by Yan Wu
See full article at Wall Street Journal
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Category: Bumble
Bumble: a Profit Machine at the Wrong Price
SEEKING ALPHA – Feb 15 – The company is too expensive at the moment despite excellent business results. Bumble has the first-mover advantage in addressing a problem that women have in the dating space. In Wolfe's telling, women are taught to let men be the aggressors. The company's value proposition is very compelling to women and it shows in the demographics of the app: there are 30% more women than men on Bumble. In total, as of Sep 30, 2020, the company had 42M monthly active users: 40.7M MAUs coming from Bumble and Badoo (12.3M MAUs from Bumble and 28.4M MAUs from Badoo). Having grown 49% in 2019, to 855,600 in 2019, Bumble's paid users grew a further 30% YOY, for the first nine months of 2020 to 1.1M. Though the number of paid users in Badoo fell by 9% in 2019 to 1.2M, they grew 10% YOY for the first nine months of 2020 to 1.3M. Wolfe has been an excellent capital allocator, growing returns on invested capital (ROIC) from -39.2% in 2018, to 179.7% in 2019 and 178.8% for the trailing twelve months (TTM) period. Unfortunately, Bumble Inc’s P/E multiple is 51, based on our adjusted earnings per share, which is very unattractive.
Former Bumble Advisor on Bumble’s Debut
BLOOMBERG – Feb 12 – Former Bumble Advisor Sarah Kunst gives her outlook on investing in Bumble and the dating app's debut. She speaks to Vonnie Quinn on "Bloomberg Markets."
How Bumble’s Clever Design Helped the App Go Public
Bumble Stock Surges 70% in Market Debut
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Feb 10 – Bumble's stock opened at $76 a share, well above its IPO price of $43 to bring valuation to $8.6B. Bumble joins rival Match on the public market. Match unsuccessfully tried to acquire Bumble, and it later sued Bumble in 2018 for infringing patents for "swiping" and other features that have made Tinder popular. Bumble called Match a "bully" and filed a $400 million lawsuit in response. The two companies in June 2020 said they settled all litigation between them.
by Dave Sebastian & Michael Wursthorn
See full article at Wall Street Journal
Bumble Prices IPO at $43 per Share
Bumble IPO: The Female Founder Behind Bumble Making Market History
CNBC – Feb 10 – There are now more than 20 female founders to take companies public, but the venture capital and IPO market have a long way to go, as funding to women-led start-ups hit a three-year low in 2020. When Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd launched the dating app in 2014, she wanted to solve a real-world 21st century relationship problem: how to find love for the millions of women just waiting around for men. Seven-years later, the company that prides itself on its female-first approach, has garnered a devoted following. As of the Q3 of 2020, it boasted 42M active users. Between Jan 29 and Sept 30, Bumble reported revenue of $376.6M and a net loss of $84M, slim gains in comparison to Match Group. Bumble's focus on women could limit its growth potential, according to a Wall Street Journal article from Sep that argued Bumble has "a way to go" in order to compete with Tinder in the international market.
Dating Apps Made $3B in 2020, Tinder Tops Spending List
THE HINDU – Feb 9 – Consumers across the globe spent ~$3B on dating apps in 2020, up 15% YOY, according to App Annie. Tinder secured the top position in terms of consumer spending worldwide, while Bumble and Pairs took the second and third spot. Dating apps witnessed a total of 560M downloads over the year. Tinder was the top ranking app in India and the U.S., having the highest annual overall consumer spend among non-gaming apps in 2020. It also ranked in the top 10 in both China and South Korea.
Bumble Aims for $8 Billion Value After IPO Boost
BLOOMBERG – Feb 8 – Bumble is targeting to raise as much as $1.8B from its U.S. IPO after boosting the size of the deal. The company plans to sell 45M shares for $37 to $39 apiece. Bumble previously indicated it would look to sell 34.5M shares at $28 to $30. At the top of the new range, the IPO would value Bumble at ~$8B.
by Crystal Tse & Fareed Sahloul
See full article at Bloomberg
How Match Group Grew to Dominate the Online Dating Market
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 2 – Match Group, which started as one lonely Stanford Business School graduate's attempt to build a less embarrassing way to find love online in the '90s, has turned into a titan that owns nearly every US dating site. Bumble, however, is conspicuously absent from Match's portfolio. Bumble's CEO, ex-Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe Herd, has a toxic history with the online dating group.
History of Match
- Match Group was founded in Feb 2009 after IAC decided to bundle all dating sites it owned.
- AC's initial purchase of Match.com dates back to the 1990s. Gary Kremen founded Match.com in 1995; he left in 1996 with just ~$50K.
- Ticketmaster bought Match.com in 1999 for $50M. Cendant Corporation bought the company a year earlier for $6M.
- During the 2000s, IAC chairman Barry Diller turned Match.com into one of the most successful online dating companies in the US.
- Jim Safka, a former ETrade and AT&T executive, took over as Match.com CEO in 2004.
- Revenue increased 68% between 2003 and 2006, going from $185M to $311M
- IAC acquired People Media for $80M in July 2009, with a combined 255K subscribers.
- 2011, Match Group acquired OkCupid for $50M.
- In January 2012, Hatch Labs, a startup "sandbox" launched by IAC to incubate mobile apps, hired Sean Rad as general manager. Rad worked with developer Joe Muñoz to create the prototype for Tinder. Jonathan Badeen and Chris Gulczynski were hired to help with front-end and design. Whitney Wolfe Herd was hired in May and Justin Mateen was brought in as a contractor. The app was originally called Match Box.
- August 2012, Match Box was renamed to "Tinder" and launched on Apple's App Store.
- By April 2013, Tinder officially incorporated, with Rad, Badeen, and Mateen considered the company's cofounders. Rad served as CEO.
- IAC later purchased another chunk of Tinder for ~$50M.
- In 2014, Wolfe Herd sued Tinder and IAC for sexual harassment and discrimination.
- In 2015, acquired POF for $575M, Match Group went public.
- By 2017, Tinder had merged under the Match Group umbrella.
- In 2018, Rad and nine other Tinder employees sued IAC, claiming IAC purposely undervalued the startup. The lawsuit sought $2B in damages.
- 2018, acquisition of Hinge.
- December 2019, IAC announced it was spinning off its stake in Match Group.
- Jan 2020, Match Group CEO of 14 years, Mandy Ginsberg, stepped down. Former Tinder COO Shar Dubey took over.
by Avery Hartmans & Allana Akhtar
See full article at Business Insider