Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) shares are moving higher in pre-open Wednesday after the company delivered Q1 results and guidance for this quarter.
Match posted EPS of $0.42 on revenue of $787 million, which compares to the analyst estimate for earnings of $0.41 on sales of $794.12M. The company also reported 15.9M total payers while total revenue per payer came in at $16.26.
Match expects to generate roughly $800M in free cash flow this year with a goal of returning at-least half of FCF to shareholders.
“We’re confident that as our momentum continues to build, we will exit 2023 as a solidly growing business,” the company said in a shareholder letter.
For Q2, Match sees Q2 revenue between $805M and $815M, missing the $822.3M consensus. The adjusted operating income is seen in the range of $275M-$280M.
Full-year revenue growth is seen at the low end of the 5-10% range. The company also announced a new $1 billion share buyback program.
Despite softer-than-expected results and guidance, Match shares rose as the company said year-over-year Tinder subscriber revenue growth “remains solid.”
“While not yet easily visible in the business’s financial results, we’re seeing early signs in April that the changes are leading to greater momentum, which should position Tinder to exit 2023 with much improved financial performance and bright prospects going forward,” it is further said in the letter.
Goldman Sachs analysts weighed in positively on the MTCH stock.
“We expect investors to have an initial positive reaction to Match Group's Q1 '23 EPS report despite mixed Q1 performance (revenue miss vs. Adj. OI beat) and guidance, as management provided incremental disclosures on a number of key debates around Tinder paired with continued momentum at Hinge,” they said.