Category: Match Group

Mandy Ginsberg and Shar Dubey Were Match Group CEOs and Best Friends

Posted on January 3, 2023

Mandy Ginsberg Shar DubeyFORTUNE – Ginsberg and Dubey worked as an inseparable unit across various jobs and corporations for two decades. They once tried to pitch Match Group's board, without success, on a co-CEO structure. Ginsberg and Dubey met at the software business i2 Technologies in Dallas in 2001. They became near-instant friends. In 2006, Ginsberg left i2 to join Match Group. Match was launching Chemistry, and wanted Ginsberg to run it. Two weeks in, she asked if Dubey knew anyone who could help with product. Dubey nominated herself – and got the job. In 2016, Ginsberg became CEO of Match Group, North America, and Dubey worked alongside her as president for the region. Each woman has the skills the other feels she lacks. Dubey has often grounded Ginsberg and helped her execute her vision, while Ginsberg serves as Dubey's personal hype-woman, prying her out of her shell. Dubey took over from Ginsberg in Mar 2020. She guided the company through its pivot to remote work and the changing norms of online dating. She became a vocal critic of Apple. Even though Ginsberg was no longer in the Match C-suite, Dubey still turned to her for guidance. "People complain that it's lonely at the top, but I never felt it," Dubey says. Frequent corporate restructuring makes it difficult to measure Match's growth and performance during Dubey and Ginsberg's tenures at the company. Their first team at the Match brand numbered ~200. Today, the company employs ~2,500 people. At the end of 2017, just before Ginsberg took over, Match was a $1.7B business; by the time Dubey left, it was earning $3B in annual revenue. 

by Emma Hinchliffe
See full article at Fortune

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Match Group: From Dominant Leader to Turnaround Play

Posted on December 22, 2022

Match GroupINVESTING.COM – Match stock has plunged 70% so far this year.  Decelerating growth has led to a soft outlook for Q4. New management and new efforts need to work for the stock to reverse. In a post-pandemic environment, there's little reason to believe that the steady, long-term rise of online dating is going to end, yet, MTCH closed Tuesday at its lowest level in ~4 years. In 2021, MTCH traded ~70x expected adjusted EPS. Unsustainable. Revenue increased 25% in 2021, and 17% in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was ~36% of revenue. Match expects revenue and adjusted operating income to decline YOY. The strong dollar is having an impact. (Bumble expects revenue growth of 22% to 25% in Q4). Wall Street remains behind Match: The average price target implies a ~60% upside. 

by Vince Martin
See full article at Investing.com

Mark Brooks: How well is Match positioned for growth and innovation? Please comment below.

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Apple Allowing Sideloading Has Some Benefits for Dating

Posted on December 14, 2022

AppstoreSEEKING ALPHA – If Apple were to allow third-party app stores on iPhones and iPads, a process known as sideloading, it would only provide a "relatively immaterial" benefit to companies such as Bumble and Match Group, as Samsung's Galaxy App Store only has Tinder and no other major dating apps. "We estimate that even if MTCH/BMBL are able to get 3% sideloading penetration in the EU, it would only be a ~$2M/~1M benefit to FY23 EBITDA," said the analysts at Morgan Stanley. Shares of Bumble and Match Group soared initially after the report that Apple is considering allowing third-party app stores but eventually closed the Tuesday trading session with more modest gains.

by Chris Ciaccia
See full article at Seeking Alpha

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Match Group Hit With Biometric Data Class Action

Posted on November 30, 2022

Match GroupLAW360 – An Illinois federal court will hear a proposed class action against Match Group and Tinder that alleges that the online dating companies violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act by illegally storing biometric facial scans of Tinder app users without their consent. Tinder allows users to earn a "blue checkmark" on their profile, meaning Tinder has "verified" their profiles under its Liveness Check and 3d Face Authentication process. The lawsuit accuses Tinder of failing to first secure written consent from Illinois users and provide certain notices to those people concerning how the facial scans will be used, stored, shared and ultimately destroyed, as allegedly required by the Illinois BIPA law.

by Piper Hudspeth Blackburn
See full article at Law360

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Match: Same-sex Marriage Could Be Under Threat 

Posted on November 22, 2022

Marriage equalityAXIOS – Match Group has been leading an advocacy campaign calling for the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriage which cleared a major procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate last week after garnering enough support from Senate Republicans. The Senate still has to pass the bill. Biden said he'd sign it into law.

by Michael Mooney
See full article at Axios

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A Dating App Subscription Isn’t a Bad Idea at a Time of High Inflation

Posted on November 9, 2022

Dating app screenshotQUARTZ – Like Match, Bumble is set to report an uptick in paying users. Tinder, which accounts for the lion's share of Match's 100M active users, posted a 6% growth in revenue and 7% increase in paying users. Bumble is expected to post a rise in Q3 revenue driven by a surge in paying users. The apps, which weathered the pandemic just fine, don’t seem to be shaken by economic woes either.

by Ananya Bhattacharya
See full article at Quartz

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Match Could Gain From Hinge’s Sustained Growth and Tinder Recovery

Posted on November 9, 2022

Match GroupBENZINGA – Match Group said Q3 revenue increased 1% YOY to $810M, which beat average analyst estimates of $795M. Paying users increased 2% YOY to 16.5M. Match Group plans to focus on Tinder growth as it heads into 2023. Match Group expects Q4 revenue to be between $780M and $790M. Keybanc analyst Justin Patterson views Match as an improving execution story that should benefit from sustained growth at Hinge and a recovery in Tinder. He views 2023 guidance for 5-10% revenue growth and at least flat margins as reasonable.

by Anusuya Lahiri
See full article at Benzinga

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Match Group Shuts Down Dating App Ship

Posted on November 7, 2022

Ship iconOPW – "As of September 30, 2022, Ship is no longer available. For questions or concerns, please contact us", says a message on the getship.co website. It is unclear why Match Group quietly pulled the plug on Ship, a dating app that lets singles involve friends in the matchmaking process, but it seems the app did not get enough traction. In the latest earnings call, Bernard Kim, Match Group CEO, said: "We must focus our investment on brands that are growing and pull back in areas that are not driving growth." This is the strategy Match Group is taking in 2023.

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Match Group Q3 Financial Results

Posted on November 2, 2022

Match Group for social mediaMATCH GROUP – Q3 revenue grew 1% YOY to $810M. Operating income was $211M, down 5% YOY. Payers increased 2% to 16.5M, up from 16.3M in Q3 2021. Tinder direct revenue grew 6% YOY, driven by 7% payers growth to 11.1M. All other brands collectively had a direct revenue decline of 5% YOY driven by an 8% payers decline. Hinge revenue grew ~40% YOY.

See full article at Match Group website

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Two Former Match Group CEOs Join Global Private Equity Firm

Posted on October 20, 2022

Mandy Ginsberg Shar DubeyBIZWOMEN – Advent today announced the appointments of Shar Dubey and Mandy Ginsberg, who collectively led Match Group for four years. The company said they will play key roles in building out Advent's consumer technology practice. Ginsberg served as CEO Match Group from 2018 to 2020 before transitioning the role to Dubey. Dubey stepped down in May and was replaced by Bernard Kim of Zynga, but continued to sit on Match's board and serve as an adviser. As of June 30, 2022, Advent International, based in Boston, had $96B in assets under management by 15 offices in 12 countries. The firm focuses on investments in business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology.

by Anne Stych
See full article at Bizwomen