Match Group is closing in on reaching a market cap in excess of $20 billion for the first time, following a positive reaction to its better-than-expected Q1 financial results.
The price of a MTCH share reached an all-time high of $68.51 on Wednesday, a 13.5% increase since before the results were released. The figure has since fluctuated and, at the time of writing, the price is $66.49 giving the online dating umbrella a cap of $18.74 billion.
The Q1 earnings report, published at the close of trading on Tuesday, revealed a total revenue of $465 million, an increase of 14% year-on-year and approximately $1 million more than earlier Wall Street predictions. Adjusted EBITDA also came in at $155 million, a 13% improvement on 2018.
A lot of the success was credited to Tinder’s impressive quarter. The dating app added 384,000 subscribers during the three months and, according to IAC CEO Joey Levin, it has since taken its total number of premium customers north of five million.
Levin said in an open letter to IAC investors: “The Tinder success also allows us time and room to advance other opportunities including a big international push, some new brands, and a major product overhaul at Match.com. Tinder appropriately holds the focus, but potential remains throughout the brands.”
Match Group has recently put an added focus on expanding in Asia and is working on localising its existing brands while keeping an eye on possible acquisition opportunities.
It is possible that this growth in valuation will be beneficial to the group of Tinder founders who are suing the parent company. Led by Sean Rad, the plaintiffs are claiming Match Group purposefully undervalued the dating app to avoid having to pay compensation to early employees.
IAC is estimating that Match Group’s total revenue for Q2 will be between $480 million and $490 million.
Visit the Match Group website here.