Match Group stock: Billionaire puts pressure on Tinder’s parent company

Last Updated: 12. Januar 2024By

Hardly any dating app has spread as rapidly in recent years as Tinder. Simply swipe right – that’s all it takes for the matchmaking app Tinder to set up your next date. This also had a positive impact on the numbers of its parent company Match Group and, above all, on the development of the stock price for a long time.

But those days are long gone. Since reaching an all-time high in October 2021 at $175, the air has been let out of the stock. Currently, one share can be bought for just under $39. This in turn has caught the attention of billionaire Elliott, who has now acquired a multi-billion dollar stake in the company and wants to help the management get back on track.

Match Group – the top dog among dating apps Tinder may be the top dog among online dating services, but the number of dating apps has grown rapidly in recent years. Whether it’s OKCupid, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and Meetic (neu.de, LoveScout24) or apps focused on narrower target groups such as OurTime (singles over 50) or BlackPeopleMeet (African Americans) or Chispa (Latinos). But what many may not know is that behind a large number of these services (>40) is the Texas-based Match Group, which has also acquired many providers in recent years.

Revenue on the rise After a growth slump in the last few quarters, the US company was able to rebound in the third quarter: revenues increased by 8.9% to $882 million. At the same time, the growth rate was higher than in the second quarter when revenue increased by 4.4%. The biggest revenue contributor was the Tinder app, accounting for 57% (+11% to $508 million), followed by Hinge, which contributed 12% to the company’s revenue (+44% to $107 million).

Number of paying Tinder users decreases What may not have pleased investors were the subscription numbers for Tinder. The number of paying users decreased by around 6% to 10.4 million. However, the company-wide revenue per paying user increased by 15% to $18.39 due to price adjustments. The highest revenue per user was achieved by the company in America with $20.25 (+21%), followed by Europe with $18.37 (+19%) and the Asia Pacific and Other region with $14.60 (-4%).

Major investor sees buying opportunity Analysts expect earnings per share of $3.14 for 2024 (Source: Seeking Alpha). This puts the price-earnings ratio at 12, which doesn’t seem too expensive at first glance. This seems to be the case for billionaire Paul Singer as well, who according to media reports has just acquired a Match stock package worth $1 billion.

Who is behind Paul Singer Paul Singer is the hedge fund manager who brought Argentina to its knees. The 79-year-old son of a pharmacist began his career in the 1970s. Singer initially graduated with a degree in psychology and then earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence at Harvard Law School – an apparently profitable combination. In 1977, Singer started his own hedge fund, „Elliott Management Corporation,“ with a starting capital of around one million dollars. In the meantime, he has managed more than $30 billion with an impressive return on investment. According to the Financial Post, Singer achieved an average return of around 13% per year with his fund from 1977 to 2022.

Match Group management should brace themselves According to the Wall Street Journal, Paul Singer wants to push Match to improve its stock performance. Concrete demands from the investor are not yet known. It is also unclear whether he intends to nominate his own candidates for the board. But one thing is certain: the billionaire will do everything in his power to make a profitable exit from his investment. This in turn is likely to put considerable pressure on the Match Group management.