Match Group-MTCH Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Drop Y/Y, Shares Fall

Core Insights - Match Group (MTCH) reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of 82 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.38% and reflecting a 0.7% decline year-over-year [1] - Revenues for the quarter were $860 million, down 0.7% year-over-year but exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.48% [2] - The company anticipates first-quarter 2025 revenues of$ 820- $830 million, indicating a 3-5% year-over-year decline primarily due to decreased Tinder direct revenues [10] Financial Performance - Total operating costs and expenses increased 5.1% year-over-year to$ 636.8 million, representing 74% of revenues [7] - Adjusted operating income for the fourth quarter was $323.9 million, down 10.4% year-over-year, with an adjusted operating margin of 37.7%, a contraction of 410 basis points [7] - The number of total payers decreased 4% year-over-year to 14.61 million, while total revenues per payer (RPP) increased 5% year-over-year to$ 19.29 [4] Revenue Breakdown - Direct revenues from Tinder decreased 3.5% year-over-year to $476 million, while Hinge direct revenues increased 27.2% year-over-year to$ 147.7 million [4][5] - Match Group Asia's direct revenues declined 9.5% year-over-year to $66.6 million due to forex fluctuations [6] - Evergreen and Emerging revenues decreased 7.6% year-over-year to$ 155.1 million, despite a 14% increase in payers [6] Shareholder Actions - The company repurchased 3.1 million shares for $117 million in the fourth quarter and 22.2 million shares for$ 753 million throughout 2024 [8][9] - As of February 4, 2025, $1.75 billion in aggregate value of shares was available under the current repurchase program [9] Future Guidance - For 2025, Match Group expects revenues of$ 3,375- $3,500 million, implying a 3% year-over-year decline to 1% growth [12] - Adjusted operating income for 2025 is projected to be$ 1,232-$1,278 million, with an AOI margin of at least 36.5% [13]