Match Group NASDAQ: MTCH reported second-quarter revenue of $853 million, down 1% from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA rose 14% to $331 million. The company said progress at Tinder, including improved engagement trends and a broader product roadmap, supported its confidence in the business despite continued declines in monthly active users and payers.
CEO Spencer Rascoff said Tinder’s daily active users were nearing year-over-year growth after declining 4% in the second quarter, its best result in 10 quarters. In July, daily active users were down about 2.5% year-over-year, and Rascoff said the metric was “almost positive” in early August. He said a return to positive year-over-year usage would be Tinder’s first in more than three years.
Tinder product changes target engagement and reconsideration
Rascoff attributed improved engagement primarily to product improvements, including recommendation-algorithm updates, lower-pressure social features and trust-and-safety tools. Tinder has introduced Double Date, Music Mode, Astrology Mode, Events, video speed dating, search, redesigned chat and Likes You features, updated profiles and photo uploads, and Face Check.
The company also completed Tinder’s first full rebrand in nearly a decade, rolling out a new logo, color palette, word mark, typography and visual identity globally. Rascoff said nearly all engagement metrics improved after the rollout, while CFO Steven Bailey said the rebrand did not produce the revenue or engagement disruption management had anticipated.
Tinder’s monthly active users declined 7% year-over-year in the second quarter, improving from an 8% decline in the first quarter. The company said trends improved across each of Tinder’s five largest revenue countries. In the U.S., the MAU decline improved by approximately 2.5 percentage points sequentially. Global MAU among women was down 8%, compared with an 11% decline in the first quarter.
Matches rose 14% year-over-year, according to Rascoff, while “sparks,” a measure of meaningful user connections, declined 4% in the second quarter but improved to a 1% decline in July. Spark coverage increased 2% in the quarter and 5% in July.
Tinder direct revenue was $457 million, down 1% year-over-year, including an approximately $8 million negative impact from user-experience tests and product changes. Payers declined 5% to 8.5 million, while revenue per payer increased 4% to $17.90. Bailey said payer declines have been narrower than MAU declines for several quarters, resulting in improved payer penetration.
The company is placing particular emphasis on Tinder Events, which enables users to find local activities, view other interested attendees and connect afterward. Following a March pilot in Los Angeles, Events is available in nine additional cities across the U.S. and Europe and is expected to reach 26 cities by the end of September and 75 cities by year-end.
Rascoff said the feature is being scaled primarily through event-provider partnerships and is not expected to materially change Tinder’s profitability profile. He added that 71% of eligible Tinder users ages 18 to 24 engaged with the Events tab during the Los Angeles pilot, and more than half returned the following week.
Hinge posts double-digit growth and continues international expansion
Hinge remained the company’s primary growth engine. Direct revenue increased 22% year-over-year to $204 million, with payers rising 17% to 2 million and revenue per payer climbing 4% to $33.11. Adjusted EBITDA increased 48% to $79 million.
Global Hinge MAU grew 13%, driven largely by expansion markets. Hinge’s European expansion markets generated direct-revenue growth of 86%, and the brand maintained the No. 1 downloaded position in aggregate across those markets during the quarter, management said. Hinge entered six new European countries during the quarter and four additional Latin American markets.
In core markets, MAU was relatively flat year-over-year, although revenue continued to grow at a double-digit rate in aggregate. Management identified Asia as a significant future expansion opportunity and said Hinge is increasing marketing investment in India, where it has already seen strong organic growth.
Hinge recently launched Friend’s Take, which lets friends and family contribute text, voice, video and photo reflections to a user’s dating profile. The company also highlighted Signals, a feature that recognizes thoughtful participation. In testing, Signals increased selfie verification among existing users by 15%. Hinge plans to test an additional subscription tier in the third quarter, aimed at creating differentiated offerings relevant to women.
Management reiterated its expectation that Hinge will reach $1 billion in revenue in 2027.
E&E faces Azar redesign pressure
The company’s Everyone Everywhere, or E&E, segment, which includes Azar and Pairs along with other brands, reported direct revenue of $179 million, down 17% year-over-year. Payers fell 21% to 2.7 million, while revenue per payer increased 4% to $22.24. Adjusted EBITDA rose 69% to $54 million.
Bailey said the required redesign of Azar’s app has reduced the segment’s revenue base. The company expects the redesign to create a roughly $15 million negative impact on Match Group revenue in the third quarter. Rascoff said Match Group is concentrating product and engineering resources on selected E&E brands, including Match, OurTime, BLK, Upward, Pairs and Azar, while applying shared capabilities such as recommendation systems, trust and safety, marketing and analytics.
Outlook and capital returns
For the third quarter, Match Group expects total revenue of $885 million to $895 million, down 2% to 3% year-over-year, including a one-percentage-point foreign-exchange headwind. It expects adjusted EBITDA of $330 million to $335 million, representing about 10% growth at the midpoint.
For full-year 2026, the company expects revenue near the midpoint of its prior guidance range and adjusted EBITDA at or above the high end of its February guidance. It also expects EBITDA margin to exceed its 37.5% target.
Management now expects Tinder user-experience tests and product changes to reduce full-year direct revenue by $30 million to $40 million, below its prior $60 million estimate. Rascoff said Tinder is expected to reach flat MAU by the end of the fourth quarter of 2027, return to payer growth by that period and deliver full-year 2027 revenue growth over 2026.
Match Group generated $527 million in free cash flow through the first half of 2026. It repurchased $245 million of shares during that period, paid $91 million in dividends and said it plans to continue returning 100% of free cash flow to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.
About Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH)
Match Group, Inc NASDAQ: MTCH is a leading provider of online dating products and services. The company owns and operates a diverse portfolio of consumer brands that connect singles through digital platforms. Its flagship offerings include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and PlentyOfFish, which together serve users looking for long-term relationships, casual encounters and social networking opportunities.
Originating with the launch of Match.com in 1995, Match Group has grown through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions.
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