Dating Apps: Business and Love

Dating apps mainly offer a different way to find love, but they are also an excellent business opportunity.

In a way, dating apps are like tech stocks with characteristics similar to social media companies, and a successful app can have significant profit margins.

There are not too many dating app stocks that are publicly traded, but that’s a good thing for investors because each app offers a different way to get exposure.

Here are the best three dating companies to invest in:

Match Group

Match Group was founded after Match.com in 1995. The company has over 45 online dating brands focused on different demographics like age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

The company gained popularity with mobile technology and Tinder. Smartphones offered a new level of access to dating apps. Thanks to that, Tinder snowballed through the 2010s, meaning Match also grew.

Tinder is now central to the business, and more than half of the company’s revenue comes from Tinder. Match recently acquired Hinge, an app more focused on relationships than hookups.

Bumble

Bumble was created by Tinder’s former marketing executive Whitney Wolfe Herd. The company went public at the beginning of last year.

Bumble and Tinder are similar in that both apps’ users swipe left or right on prospective matches. The main difference is that in Bumble, only women can make the first move. Usually, this app is preferred by women, and men tend to be less aggressive.

The revenue of Bumble grew quickly through the year 2021, it went up 34%, and the margins were around 20%. And last month, Bumble acquired Fruitz, a European dating app focused on Gen Z.

Hello Group

Usually, China blocks most U.S. social media apps, so Tinder and Bumble are off the table. That gave Hello Group space, a mixture of social media and online dating.

The two biggest apps of the company are Momo, which is a social media and video entertainment app often used for online dating. And Tantan is similar to Tinder and uses the same swipe-based features.

After some government regulations and the pandemic, the company’s revenue was flat during the first three quarters of 2021. But when China lifts the pandemic restrictions, growth in the company is expected.