THE MOTLEY FOOL – Bumble went public in February at $43 per share. The stock opened at $76 a share on the first trading day, peaked at $84.80 a few days later, but lost its momentum and dropped below its IPO price in May. The stock now trades in the low $50s, but it's volatile debut burned many investors. It could still double or triple within the next five years if its revenue continues to rise 20% annually. Bumble's biggest near-term challenge is the pandemic. Its revenue increased 36% in 2019, but it grew just 19% in 2020 as more people stayed at home. Growth accelerated again in the H1 of 2021 as people started to go out again, and it expects its revenue to increase 29% to 31% for the full year. Next year, analysts expect Bumble's revenue to rise 24% to $943M. Over the next five years, Bumble will likely continue to grow. It might acquire more apps to gain new users, but it could also expand Bumble's non-dating features to become a female-oriented social network.
Category: Bumble
Bumble Launches Second Edition of Content Series Dating These Days
BUZZINCONTENT – Bumble has launched the second edition of its series 'Dating These Days', which aims at helping single Indians navigate conversations and challenges around dating post the pandemic in 2021.
46% Single Indians Looking for Committed, Serious Relationship: Bumble Survey
EVERYTHING EXPERIENTIAL – Bumble has revealed that one in two (46%) single Indians are looking for a committed, serious relationship in 2021, post the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. "One in five people are looking to get married. More than one in three (33%) are feeling hopeful about dating right now as lockdown restrictions lift across India. Meanwhile, 33% of single Indians are using video dates to really get to know each other better before meeting IRL," the survey said.
by Abhishek Sharma
See full article at Everything Experiential
Investors See Big Potential in Smaller Online Dating Companies
Match and Bumble Should Benefit From Apple Decision
THE STREET – Match Group and Bumble should benefit from the court ruling last week that Apple can no longer prevent apps from offering direct payment options, says Cowen analyst John Blackledge. Match spent ~$500M in app store payments in 2020, or just under 80% of cost of revenue, he said. He estimates that 75% of these fees went to Apple. "If we assume that 50% of Match's iOS customers will opt to pay via credit card on the Match website (with a 3% take for payment processing), Match could generate an additional $295M in 2022 Ebitda, a 19% increase vs. our current estimate of $1.58B," he wrote. Bumble would see 2022 Ebitda rise by $88M.
Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd: “We Need to Stop Giving People Responsibilities Based on Gender”
VOGUE –
Q: Ms. Wolfe Herd, this year you were the youngest woman to ever list a company on the stock exchange. What does this label mean to you?
Whitney Wolfe Herd: When you consider that there have been hundreds of IPOs led by men my age, this seems rather daunting. There are so many incredible women out there who are much more talented than me. And the fact that I have that title just goes to show how difficult it is to do it.
Q: In your opinion, what are the crucial things that need to change?
A: I think we need to stop giving people responsibilities based on gender.
Q: How can family and career be reconciled in your company?
A: We allow our employees to work within schedules that suit their families – not just women, but men too, after all, feminism is about us all.
Q: And what has to be done so that more women get into the tech industry?
A: We have to start with education. We need to encourage more women to get into STEM subjects.
Q: Which of your professional successes are you particularly proud of?
A: Every day it has been my drive to ensure that we create a safer, more equitable online experience that will hopefully also steer offline behavior in a positive direction. We achieved that. We even helped pass a law!
Q: Is there anything that you are dying to learn?
A: Loads of things! I want to learn more languages. I want to learn how to write code. I want to learn meditation. I think the moment you have nothing more to learn, life is over.
Bumble Shares Dip After Hours on Secondary Stock Offering
MARKETWATCH – Bumble's shares fell 3.4% after hours to $55.78 after the dating app company said that an affiliate of Blackstone will offer the public 15M shares of the company. Bumble doesn't intend to sell any of its shares and won't receive proceeds from the sale. However, it will incur some costs associated with the sale, the company said.
Match CEO and Bumble Create Relief Funds for Employees Affected by Texas Abortion Law
Dating Apps Are Turning to Video and Audio to Link People up
CNBC – Aug 28 – The pandemic has caused a level of disruption that's allowed companies to consider what the future of dating apps without mindless swiping might look like. Bumble's "Night In" trivia feature lets users set up a virtual trivia date if they match with someone. It also allows users to send voice memos. Tinder has "Swipe Night," a live, interactive dating feature where singles follow a storyline together. The addition of videos and audio will let people interact in a way that hasn't been done yet with online dating, with the hopes they'll spend more time on the apps. 40% of Tinder users plan to continue using video even when the pandemic is over. Earlier this summer, Match Group closed its $1.7B acquisition of Hyperconnect, a social networking company. That will allow the company to focus on its research & development, adding more live chat features and video experiences to its apps. Match COO Gary Swidler said Match Group expects at least two of its brands to use Hyperconnect tech before the end of the year, while a number of other brands will implement its tech by the end of 2022.
by Jessica Bursztynsky
See full article at CNBC
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Bumble Leaked Users’ Exact Location
ITNEWS – Aug 26 – A software engineer at payments processor Stripe found a vulnerability in Bumble. By learning how Bumble's application programming interface (API) works, Robert Heaton found a way to pinpoint users' exact location, bypassing the safeguards in the app designed to prevent this. Heaton reported the vulnerability to Bumble via bug bounty site HackerOne. A fix was deployed within 72 hours, and Heaton was awarded $2K, which he donated to charity.