Latest news with #user growth
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Bumble CEO: Step up your profile or we'll ghost you
After years of chasing user growth, Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd now wants low-quality users off her service. Soon, people with grainy profile pictures or lacking a bio may be forced to leave the app unless they improve. 'Our product is people. The quality of someone's experience, how they engage, find what they're looking for, and monetize depends on the quality of who and what they encounter on the platform,' Wolfe Herd explained on the company's earnings call on August 6. She outlined a strategy to create a healthier app ecosystem that involves categorizing users based on the quality of their profiles and pushing out people who are degrading the experience of Bumble. The almost 10-year-old-app has struggled in recent years to regain the momentum it had during the pandemic. In March, Wolfe Herd stepped back into the role as CEO, after ceding it to former Slack executive Lidiane Jones just over a year earlier. Wolfe Herd is now overhauling the app, reorienting it away from a growth-at-all-costs strategy and toward one that prioritizes a higher-quality user base and real connections. As part of that, Bumble is starting to separate the wheat from the chaff. Approve, Improve, and Remove On the earnings call, Wolfe Herd said the app will use AI and human moderators to sort users into three categories: Approve, Improve, and Remove. Approve users, according to Wolfe Herd, are ones who have adequately filled out their profiles, complete with multiple photos, and offer a clear picture of who they are. Improve users have incomplete profiles that could be refined to get more matches. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Pinterest Shares Fall After Earnings Miss, Slowing US User Growth
Pinterest Inc. reported second-quarter sales that beat analysts' expectations, but earnings for the second quarter were less than Wall Street expected and user growth in the US and Canada, the company's most lucrative market, was flat. The stock dropped by as much as 14% in after-hours trading. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.33, less than the average analyst estimate of $0.36. The company also reported 102 million monthly users in the US and Canada, the same number it had the prior quarter. Pinterest makes the vast majority of its revenue from North America.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Duolingo surges as AI-led growth, forecast raise boost investor confidence
By Akash Sriram (Reuters) -Duolingo shares surged nearly 30% before the bell on Thursday, after its annual forecast increase buoyed investor confidence in its ability to drive user growth through AI features and social engagement, while enhancing monetization. The company is maintaining user growth by experimenting with app features, using social engagement strategies and optimizing its subscription offerings to retain users and attract new ones. Duolingo runs experiments to determine which of its subscriptions are shown to which user and when, with the goal of maximizing long-term platform value rather than pushing any single plan. Average revenue per user grew 6% in the second quarter, driven largely by users migrating to Duolingo's higher-priced Max tier, which offers features such as AI-powered video calls for practicing conversational skills. It also saw growth in its $12.99-per-month Super plan. "While we maintain a more cautious stance on near-term user growth, we see several sources of upside still in the model, most notably across monetization efforts (price and improving paid conversion) and margins," Raymond James analysts said in a note. Duolingo's gross margin declined 100 basis points during the quarter, less than the 300-basis-point fall it had anticipated, due to lower-than-expected AI costs and stronger performance in ads business. "We did better on gross margin, in part because AI costs that power Max were lower than we expected, the cost of calling AI tools has come down a lot," Chief Financial Officer Matt Skarupa told Reuters. The company posted adjusted profit per share of 91 cents, surpassing analysts' estimate of 58 cents, prompting them to boost earnings expectations. It is set to add roughly $4.6 billion to its $15.62 billion market valuation, if premarket levels hold. Still, as of Wednesday's close, Duolingo shares traded at 85.21 times profit expectations before the results, above internet services companies such as Uber's 26.54 and DoorDash's 79.38. 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
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Duolingo surges as AI-led growth, forecast raise boost investor confidence
Duolingo shares surged nearly 30 per cent before the bell on Thursday, after its annual forecast increase buoyed investor confidence in its ability to drive user growth through AI features and social engagement, while enhancing monetization. The company is maintaining user growth by experimenting with app features, using social engagement strategies and optimizing its subscription offerings to retain users and attract new ones. Duolingo runs experiments to determine which of its subscriptions are shown to which user and when, with the goal of maximizing long-term platform value rather than pushing any single plan. Average revenue per user grew 6 per cent in the second quarter, driven largely by users migrating to Duolingo's higher-priced Max tier, which offers features such as AI-powered video calls for practicing conversational skills. It also saw growth in its $12.99-per-month Super plan. "While we maintain a more cautious stance on near-term user growth, we see several sources of upside still in the model, most notably across monetization efforts (price and improving paid conversion) and margins," Raymond James analysts said in a note. Duolingo's gross margin declined 100 basis points during the quarter, less than the 300-basis-point fall it had anticipated, due to lower-than-expected AI costs and stronger performance in ads business. "We did better on gross margin, in part because AI costs that power Max were lower than we expected, the cost of calling AI tools has come down a lot," Chief Financial Officer Matt Skarupa told Reuters. The company posted adjusted profit per share of 91 cents, surpassing analysts' estimate of 58 cents, prompting them to boost earnings expectations. It is set to add roughly $4.6 billion to its $15.62 billion market valuation, if premarket levels hold. Still, as of Wednesday's close, Duolingo shares traded at 85.21 times profit expectations before the results, above internet services companies such as Uber's 26.54 and DoorDash's 79.38.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Duolingo surges as AI-led growth, forecast raise boost investor confidence
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Duolingo (DUOL.O), opens new tab shares surged nearly 30% before the bell on Thursday, after its annual forecast increase buoyed investor confidence in its ability to drive user growth through AI features and social engagement, while enhancing monetization. The company is maintaining user growth by experimenting with app features, using social engagement strategies and optimizing its subscription offerings to retain users and attract new ones. Duolingo runs experiments to determine which of its subscriptions are shown to which user and when, with the goal of maximizing long-term platform value rather than pushing any single plan. Average revenue per user grew 6% in the second quarter, driven largely by users migrating to Duolingo's higher-priced Max tier, which offers features such as AI-powered video calls for practicing conversational skills. It also saw growth in its $12.99-per-month Super plan. "While we maintain a more cautious stance on near-term user growth, we see several sources of upside still in the model, most notably across monetization efforts (price and improving paid conversion) and margins," Raymond James analysts said in a note. Duolingo's gross margin declined 100 basis points during the quarter, less than the 300-basis-point fall it had anticipated, due to lower-than-expected AI costs and stronger performance in ads business. "We did better on gross margin, in part because AI costs that power Max were lower than we expected, the cost of calling AI tools has come down a lot," Chief Financial Officer Matt Skarupa told Reuters. The company posted adjusted profit per share of 91 cents, surpassing analysts' estimate of 58 cents, prompting them to boost earnings expectations. It is set to add roughly $4.6 billion to its $15.62 billion market valuation, if premarket levels hold. Still, as of Wednesday's close, Duolingo shares traded at 85.21 times profit expectations before the results, above internet services companies such as Uber's 26.54 and DoorDash's 79.38.
