Match Group (MTCH) Q4 2025 earnings

Match Group beat the fourth quarter Wall Street predictions It was published on Tuesday but poor guidance It is investing in new products and artificial intelligence initiatives to reverse declining user growth at Tinder.

Shares soared during extended trading. The stock closed down 8% on Tuesday.

The company’s performance according to LSEG forecasts is as follows:

• Earnings per share: 70 cents expected versus 83 cents
• Revenues: $878 million versus $871 million expected

The dating platform issued an underwhelming forecast for 2026, predicting revenue of $3.41 billion to $3.54 billion, compared to FactSet’s forecast of $3.59 billion.

Finance chief Steve Bailey attributed the weaker-than-expected forecast to the company’s strategic investments in Tinder and weakness in the evergreen and emerging segment with Asian brands. OkCupid And Plenty of Fish.

Match allocated a budget of $60 million for artificial intelligence and product launches on Tinder. These initiatives will create a one-and-a-half point negative on monetization in the short term, but will support a better app experience, Bailey told CNBC. The introduction of Face Control is expected to impact guidance by one point.

“We are willing to make this compromise because it will support the product experience we need to get user growth back on track,” he said.

Bailey also said that the impact due to product changes was lower than expected in the fourth quarter and that a continuation of this trend could give positive direction to the guidance.

Match is in the midst of a major business overhaul as it tries to buck Tinder’s declining user trends and appeal to younger users.

The dating company, led by CEO Spencer Rascoff, who took over last February, has unveiled a three-year transformation plan that includes restructuring and implementing new artificial intelligence tools.

Part of his turnaround goal is to reach $1 billion in annual revenue with Hinge by 2027. The company is expanding the platform internationally and investing in new tools like AI-powered chat starters to increase engagement.

Hinge’s direct revenue increased 26% year over year to $186 million.

Match’s paying users fell 5% year over year to 13.8 million in the fourth quarter, falling short of StreetAccount’s forecast of 14.1 million. The segment also recorded a 5% year-on-year decline in the third quarter.

The decline in paying users accounts for a more significant decline at Tinder, where paying users are down 8% from a year ago, Bailey said. He said those declines were attributed to business development deals completed in the fourth quarter, which led to harsher comparisons.

Net income rose to $209.7 million, or 83 cents per share, from $158.3 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue was up 2% from a year ago.