(Reuters) -Bumble on Tuesday forecast first-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates, anticipating stiff competition from Tinder-parent Match Group amid slowing user spend on dating apps in an uncertain economy.
Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company, which offers dating apps such as Bumble, Badoo, and Fruitz, fell more than 5% in extended trading.
Bumble competes with larger rival Match Group, which is aggressively advertising and marketing to target younger users, at a time sticky inflation and high borrowing costs are affecting non-essential purchases.
In 2023, dating app operators remained under pressure, with Match’s stock dropping about 12% and Bumble falling about 30% on concerns of slowing growth.
The dating firm, which operates its eponymous app, expects current-quarter revenue between $262 million and $268 million, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $277.9 million, according to LSEG data.
Total paying users across Bumble’s apps increased to 4 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from 3.4 million a year earlier.
The company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $273.6 million, missing analysts’ estimates of $275.3 million.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
