Bumble reassures investors as first-quarter revenue meets expectations

By Kritika Lamba

(Reuters) -Bumble reported a more than 7% fall in first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, but met Wall Street estimates, soothing some investor worries over stiff competition as it revamps its dating apps and cuts costs.

Shares of the company jumped 7% in extended trading.

The online dating industry has been grappling with declining user engagement stemming from sticky inflation and a lack of innovative features, prompting companies such as Bumble and its bigger rival Tinder-parent Match to refine their applications to pull subscribers.

Paying users for Bumble app decreased nearly 1% to 2.7 million.

Bumble is targeting to enhance user experience to drive growth. The company said it is leveraging AI to beef up safety and verification, while further enhancing its match-making quality and dating coaching using the feature.

"I would expect some additional price increases are going be in line here or forthcoming based on the way that management's describing it (the revamp), the focus is on improving the user experience," said Chandler Willison, research analyst at M Science.

Bumble is also taking steps to reduce costs and has cut marketing budget by $20 million, it said on a post-earnings call.

The efforts are expected to offer a much-needed reprieve to the dating app operator, which has faced challenges in securing investor confidence in recent quarters.

While challenges still persist, Bumble anticipates less of a revenue decline quarter-over-quarter and continuous profitability growth in second quarter, said Jamie Lumley, fundamental analyst at Carbon Arc.

"Given that Bumble is in a mature market that is vulnerable to macroeconomic headwinds, there is some encouragement to be taken from these numbers about how Bumble can weather the current environment," Lumley said.

For the first quarter, the company posted revenue of $247.1 million, including an unfavorable impact of $5.9 million from foreign currency movements. Analysts expected $246.2 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company expects second-quarter revenue to be between $235 million and $243 million, with the midpoint below the estimate of $243 million.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)