Bumble Inc. shares slid after it reported worse-than-expected revenue guidance for the current period, one day after announcing it would replace its chief executive officer.
The dating app company expects revenue for the three months ending December to be between $272 million and $278 million, missing the average analyst estimate of $285.9 million. Revenue outlook for the year also came in below expectations, as did revenue for the third quarter, which the company reported Tuesday.
Bumble shares fell 6.9% in late trading at 4:16 p.m. in New York. They had declined 36% so far this year.
Chief Executive Officer Whitney Wolfe Herd struck an optimistic tone despite the guidance misses. “By continuing to execute successfully on growth initiatives, we are strengthening our market leadership in online dating and making progress on the sizable opportunity beyond dating,” she said in the company’s earnings statement.
Wolfe Herd had announced Monday she would step down from the company she founded nearly 10 years ago, with Lidiane Jones, the CEO of Salesforce Inc.’s Slack, replacing her at the start of next year. Wolfe Herd will become executive chair.
The surprise announcement raised questions from analysts about near-term business operations and Bumble’s ongoing expansion plans for new pricing tiers and products beyond the dating use case.
Investors have been concerned about the overall growth of the dating app market, where there is intense competition not just between dating apps, but also with social media on which users are spending more screen time, according to an October survey by Citi researchers.
Shares of Bumble competitor Match Group Inc., which owns Tinder and Hinge, hit a record low last week after it reported disappointing third-quarter results and guidance for the fourth quarter, with analysts citing macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, as well as user churn from newly introduced weekly pricing tiers.
