Bumble Cuts Annual Revenue Forecast As Ukraine War, Competition Bite

Bumble Inc cut its full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday, taking a hit from the war in Ukraine while also grappling with stiff competition from rivals such as Match Group Inc in the online dating market.

Shares of Austin, Texas-based Bumble fell nearly 13 per cent in after-hours trading, as its current-quarter forecast also remained below Wall Street estimates.

While Bumble has experienced a surge in popularity, its other dating app, Badoo, which is mostly used in Western Europe by the urban middle class segment, remains under pressure.

Bumble exited Russia and Belarus earlier this year following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, removing all of its apps from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store in those countries. read more

The impact from the war is expected to dent full-year revenue by USD 20 million, primarily in Badoo and other apps, at a time when Bumble is already playing catch-up with Tinder owner Match in the European market.

"It has been a challenging first half for Badoo... As Badoo serves a more economically sensitive user base, it has also felt the effects of COVID and now the macro environment, much more than Bumble app," Chief Executive Officer Whitney Wolfe Herd said on an earnings call.

Bumble now expects annual revenue between USD 920 million and USD 930 million for 2022, lower than its prior estimate of USD 934 million to USD 944 million and also below market estimates for USD 934.1 million, according to Refinitiv data.

While the Bumble app's paying users surged 31 per cent to 1.9 million in the quarter ended June 30, Badoo and other apps saw a cumulative slide of about 25 per cent to 1.1 million.

Bumble's revenue rose 18.4 per cent to USD 220.5 million in the quarter, edging past analysts' estimate of USD 219.4 million, while a loss of 3 cents per share came in wider than estimates for a 1-cent loss.

(Reuters)