Match Group Inc. reported that the COVID-19 recovery in some of its “important” Asian markets was slow compared to the U.S. and Europe, sending its shares down 4% despite a rather rosy forecast of above-average quarterly earnings.
Many economies have begun to open up, but a resurgence of cases attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant has raised concerns in many markets about how long the recovery can take.
Still, Match Group said it expects third-quarter revenue between $790 million and $805 million, more than Refinitiv’s IBES forecast of $766.4 million, as more users pay for its dating apps to connect online and offline with others after the pandemic restrictions were eased.
Tinder, Bumble and other dating apps enjoyed increased demand in 2020 as lockouts sent people online in search of love and friendship.
Now that vaccinations are gaining momentum and people are starting to go out, these dating apps are working hard to highlight features that help them maintain those connections and meet in person.
In the second quarter, Match Group added 15 million payers, a recently introduced metric that includes all users who contributed to revenue, representing a 10% increase in revenue per payer.
Total revenue from the Hinge and OkCupid owner rose 27% to $707.8 million in the quarter ended June 30, exceeding previous forecasts of about $691.1 million.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.
