Bumble Inc

Blackstone Inc. is reportedly finalizing a full exit from Bumble Inc. after roughly doubling its money on the dating app, even as Bumble's shares have fallen about 96.1% since its 2021 IPO. Blackstone and venture firm Accel invested $2.1 billion in 2019 to acquire a majority stake in Bumble's parent company MagicLab at a $3 billion valuation, and Blackstone generated a 98% internal rate of return by systematically reducing its exposure, according to a Business Insider report. In late 2020 the firm used Bumble's debt to issue a $334 million dividend to itself, then cut its stake from 83.6% to 53.2% at the IPO, netting nearly $2 billion, and sold another $1 billion of stock in 2021 when shares traded above $50. A deal with UBS allowing sales of just under 5% of the company each quarter positions Blackstone to exit fully by early next year, and its remaining 22.4 million shares are now worth approximately $66.75 million, versus the $1.084 billion a similar volume of shares yielded in 2021. Blackstone has also vacated its two board seats, with Jonathan Korngold stepping down in June and Martin Brand in August, while Bumble faces a 16.4% year-over-year decline in paying users; M Science analyst Chandler Willison told Business Insider that a private equity group is the most obvious potential buyer for Bumble.

Alphabet reported second-quarter revenues of $119.8 billion, up 24.2% year over year, beating analysts' expectations by 2.2% and posting a solid EPS beat. Among the 44 consumer internet stocks tracked, the group's revenues beat consensus estimates by 1.3% while next quarter's revenue guidance came in 3% below. Reddit delivered the biggest analyst estimate beat, highest guidance raise, and fastest revenue growth of the whole group, with revenues of $804.9 million, up 61.1% year over year, but its stock fell 13.8% since reporting. Coinbase was the weakest performer, with revenues of $1.22 billion, down 18.5% year over year and missing analysts' expectations by 5.9%, yet its stock rose 15.6% since the results. Bumble reported revenues of $210.5 million, down 15.2% year over year, in line with expectations but with a significant miss on next quarter's revenue guidance, while Snap's revenues of $1.60 billion, up 18.9% year over year, beat expectations by 3.8%.

Analysts have trimmed Bumble's estimated fair value from US$4.34 to US$3.74, while some individual firms moved their price targets to US$3 and US$3.60. UBS lowered its Bumble price target from US$4.50 to US$3 and kept a Neutral rating, citing Tech 2.0 delays that pushed out the expected growth inflection and continued revenue declines. Citi trimmed its Bumble price target from US$3.90 to US$3.60 while maintaining a Neutral stance, signaling ongoing caution around execution and the timing of any improvement in growth trends. Raymond James commented that Bumble's strategic options seem limited, noting concerns about a brand that has lost some of its traditional cachet and stressing that the Bumble app relaunch is still viewed as the key decision point for the company. Revenue is now expected to fall 5.31% instead of a 4.24% decline, and projected net profit margin has been reduced from 15.93% to 13.25%.

The Q2 earnings season for consumer subscription stocks showed mixed results, with Netflix reporting revenues of $12.56 billion, up 13.4% year over year, in line with analyst expectations but delivering the weakest full-year guidance update of the group. Roku outperformed with revenues of $1.35 billion, up 21.9% year over year, beating analyst expectations by 4.4%, while Bumble reported revenues of $210.5 million, down 15.2% year over year, and Chegg reported revenues of $51.85 million, down 50.7% year over year. Duolingo reported revenues of $298.5 million, up 18.3% year over year, surpassing analyst expectations by 0.9%. On average, share prices of the seven tracked consumer subscription stocks are down 2.6% since the latest earnings results.

Shares of DoorDash, Bumble, and Teladoc fell sharply in afternoon trading after President Trump declared the Iran ceasefire over and vowed further strikes, driving oil prices and bond yields higher in a risk-off rotation. DoorDash dropped 6.2%, Bumble fell 5.4%, and Teladoc declined 4% as rising yields pressured long-duration growth stocks whose valuations depend heavily on future cash flows. The spike in crude and inflation fears pushed government bond yields up, increasing the discount rate applied to distant earnings and repricing high-multiple shares lower. Consumer internet companies are also cyclically exposed, with advertising budgets and online discretionary purchases softening when consumers face higher energy costs and corporate caution rises. DoorDash shares are now down 15.9% year-to-date, trading at $184.89, which is 34.4% below its 52-week high of $281.74 from October 2025.