Match Group Inc at Citi TMT Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : All right, Steve. You've been CFO for almost a year. There's been a lot of changes at Match, including Spencer coming in as CEO and also leading Tinder. Just would love to hear kind of at the highest level how the culture has changed with Spencer on board, how that company might be operating differently and what that means for Match.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. Great. Yeah, I think it's notable in some of the way the speed of change you're seeing in some of the aspects, and we'll dig into that a little bit more. But maybe just to start at the macro level on the dating app ecosystem because that still continues to get a lot of attention from investors. And what -- how saturated the market is or what the opportunity is from here. One of the things that we're seeing in the space and with Tinder also is just around trust and safety, some kind of like shrinking to get bigger and navigating the overall user ecosystem. What's your view on where the dating app ecosystem is today? And do you think we need to expand beyond dating? Is it AI that kind of moves the needle? Just kind of like state of the union on that, and then we'll dig into Match a little bit more.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. We'll come back to AI, but I like that comparison to mobile and how mobile changed the dating ecosystem. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 03, 2025 / 2:50PM, MTCH.OQ - Match Group Inc at Citi TMT Conference

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Yeah. So that's an interesting point. We'll come back to AI. Just one quick follow-up on the Gen Z point, digging a little bit deeper. So it does -- it sounds like the kind of not keeping pace with the evolving changes within the younger audiences was part of the challenge that the space has seen and that -- but that's also the opportunity right now.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. Great. So let's start talking about the product, and we'll start with Tinder obviously. So the turnaround is still in earlier days, you've kind of accelerated the product velocity there, but we're still rolling out some of those things and it's still early. Maybe just talk about the product and the drivers and your expectations to get Tinder back to a better spot. Like what are the things that get you there? And to be frank, I guess, we've been through this maybe a few times with Tinder over the past few years on this path to get into a healthier spot. What's different this time about the approach?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. So I just want to tie that together, just to be clear. So on the accelerating velocity on the product side, Double Date, interactive matching. And maybe we can dig into the product a little bit more. But does that mean that in the near term, those products aren't being monetized directly, they're meant to drive MAUs and top of funnel and then think about monetization? Is that the right way think about it?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay, right. So you've hit on interactive matching, hit on double dating. Anything from double dating in particular early on that you're seeing that's getting you excited? And as we think about product, and you guys always say it's not one product or it's not in two products, right? It's the cadence of things. So is it -- what should investors be looking for on the product road map? Or is it still a lot of things to come that are going to push you forward? Is it some of the things that have been launched so far? Like what's the most -- like what are the things to be the most excited about, I guess?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : And trust and safety has just become an ongoing -- like it's an ongoing effort.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Got it. Okay. So I'm not trying to put you to a specific timeline or trying to say here, okay, this is when we get back to growth. But ultimately, that's what investors are looking for.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : I'm happy to do it if you want me to, but -- so let's just think about that kind of, right? So we're working on all these things. Ultimately, you want to get back to -- you're talking about being a little bit more balanced with monetization. Like how do we see this start to play out as you get back to that? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 03, 2025 / 2:50PM, MTCH.OQ - Match Group Inc at Citi TMT Conference

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. Got it. So a good segue. I want to get into marketing here and comment's interesting on, yeah, Tinder has always been word of mouth. You've been supporting it with marketing, obviously, as well. And you guys always talk about how marketing a product has to go hand in hand if you push on marketing before the products are ready doesn't really work, but you are pushing on marketing again here. And in that effort to change the brand perception around Tinder, do you think you've made the right amount of progress? And kind of what's the marketing strategy here going forward, particularly as we get back to school in a busier seasonality for you?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. Great. So I want to move on to Hinge also given the strength in the growing importance of it, I think, for you guys as it gets bigger. So it has been growing well. It's accelerating in the second half. It's on track to that $1 billion revenue target that you've laid out for 2027. You hit on some of the things that are working there, and Hinge being one step ahead. But as we see that acceleration here, like what are the key growth drivers for Hinge? And what continues to keep it strong as it scales, which something that other apps have kind of had a hard time at?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Got it. So even though things have been working well, there's still kind of a strong product pipeline for Hinge as well coming up? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 03, 2025 / 2:50PM, MTCH.OQ - Match Group Inc at Citi TMT Conference

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. One follow-up on the -- because we get this question a lot also, is do you think Hinge's success comes at the detriment of Tinder? And are they competitors? Are they complementary? Is it different audiences? Can both be successful at the same time?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. We've hit on Gen AI kind of throughout the conversation, just to dig a little bit deeper on it. And I guess, a, is Gen Z more receptive to Gen AI as an assistant in dating? And we talked about a few of the products that are coming out that are Gen AI based. But what's the overall Gen AI strategy for you, guys?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. What about internally in terms of efficiencies kind of up and down your cost base?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay, great. Let's stick with margins a little bit and so one of the things you talked about is, being able to reinvest and maintain the margin, the previous margin guidance as you found some of those efficiencies and talk about that balance. And over time, does that start to kind of bring you back up on the margin side or are you for the kind of foreseeable future focused on reinvesting and maintaining kind of like the way you balanced it this year? We're going to come back to payments right after this.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. Great. So on the in-app payments, that is the most tangible it's been. We've been talking about this for years. And it's finally tangible. You put a number on it, that $65 million next year potentially, I think based on how things play out. What are you seeing so far? What is that -- how do you see that opportunity next year? And is that another area where you can roll the savings into investment? Does it flow through? How should we think about that? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 03, 2025 / 2:50PM, MTCH.OQ - Match Group Inc at Citi TMT Conference

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Okay. One last quick one. Just a lot of investors ask if the Investor Day targets are still the right way to think about the business. The answer is yes?

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : All right. Awesome. I had some more, but we're out of time. So I'll save it for next year.

Question: Ygal Arounian - Citi - Analyst : Thanks, Steve. Thanks, everyone, for joining.