Hinge may be a bright spot in the fizzling online dating industry.
On Tuesday’s earnings call for Hinge and Tinder parent Match Group, CEO Spencer Rascoff said that Hinge is an example of what can be achieved with a motivated team and a great product.
“Simply put, Hinge is crushing it,” Rascoff said. “Hinge’s success should put to rest any doubts about whether the online dating category is out of favor among users.”
Match’s chief financial officer, Steven Bailey, said that Hinge generated $168 million in revenue in the second quarter, a 25% increase from the same time last year.
The dating app’s paying users grew by 18% year over year to 1.7 million, and revenue per paying user grew 6% to nearly $32.
Rascoff added that the company is following Hinge’s formula in its turnaround plans for Tinder. The company did not disclose as many numbers for Tinder as it did for Hinge, but said the app’s revenue was down 4%, to $461 million.
“Hinge’s success gives me pride in Hinge, but also confidence in Tinder,” the CEO said. “At Hinge, everything ladders up to one north star: getting users on more great dates.”
Rascoff said that Hinge was successful because it keeps “intentionality” at the core of a user’s dating experience and was using AI to craft “thoughtful high-quality responses, helping spark better first impressions.”
‘Numbers game’
In a memo in March, Rascoff, who joined Match as CEO in February, said that Tinder and Hinge users feel that the company is too driven by metrics.
“Too often, our apps have felt like a numbers game rather than a place to build real connections,” Rascoff wrote, adding that this needs to change.
“I’ve heard incredible stories of love,” Rascoff said. “But I’ve also heard frustration from users searching for real, meaningful matches and expecting more from the experience.”
Rascoff’s overhaul of the platforms follows a broader sentiment shift away from online dating. Swiping fatigue and the rising costs of going on dates are leading many users to ditch apps for outlets that allow in-person connections.
Between May 2023 and the end of 2024, more than half a million users left Tinder, according to a report from the UK-based online behavior research group Ofcom.
That’s showing up in dating apps’ bottom lines.
Revenue for rival app Bumble decreased 6.5% to $201.8 million in the first quarter of the year. Bumble reports its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, August 6.
On Tuesday, Match reported $864 million in second-quarter revenue, unchanged from the same time last year. It reported a 5% drop in operating profit to $194 million.
Match’s stock rose close to 7% after hours on Tuesday. The company is down 5.5% over the last year.
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