Month: June 2017

How Much Higher Can Momo Stock Go?

Posted on June 30, 2017

Momo logoBNL FINANCE – June 28 – Momo started as an online dating app and has now progressed to being a full social media company. Momo monetizes its users in the following ways:

  • Paid membership subscriptions – $2 a month, or less if a user commits to a longer term of use.
  • Games
  • Advertising/Marketing
  • Virtual gifts or on-site purchases

Active users reached 85M in March 2017, up 18% year on year. Q1, 2017 revenue surged by 412% YOY, to reach $265M. The main revenue driver is live video streaming (3.5M paying subscribers). Momo has a market cap of $7.6B, zero debt, $739M cash, and a 1 year return of 262%. 2017 PE is 29. EPS is forecast to increase by 3.6 fold by end 2019, consensus price target is $48.30, about 24% upside.

by Eddy Parton
See full article at BNL Finance

See all posts on Momo app

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

The Meet Group Reaches Agreement With Harvest Capital

Posted on June 30, 2017

Themetgroup logoBUSINESSWIRE – June 27 – The Meet Group, a public market leader in the mobile meeting space, has entered into a cooperation agreement with Harvest Capital Strategies LLC and its affiliates, which owns ~6.3% of The Meet Group's outstanding shares. Under the terms of the agreement, The Meet Group will appoint to its Board two new independent directors: Jim Parmelee, who has agreed to join the Meet Group Board effective immediately, and a second director mutually acceptable to The Meet Group and Harvest Capital to be identified within the next 90 days.

See full article at BusinessWire

See all posts on The Meet Group

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Dating Apps Are Embracing Video

Posted on June 30, 2017

Dating-apps general pic croppedTECH CRUNCH – June 28 – This week, both Hinge and Zoosk's Lively are rolling out support for video, each in their own way. Hinge will now allow users to add videos up to 30 seconds long into their profile by pulling from those that already exist on their phone. However, it's shying away from short-form, disappearing videos like those found in Instagram, Snapchat, or Messenger "Stories." Meanwhile, Zoosk's newer product Lively is hoping to capitalize on video to bring more people to its app. In Lively, users upload photos and videos that are then turned into story collages, which also include transitions and movement. Again, the idea is that using video can show off someone's personality much better than static, photo-only profiles. Now, Zoosk is pushing the bar even further in terms of video with the launch of live video chat. Users will be able to pick a topic and start chatting with others who are also available to chat. But the screen will be blurred so users feel more comfortable. Bumble will roll out its own video support as well. Even Match.com is getting into the video game with its Stories feature.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on Hinge    See all posts on Bumble
See all posts on Lively    See all posts on Match.com

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Tinder’s New Subscription, Tinder Gold, Lets Users See Who Already Likes Them

Posted on June 30, 2017

Tinder-gold-screenshots1TECH CRUNCH – June 28 – Tinder will be testing a new service called Tinder Gold in select markets, aimed at increasing the number of paying users. With Tinder Gold, users will see all those who have already swiped right on their profile, through a new feature, "Likes You." The company will initially test the service in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. It won't be available in the U.S. at this time. Tinder is also not detailing the pricing for the upgrade. However, for existing Tinder Plus subscribers, it will only be a small additional fee beyond what they're already paying.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on Tinder

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Lively Expands To Augmented Live Video Chat

Posted on June 30, 2017

Lively icon new june 2017NEWSWIRE – June 28 – Lively, a video-based social app, is releasing augmented live video chat. In the new experience users will pick a topic they'd like to talk about and instantly be connected with another person who'd like to chat. The camera will be blurred, with the blur going away over time. Users will have the option to keep adding the blur back, in case they wish to remain hidden.

See full article at Newswire

See all posts on Lively

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Hinge Is Adding Video

Posted on June 28, 2017

Https _blueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com_uploads_card_image_519899_35510a39-62bc-456e-ada7-9251d0efe8e5MASHABLE – June 27 – Hinge is launching a new video feature that will allow users to add clips to their profile. Hinge's CEO Justin McLeod says, "it adds more texture to profiles, so people can really get a good sense of you." They're not the first of the major apps to go in this direction. Match is launching Stories, a tool that lets users stitch together photos, videos, and voice to tell people about themselves. Back in January, Bumble announced it was adding disappearing snaps, but it has not yet made that feature available. So that makes Hinge the first to actually roll it out.

by Cassie Murdoch
See full article at Mashable

See all posts on Hinge

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

With Chappy, The Approach To Dating Is A Gentlemanly Affair

Posted on June 28, 2017

Chappy logoTHE PRIDE – June 26 – When Jack Rogers and Ollie Locke started their gay dating app Chappy, they knew exactly what they wanted it to be. It was a simple concept: An app where gay men could come out and have conversations that went beyond "top or bottom." Today, the app has 1M users in the U.K. and a growing U.S. market. With Chappy, each user has to connect their account with a Facebook profile, upload photos with their actual faces in them, and they have to be clear about what they're looking for – something forever, something for now, or something in between.

by Henry Giardina
See full article at The Pride

See all posts on Chappy

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Why I Bought Match, The Meet Group And Spark Networks

Posted on June 26, 2017

Buy iconOPW – June 26 – I picked up three stocks in the dating industry. Here's why…

Match Group – In this business, size matters, and Match Group operates at significant scale, along with an International footprint.

Meetme – Are essentially a family run business. They sit in the middle ground between dating and social networking. Fallow ground for growth IMHO. Momo has shown a clear path to monetization, and Meetme should be able to copycat their way to profits by modeling their success.

Spark Networks / Affinitas – Spark Networks has been bumbling along for years. Affinitas has the most to gain by buying them. They'll benefit from economies of scale and combining know-how. They'll be able to raise more money, more easily.

I do not make any recommendations in this post. I'm merely expressing my opinion, and putting my money where my mouth is. You can see one-pager summaries on publicly-held Internet dating companies on Online Personals Watch here.

Read the full post on Courtland Brooks blog.

See all posts on Match Group        See all posts on The Meet Group
See all posts on Momo                  See all posts on Spark Networks

Post by Mark Brooks @ Courtland Brooks

Chinese LGBTs Economy To Overtake America’s

Posted on June 26, 2017

LGBT_flag_map_of_the_People's_Republic_of_ChinaFORBES – June 23 – China's Communist government doesn't encourage LGBT causes or other social activism. Yet China lacks strong organized religion, so the LGBT community is tacitly accepted as long it don't stand in the way of authority. China's three-year-old pink economy is one-third the size of the more mature American pink economy. China is the world's third largest LGBT market after Europe and the US and worth $300B per year. Pink spending power the U.S. came to $917B in 2015. China's Blued app for LGBT services has 27M users, making it the biggest app of its type worldwide.

by Ralph Jennings
See full article at Forbes

See all posts on Blued

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Dating.ai Searches Dating Apps For Any Face

Posted on June 26, 2017

Dating.ai screenshotFORBES – June 24 – Dating.ai is a new app which uses facial recognition AI to scour dating platforms for profiles that match a user's specified 'type' – or even belong to a specific person. In its premium version ($7.99/month), users can choose to tailor their search for the perfect face by gender, age and zip code. "Users are finding people who look just like their exes, and like celebrities; so far, it's working really well," said Heath Ahrens, the app's founder.

by Janet Burns
See full article at Forbes

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team