REUTERS – Ronald Fior has been named interim CFO of Bumble, effective March 15. He takes over from Anu Subramanian, who is stepping down next month. Fior, a partner at FLG Partners, has extensive CFO experience and currently serves as a consultant to Bumble, a role he will continue alongside his CFO duties.
Category: Bumble
Bumble Sunsets Acquired Apps, Fruitz and Official, to Cut Costs
TECH CRUNCH – Bumble is discontinuing its two acquired apps, the dating and relationship apps Fruitz and Official. The move was shared during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. As explained by CEO Lidiane Jones during the call, the choice to discontinue Fruitz, a French dating app, and Official, an app designed to help couples strengthen their relationships, allows the company to focus on its core businesses, Bumble and Badoo.
Bumble Has Lost 92% of Is Value in 4 Years
BUSINESS INSIDER – Bumble's stock plunged 28% on Wednesday after weak first-quarter guidance disappointed investors, extending a 92% decline since its 2021 peak. Despite a Q4 revenue beat of $261.6M, the company forecasted $242M–$248M in Q1 sales, missing expectations. The drop is attributed to a temporary decline in paying users amid a brand refresh. Dating app fatigue and shifting user habits have made growth challenging, with rival Match Group also seeing a 79% drop since 2021. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd remains optimistic, citing upcoming innovations aimed at reviving user engagement and revenue.
Bumble Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results
BUSINESSWIRE – Bumble today reported financial results for the Q4 and full year 2024.
Q4 Highlights:
- Total Q4 revenue decreased 4.4% to $261.6M, compared to $273.6M.
- Bumble App Revenue decreased 3.8% to $212.4M, compared to $220.7M.
- Badoo App and other revenue decreased 6.8% to $49.3M, compared to $52.9M.
- Total Paying Users increased 5.3% to 4.M, compared to 4M.
- Operating earnings was $37M.
Full Year 2024 Financial Highlights:
- Revenue increased 1.9% to $1,071.6M, compared to $1,051.8M.
- Bumble App Revenue increased 2.5% to $866.3M, compared to $844.8M.
- Badoo App and other revenue decreased 0.8% to $205.4M, compared to $207.1M.
- Operating loss was $700.5 M.
Dating Apps Losing Users as Young People Find Love in Online Communities
BBC – Young adults are moving away from dating apps and meeting partners through shared-interest platforms like video games, fitness apps, and online communities. Tinder lost 594K users, Bumble dropped by 368K, and Hinge declined by 131K in the UK, according to Ofcom's 2024 report. A 2023 US survey found 79% of Gen Z were using dating apps less frequently. Instead, platforms like Strava (135M users, 20% growth) and Letterboxd (50% growth) are becoming spaces where people naturally form connections. On Strava, 1 in 5 Gen Z users have gone on a date through fitness clubs.
Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd to Return as CEO
CNBC – Whitney Wolfe Herd will return as the company’s CEO in mid-March. She previously stepped down from the role and was replaced by Lidiane Jones, who led Salesforce’s Slack. Jones is resigning as CEO of Bumble for “personal reasons,” Bumble said.
by Ashley Capoot
See full article at CNBC
Bumble Partners With Amelia Dimoldenberg for Dating Content and Events
CAMPAIGN LIVE – Bumble is partnering with comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg to produce dating content, including interviews, dating “dos and don’ts,” and her “Flirty-Firsts” series, shared on Bumble’s and Dimoldenberg’s social channels. The partnership also includes her hosting Bumble’s annual “Valentine’s Affair” event and is part of a larger collaboration with Interview Magazine’s Mel Ottenberg to create celebrity interviews and editorial content.
Bumble Shares Rise 3.2% With Michael Affronti as New CPO
INVESTING.COM – Bumble's stock rose 3.2% following the appointment of Michael Affronti as Chief Product Officer (CPO). Formerly SVP at Salesforce, Affronti brings extensive experience in product innovation, having led multi-billion-dollar e-commerce initiatives and held roles at Microsoft and Dataminr. Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones emphasized his ability to drive innovation as the company plans bold product developments for 2025. Affronti replaces former CPO Ali Rayl, with investors reacting positively to this strategic leadership move.
by Frank DeMatteo
See full article at Investing.com
Online Dating Is About to Radically Change
CNN – Dating apps are on the cusp of a major transformation. Personalized chatbots dating other chatbots on your behalf. AI concierges fielding questions about potential matches. Advanced algorithms predicting compatibility better than ever before. At its investor meeting, Match Group teased plans to use AI to improve user experiences and help make better connections. Hinge will offer more personalized matching, smarter algorithms that adapt to users and better understand them over time, and AI coaching for struggling daters. AI is going to transform the dating app experience, taking it from a do-it-yourself platform to an expertly guided journey that leads to far better outcomes and much better value. Bumble uses AI in safety features like its Private Detector – an AI-powered tool that blurs explicit images – and Deception Detector, which identifies spam, scams and fake profiles. Similarly, Match Group offers tools like buttons that say “Are You Sure?” to detect harmful language and “Does This Bother You?” to prompt users to report inappropriate behavior. Startup Rizz is experimenting with chatbots that help respond to messages. During Match Group’s investor day, Hinge’s CEO, Justin McLeod announced plans to build the “world’s most knowledgeable dating coach.” Hinge has seen a higher number of matches and subscription renewals with its improved AI algorithm among early test groups.
by Samantha Murphy Kelly
See full article at CNN
Mark Brooks: Large incumbent dating companies are sitting pretty because of large troves of data that can be used to inform AI to help move people towards finding better matches, improve their dates, and then make better decisions about what to do next.
See the top news on Match Group See the top news on Bumble
See the top news on Hinge See the top news on Rizz
Bumble Faces Another Investor Lawsuit for Misleading Forecast
BLOOMBERG LAW – A shareholder lawsuit has been filed against Bumble, alleging that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and the board made misleading statements about expected revenue growth from new app features. The suit, filed by Carmela Harnum in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, claims these statements led to inflated stock prices, causing financial losses when disappointing earnings were reported. Bumble’s stock dropped from $13.18 to $11.23 in February 2024 and from $8.06 to $5.71 in August 2024 following poor financial results. This is the third such lawsuit against Bumble in recent months. The company has not commented.