship, a brand Match is incubating in collaboration with influencers from Betches, a female lifestyle blog.
It also notes OkCupid’s entry into India, claiming its localised profile questions have “provoked media interest and widespread cultural conversations”.
Bloomberg says Match Group’s performance beat analysts expectations this quarter. This is true for almost every metric, though revenue forecasts are slightly lower than predicted.
The projected revenue came in at $455 million to $465 million, below the average estimate of $470 million.
Earlier this week, analysts at Goldman Sachs argued that Match Group’s dominance was already represented in its share price, and that investors should look to sell the dating stock.
Read more here.
