Tinder Daily Users Grow Again After Three And A Half Years, But Match Group Revenue Slips 3%

Tinder's daily active users returned to year-over-year growth in September for the first time in three and a half years, Match Group said Monday, even as third-quarter revenue fell 3% to $891 million and fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA guidance points down. Match Group, which runs dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, Match and OkCupid, said net income rose 8% to $174 million.

Hinge grows, Tinder and the rest shrink

Revenue fell 2% excluding currency effects. Tinder Direct Revenue, the money paid directly by users, slid 2% to $480 million, the company said. Hinge climbed 19% to $221 million, with payers up 23% to 2.3 million. The Everyone Everywhere group, which holds the other brands, plunged 20% to $176 million, on the reduction in revenue from Azar's app redesign and weakness at other brands.

Paying users across the company fell 5% to 13.8 million, while revenue per payer rose 3% to $21.19.

Adjusted EBITDA, the company's preferred earnings measure, rose 14% to $344 million. The year-earlier quarter carried a $61 million legal settlement charge; excluding it, the figure fell 5%, mainly on higher marketing spend at Tinder and Hinge.

Tinder's turnaround, by the numbers

Tinder's monthly active users still fell 5.5%, but the decline narrowed for the sixth consecutive quarter. Daily users were down just 1% for the quarter. Sparks, the company's proxy for meaningful connection (six-way conversations), grew 1%, and Tinder payers declined 4%.

CEO Spencer Rascoff said the strategy of better user experiences driving better business results is working, adding that "there's still work ahead." Management now says it is turning to monetization, applying "the same urgency to revenue in 2027 that we applied to user outcomes in 2026."

Tinder launched Group Hangouts in several Nordic countries in September and the U.S. in October, and plans to add more countries in coming months. Hinge is testing a lower-priced subscription tier ahead of an expected fourth-quarter rollout.

A lower fourth-quarter profit guide

Match Group guided fourth-quarter revenue to $865 million to $875 million, and Adjusted EBITDA to $327.5 million to $332.5 million. That is an 11% decrease from a year earlier at the midpoints, which the company attributed largely to more marketing at Tinder and Hinge and a prior-year gain on sale of a Los Angeles office building.

Through the first nine months, free cash flow was $832 million. The company repurchased 9.6 million shares for $336 million and paid $137 million in dividends. Diluted shares are down 4% from a year earlier as of October 31.

The board declared a $0.20 per share dividend, payable January 21, 2027 to holders of record January 6, 2027.

Management said it expects Hinge's lower-priced tier to roll out in the fourth quarter, with the next results due after that.

Sources

• 8-K Filing — Match Group, Inc. (MTCH) — SEC EDGAR
• Exhibit mtch8-k20261102ex991.htm — Match Group, Inc. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
• Exhibit mtch8-k20261102ex992.htm — Match Group, Inc. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
• Match Group, Inc. (MTCH) Stock Forecasts — Yahoo Finance
• Super.com Appoints Bernard Kim and Isabelle Winkles to its Board of Directors – Company Announcement - FT.com — Financial Times