Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd Says There’s a Historic Demand for This

According to Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, this year could be huge when it comes to the dating industry.

More people getting vaccinated could lead to more people hunting for love.

“Clearly, there has never been a moment in recent history that will present itself with such a demand to meet new people and to date again,” Herd said on the company’s first earnings call since going public in February. “The entire globe has gone through an incredibly lonely period.”

Shares of the company were up almost 10% to $69.09 ahead of the bell on Thursday.
The company’s fourth quarter sales saw a growth of 31% from 24% in the third quarter.

Sales for the BUmble app and Badoo app saw a 47% and 10% increase respectively and total paying users rose 32% to 2.7 million.

Highlights from the company’s quarterly report include:

4Q Net Sales: $165.6 million vs. $163.3 million estimate
4Q EPS: Loss of 1 cent (no estimates yet)
2021 Sales Guidance: $716 million to $726 million vs. $716 million estimate
2021 Adjusted EBITDA: $173 million to $178 million (no estimates yet)

“While we do expect some EBITDA margin contraction due to investments in international markets and relaunched brand marketing campaigns, we believe rev growth should handily beat initial guidance given significant pent-up demand for dating,” remarked Jefferies analyst Brent Thill.

Herd created Bumble in 2014. She was the co-founder of Tinder.

“We are committed to our mission, our customers and to advancing the business, which fueled our strong fourth quarter and full year 2020 results,” said Herd on the earnings call. “Our significant increase in revenue and paying users is a direct result of our team’s dedication and remarkable agility during a challenging pandemic. Looking ahead, we remain focused on driving scale, investing in our users and expanding internationally. Our IPO was a pivotal milestone, but we are just getting started and are excited for the next chapter of our journey.”

Shares of the company had a $76 opening price on their Feb. 11 trading debut.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.