Bumble Beats Sales Estimates, Delivers Upbeat Revenue Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- Bumble Inc., owner of the dating app where women make the first move, gave an optimistic outlook for revenue in the third quarter, buoyed by expectations that prospective daters will continue swiping.

The company is predicting revenue of $195 million to $198 million in the current period, surpassing than the average analyst estimate of $191.2 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For the whole year, Bumble sees sales of $752 million to $762 million.

The upbeat outlook helped send shares up as much as 7% in late trading.

Bumble, which is free to download and offers basic features at no cost, has benefited from increasing vaccination rates and reopenings. The return of in-person socializing has spurred users to spend more on dating subscriptions and make more in-app purchases.

The Bumble app, which is most popular in North America, saw revenue grow by 55% in the second quarter to $127 million. The company’s Badoo app, which is focused on Europe, posted an 11% increase in revenue.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced Bumble and other popular dating apps, such as Match Group Inc.’s Tinder and Hinge, to focus more on online courtship -- rather than setting up in-person meetings. Dating apps also are working to expand beyond playing cupid for romantic relationships by sparking connections for platonic friendships.

Bumble’s overall sales rose 38% from the same period a year earlier to $186.2 million, beating the average analyst estimate of $178.7 million. Total paying users increased 20% to 2.9 million, with an average revenue per user of $20.88, up more than $2 from last year, the Austin, Texas-based company said Wednesday.

Read more: Bumble gives employees a week off to de-stress

Bumble launched non-dating services like Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF, which introduces business contacts and new friends, even before Covid-19 upended in-person socializing. However, Chief Executive Officer Whitney Wolfe Herd said the linking up friends will remain a key focus as the pandemic subsides. The company, which raised 2.15 billion in an initial public offering earlier this year, also opened a cafe and wine bar in New York’s Soho neighborhood in July.

Spending growth took a toll on the bottom line in the latest quarter, when Bumble had a loss of $11.1 million, or 6 cents a share.

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