Match’s first quarter performance met Wall Street’s revenue expectations but drew a sharp negative market reaction, as revenue declined year over year and paying users continued to fall. Management attributed the softness primarily to ongoing declines in Tinder’s user base and payer count, which CFO Steven Bailey described as “declining but at a stable rate.” CEO Spencer Rascoff acknowledged that some of the audience decline was intentional due to efforts to remove bad actors, but also emphasized the need for fundamental product changes to arrest broader user losses. Notably, the company announced a 13% workforce reduction and a broader organizational restructuring to unify operations and accelerate product development.
Is now the time to buy MTCH? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
Match Group (MTCH) Q1 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $831.2 million vs analyst estimates of $827.6 million (3.3% year-on-year decline, in line)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.68 vs analyst estimates of $0.66 (3.7% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $275.2 million vs analyst estimates of $264.1 million (33.1% margin, 4.2% beat)
- Operating Margin: 20.8%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Payers: 14.2 million, down 732,000 year on year
- Market Capitalization: $7.57 billion
While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Our Top 5 Analyst Questions Match Group’s Q1 Earnings Call
- Nathan Feather (Morgan Stanley) asked how Match will balance cost cuts with investments in product development. CEO Spencer Rascoff explained that restructuring enables confidence in margin targets while freeing up funds to reinvest in international expansion and product innovation.
- Ygal Arounian (Citi) questioned the acceleration of cost reduction plans. CFO Steven Bailey responded that the company pulled forward planned savings to achieve margin targets sooner, allowing for earlier reinvestment in growth initiatives.
- Shweta Khajuria (Wolfe Research) asked about the impact of App Store changes and potential macroeconomic headwinds. Rascoff detailed ongoing tests of alternative payment methods and noted that while subscription revenue is resilient, a la carte spending among young users is showing some weakness.
- Ben Black (Deutsche Bank) probed the effectiveness of Tinder’s new AI-driven features in New Zealand. Rascoff reported encouraging match quality improvements but stressed that broader user perception shifts will be key to turning around declining trends.
- Chris Kuntarich (UBS) inquired about progress on mandatory face photo verification and its rollout. Rascoff described the trust and safety work as foundational and ongoing, with new features being tested but not yet widely deployed.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
In the coming quarters, our analysts will be closely watching (1) whether new product features at Tinder improve user engagement and slow or reverse declines in paying users, (2) the pace and profitability of Hinge’s global expansion and adoption of AI-driven features, and (3) the impact of organizational restructuring on both operational efficiency and innovation speed. The team will also monitor macroeconomic pressures on discretionary spending among younger users and regulatory developments affecting app store monetization.
Match Group currently trades at $31.26, up from $30.38 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
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