Latest news with #WhitneyWolfeHerd
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reflecting On Consumer Subscription Stocks' Q1 Earnings: Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL)
As the Q1 earnings season comes to a close, it's time to take stock of this quarter's best and worst performers in the consumer subscription industry, including Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) and its peers. Consumers today expect goods and services to be hyper-personalized and on demand. Whether it be what music they listen to, what movie they watch, or even finding a date, online consumer businesses are expected to delight their customers with simple user interfaces that magically fulfill demand. Subscription models have further increased usage and stickiness of many online consumer services. The 8 consumer subscription stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts' consensus estimates by 1.9% while next quarter's revenue guidance was in line. Luckily, consumer subscription stocks have performed well with share prices up 16.6% on average since the latest earnings results. Started by the co-founder of Tinder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) is a leading dating app built with women at the center. Bumble reported revenues of $247.1 million, down 7.7% year on year. This print was in line with analysts' expectations, and overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts' expectations. 'Since I returned in mid-March, we have set an accelerated path to return to sustainable, long-term growth,' said Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder & CEO of Bumble Inc. Bumble delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The company reported 4.01 million active buyers, down 0.2% year on year. Interestingly, the stock is up 30.3% since reporting and currently trades at $5.72. Is now the time to buy Bumble? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Founded by a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor and his Ph.D. student, Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) is a mobile app helping people learn new languages. Duolingo reported revenues of $230.7 million, up 37.7% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 3.4%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. Duolingo delivered the fastest revenue growth and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company reported 130.2 million users, up 33.4% year on year. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 29.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $519.45. Is now the time to buy Duolingo? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Spun out from Netflix, Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) makes hardware players that offer access to various online streaming TV services. Roku reported revenues of $1.02 billion, up 15.8% year on year, exceeding analysts' expectations by 1.5%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a slight miss of analysts' number of total hours streamed estimates. Interestingly, the stock is up 2.3% since the results and currently trades at $68.85. Read our full analysis of Roku's results here. Started as a physical textbook rental service, Chegg (NYSE:CHGG) is now a digital platform addressing student pain points by providing study and academic assistance. Chegg reported revenues of $121.4 million, down 30.4% year on year. This result topped analysts' expectations by 5.8%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates but a decline in its users. Chegg delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 3.19 million users, down 31.5% year on year. The stock is up 42.4% since reporting and currently trades at $0.97. Read our full, actionable report on Chegg here, it's free. Founded by two Stanford University computer science professors, Coursera (NYSE:COUR) is an online learning platform that offers courses, specializations, and degrees from top universities and organizations around the world. Coursera reported revenues of $179.3 million, up 6.1% year on year. This number surpassed analysts' expectations by 2.3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts' expectations. The company reported 175.3 million active customers, up 18% year on year. The stock is up 10.3% since reporting and currently trades at $8.47. Read our full, actionable report on Coursera here, it's free. In response to the Fed's rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been gradually trending down from its post-pandemic peak, trending closer to the Fed's 2% target. Despite higher borrowing costs, the economy has avoided flashing recessionary signals. This is the much-desired soft landing that many investors hoped for. The recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November 2024) have bolstered the stock market, making 2024 a strong year for equities. Donald Trump's presidential win in November sparked additional market gains, sending indices to record highs in the days following his victory. However, debates continue over possible tariffs and corporate tax adjustments, raising questions about economic stability in 2025. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Join Paid Stock Investor Research Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Unprofitable Stock Worth Your Attention and 2 to Question
Unprofitable companies face headwinds as they struggle to keep operating expenses under control. Some may be investing heavily, but the majority fail to convert spending into sustainable growth. A lack of profits can lead to trouble, but StockStory helps you identify the businesses that stand a chance of making it through. That said, here is one unprofitable company that could turn today's losses into long-term gains and two that could struggle to survive. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: -67% Started by the co-founder of Tinder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) is a leading dating app built with women at the center. Why Does BMBL Fall Short? Decision to emphasize platform growth over monetization has contributed to 4.9% annual declines in its average revenue per buyer Forecasted revenue decline of 11.1% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall off a cliff Free cash flow margin dropped by 4.4 percentage points over the last few years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up At $5.76 per share, Bumble trades at 2.5x forward EV/EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with BMBL, check out our full research report (it's free). Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: -135% Started as a physical textbook rental service, Chegg (NYSE:CHGG) is now a digital platform addressing student pain points by providing study and academic assistance. Why Do We Think CHGG Will Underperform? Struggled with new customer acquisition as its services subscribers averaged 13.4% declines Overall productivity fell over the last few years as its plummeting sales were accompanied by a decline in its EBITDA margin Sales were less profitable over the last three years as its earnings per share fell by 30.8% annually, worse than its revenue declines Chegg is trading at $1.01 per share, or 1.7x forward EV/EBITDA. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CHGG in your portfolio, it's free. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: -10.8% Founded in 2010, Workiva (NYSE:WK) offers software as a service product that makes financial and compliance reporting easier, especially for publicly traded corporations. Why Does WK Stand Out? Ability to secure long-term commitments with customers is evident in its 19.5% ARR growth over the last year Forecasted revenue growth of 16.9% for the next 12 months suggests stronger momentum versus most peers Superior software functionality and low servicing costs are reflected in its stellar gross margin of 76.7% Workiva's stock price of $68.61 implies a valuation ratio of 4.3x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it's free. Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump's presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth. While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we're leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years. Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
10-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Whitney Wolfe Herd on burning out — and bouncing back
In Brief Whitney Wolfe Herd returned in March to lead Bumble, the dating app she founded and took public, following the unexpected departure of CEO Lidiane Jones. Now, in a New York Times interview, Wolfe Herd opens up about what happened. 'I had no intentions of coming back,' Wolfe Herd says. Her post-Bumble life initially brought existential questions about her identity, eventually giving way to daily meditation and board calls from the sidelines. That changed when Jones reached out to confess she was overwhelmed. Shortly after that conversation, Jones resigned. Wolfe Herd dismisses speculation of conflict between them. 'I think the world wants people – particularly when it's a woman to a woman – they want there to be some riff. There's no riff,' she emphasizes. Wolfe Herd recognized her own burnout reflected in Jones's exhaustion. 'I felt like I was looking in a mirror. I felt like I was looking at myself a year prior… [Jones] herself had made some of the same mistakes I had made, which was working that extra hour, putting in that extra trip.' Herd, who announced Friday on Instagram that she's expecting her third child, addresses the company's struggles in her Times interview. With Bumble this week reporting first-quarter earnings that fell 7.7% year-over-year, she say that, 'Bumble needs me back. It's an extension of me to some degree, and watching it fall from its peak has been very hard.'
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Can Whitney Wolfe Herd Make Us Love Dating Apps Again?
It feels like a lifetime ago, but when Whitney Wolfe Herd co-founded her first company, the dating app Tinder, the overwhelming feeling about apps and screens and tech in general was optimism. This was 2012, Wolfe Herd was just out of college, and she, too, was optimistic — about being a woman in tech, about dating apps, about technology's ability to solve big problems. In the decade-plus since, Wolfe Herd and the culture have learned some lessons. Famously, Tinder gamified the search for love, introducing that addictive swipe feature to its target audience: millennials. It was a huge hit, but Wolfe Herd's time at the company was brief. In 2014, she left Tinder and sued, claiming that she experienced sexual harassment and discrimination from one of her co-founders, with whom she also had a relationship. The company denied responsibility, and the case was settled. Soon after that, at 25, she started the dating app Bumble, which billed itself as a safe space for women to find love. (The big innovation on Bumble: Women made the first move.) Wolfe Herd became a darling of the so-called 'girl-boss era' — making the Time 100, Forbes's 30 Under 30, all those women in tech lists — and got very rich in the process, becoming the youngest woman to take a company public and, briefly, a billionaire. But post-pandemic, with Gen-Z souring on dating apps and wanting IRL connection, Bumble's shares fell sharply, and last year Wolfe Herd decided to step down as chief executive. It felt like the end of an era and probably was one, except that the departure didn't last. After a little more than a year away, she is back at the company she founded with a plan to turn its fortunes around: It involves Silicon Valley's latest transformative technology, A.I., and some perspective on what technology can and can't do for us. It also involves a broader vision for the app beyond dating: Wolfe Herd told me that she would like Bumble to eventually help users find love by learning to love themselves via self-reflective quizzes the company is developing and also to point members to local social gatherings so they can get off the app and into the world. You can decide if all this leaves you feeling optimistic about Bumble, about female leaders in tech, about human connection, or not. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio App You've been in tech since your early 20s. What was it like to have time away? It was the first time I was faced with 'Who am I without one of these huge consumer brands attached to me?' and that's a very strange place to be. I was 22 when we were starting Tinder, and I became the Tinder girl. Then I became the Tinder lawsuit girl and then I became the Bumble girl. This became an extension of my identity. I am the type of founder-C.E.O. who is in every detail. I'm emailing members who are having bad experiences personally. And so to relinquish that level of involvement took maturity I didn't know I possessed and a release of control that I didn't know I was capable of. So it was very destabilizing at first when I stepped away because I was like, Who am I without all of this? And when I left Bumble, it was tough, because it didn't play out the way I'd hoped in terms of the narrative. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Business Insider
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
How dating app Bumble got off track, according to its CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd
Bumble's CEO knows you're not happy with dating apps. The dating app company reported its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and Bumble's founder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, was blunt about how the company's focus on growth "came with a hidden cost." "What we learned is that just adding more profiles does not guarantee better matches," Wolfe Herd added. "In fact, it can lead to the opposite — more mismatches, more fake or low-quality profiles, and a frustrating experience. As mass quality dropped, some members got discouraged, found fewer successful matches and dates, and fewer people recommended the app to others." Wolfe Herd also said Bumble's pivot from word-of-mouth marketing to performance channels hurt the app's user experience. Bumble — and many other dating apps — saw rapid growth during the pandemic. Riding the wave, Bumble had its IPO in 2021. Since hitting its all-time high in February 2021, however, the company's stock price has dropped by more than 90%. In January 2024, Wolfe Herd stepped down as CEO, and that February, the company laid off hundreds of staffers (about 30% of the company) ahead of a relaunch of the app. Wolfe Herd returned to Bumble as CEO this March. The company reported a 7.7% decline in total revenue for the first quarter, decreasing from $267 million in the first quarter of 2024 to $247 million in the same period in 2025. Bumble app revenue also dropped 6.5%. But Wolfe Herd said she has a plan to get Bumble back on track. In addition to pulling back performance marketing spend, she said the company would double down on removing "bad intention members that have degraded match quality and member trust," while also building out more technology like a "personalized matching algorithm" using AI. Bumble's not the only dating app company looking for new lanes. As dating app giants face headwinds, a slew of new startups have emerged. Some have attracted the attention of both users and investors, particularly with new AI-powered features like matchmaking. Meanwhile, Bumble's primary competition, Match Group — which owns Tinder and Hinge — announced Thursday that it's planning to lay off 13% of its staff, and also reported a 3% year-over-year revenue decline in the first quarter. The company said this was driven by a 5% decline in paying users. Match's new CEO, Spencer Rascoff, also discussed the challenges dating apps are facing. "The category challenges have been due primarily to a lack of innovation and our failure to recognize and respond to changes in the younger demographic, especially Gen Z and what they want," he said.
