By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) are trading 15% higher in pre-market Wednesday after Tinder's parent company delivered better-than-feared results.
Match delivered an EPS of $0.44 on revenue of $809.5 million, which compares to the consensus of $0.52 on sales of $795.5 million. For this quarter, Match said it expected revenue to come in between $780 million and $790 million, below the $810.4 million expectations.
However, shares were boosted by the outlook for the adjusted operating income, which came in the region of $270 million to $275 million, crushing the consensus of $208.3 million.
Despite the "challenging" environment, Match said it seeks to deliver 5-10% revenue growth on a full-year basis. The company expats Tinder Direct Revenue to "follow a similar growth pattern as the overall company with a full year growth rate of 5% to 10% and accelerating Y/Y growth on a quarterly basis as product execution gradually improves under the new team's leadership."
Goldman Sachs analysts noted "better than expected" results that should lead to a positive investor reaction.
Evercore ISI analysts said investors should expect cost cuts as the company continues to operate in a challenging environment.
"MTCH shares have traded off 30% since mid-September on lowering expectations (hence the +15% rally in the after-hours). This FY’23 guide is now the new reset and our expectation is for the company to raise guide through the year," the analysts wrote in a client note.