Bumble Shares Jump 20% After Strong Q4 Revenue Beat

Dating app company Bumble reported better-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter, sending its shares up nearly 20% in extended trading on Wednesday. The strong results come as the company begins to see early progress from its ongoing turnaround strategy.

Bumble announced quarterly revenue of $224.2 million, which was higher than analysts’ estimates of $221.3 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company has been undergoing a major strategic overhaul since founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returned as CEO about a year ago. Under her leadership, Bumble has focused on improving its product, introducing new artificial intelligence (AI) features, and strengthening its appeal among younger users in an increasingly competitive online dating market.

As part of these efforts, Bumble revealed plans to launch Bumble 2.0, a redesigned version of the app. The new update will enhance the traditional swipe-based system with a chapter-based profile structure, allowing users to see more detailed information about potential matches.

Herd also said the company may experiment with a “no-swipe” experience in some markets while continuing to keep the swipe feature in others as it tests new ways to improve user engagement.

The online dating industry has recently been facing slower user growth. Many younger users report “swiping fatigue”, meaning they are tired of endlessly swiping through profiles. To address this issue, companies in the sector are increasingly investing in AI-powered tools to improve the quality of matches and simplify the dating process.

Major competitors such as Tinder and Hinge, which are owned by Match Group, have also accelerated the rollout of similar AI features. Match Group recently reported quarterly revenue above estimates as its own product improvements began showing early results.

Bumble is also developing a standalone AI feature that is currently being tested within the app. The tool is designed to act as a dating assistant, learning users’ preferences through private conversations and recommending more compatible matches.

Despite the revenue growth, some user metrics declined. Bumble said its average revenue per paying user increased 7.9% to $22.20, but the number of paying users fell 20.5% to 3.3 million during the quarter.

The company also significantly reduced its performance marketing expenses by more than 80% year-over-year in an effort to focus on organic growth, according to CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd.

Looking ahead, Bumble expects first-quarter revenue between $209 million and $213 million, with the midpoint slightly above analysts’ expectations of $210.9 million.

The company believes its ongoing product improvements, AI features, and the upcoming Bumble 2.0 update will help strengthen user engagement and drive future growth in the competitive online dating industry.