by Marissa Lang & Dominic Fracassa
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Category: Match Group
Global Online Dating Growth Potential Is Tremendous
Why Match Group Was Right To Dump Princeton Review
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Feb 8 – Match has entered into an agreement to sell Princeton Review to ST Unitas, a global education technology company, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close by June. Princeton Review offers test-prep services and a guide to colleges. The marriage between the dating and non-dating services left many investors scratching their heads. Princeton Review never contributed more than a small amount of revenue to the overall company. Match CEO Greg Blatt summed up the decision by saying, "It has become increasingly clear to us that its differences from our core dating businesses meaningfully exceed its similarities." Companies often shutter struggling business to focus on core operations. The amount of the sale was not disclosed, but Princeton Review's revenue in 2016 was $104M.
by Jeremy Bowman
See full article at The Motley Fool
A Sneak Peek Inside Match Group’s New HQ
Match Q4 Earning Release, Shares Dropped 6%
OPW – Feb 1 – Shares of Match Group were down ~6% in late trading, and dropped as much as 9%, after the company released its full year and Q4 2016 earning report, and missed analysts expectations. Revenue was $319.7M up 19% YOY. The number of paying subscribers went up 23% YOY to 5.7M. Dating properties generated $295M in revenue. Match Group has signed an agreement to sell all of its Nondating business, which operates under the umbrella of The Princeton Review, to ST Unitas, a global education technology company.
Match Group Stock: 2016 In Review
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Jan 15 – In its first full year as a publicly traded company, Match Group surged past expectations, climbing 26%. A number of factors led to its standout performance, including Tinder's growth, strong operating leverage, and consistently beaten earnings estimates. As the chart shows, Match Group stock plummeted sharply to start the year. Its earnings report from February sent the stock down 20% in two days, even as the company beat earnings estimates. The market instead focused on revenue growth, which increased just 12% to $267.5M short of estimates of $272M. Adjusted net income fell 2% as well, causing some investors to question the company's business model. As the market bounced back, so did Match shares, and the company delivered better numbers in its next report as the stock spiked 16%. Revenue growth accelerated to 21%, and average paid member count jumped 36% to 5.1M. Adjusted net income also jumped 30%. The stock peaked in October at over $19 but then plunged on its Q3 earnings report, as investors thought earnings growth would slow in 2017 based on management comments about investments. The stock slipped 12% on the news.
by Jeremy Bowman
See full article at Fox Business
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Match Group Has Lots Of Room To Grow
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Jan 3 – Since 2011, the online dating market has grown ~42%, according to Match. In 2011, there were 360M singles online looking for a partner, and at that point, Match had a monthly active user count of 8M, representing ~2% of the market. In 2016, Match has a monthly active user count of 59M and the number of single people online looking for partners has grown to 511M. That gives Match a hand in 11.5% of the online dating market. In the next four years, Match expects the number of single people online to grow another 31%.
The company expects to see big growth in India, Russia, Eastern Europe, South Korea, and Japan. India tops that list with an estimated 197M singles. Tinder recorded 400% growth in India last year. Tinder accounts for 27% of Match Group's total paid member base. During Q3, Tinder accounted for ~66% of the company's total paid member additions by bringing onboard 93k paid members.
by Harsh Chauhan
See full article at The Motley Fool
Tinder Blazes A Trail For Match Growth
THE MOTLEY FOOL – Dec 19 – Match Group CEO, Gregg Blatt, described Tinder as a "rocket." Tinder is now the top grossing "lifestyle" app in 99 countries with~1.5M paid members. Match has made it clear that they are relying on Tinder. Tinder's home US market still has plenty of room to expand. At the time of Match.com's IPO it was stated that Tinder had 50M users. Currently only 3% of these users are paid members, but with paid member count growth rates of 26% in Q3 for the domestic market and 46% internationally, there is plenty of opportunity to monetize the user base. International expansion is high on the agenda for Tinder with the online dating market in Europe and China alone expected to be worth a combined $2.4B by 2021.
by Sarah Priestley
See full article at Madison.com
Sean Rad Steps Down From Tinder CEO Role, And Launches ‘Swipe Ventures’
UK.BUSINESS INSIDER – Dec 9 – It's the second time Rad has stepped down from the top job at the company he cofounded four years ago, but he's not going away. The Tinder CEO position will be filled long-term by Greg Blatt, who is also the CEO of Match Group. Rad will remain the online dating company's chairman and help to guide strategy. He will also lead a new entity within Match, called "Swipe Ventures," which will be focused on buying companies to help Tinder.
Match Group Under Scrutiny
