Match Group is a key player in online dating worldwide. It has invested a lot to build a broad portfolio of popular dating app brands, including Tinder, Meetic, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, and of course Match. The company has its headquarters in Dallas. And with a trailing price-earnings ratio of 80, it is not cheap.

Match stock has several things to like. It has an increasing positive operating margin, and increased book value per share, and positive free cash flows. What is negative though is the increase in its debt level. Match stock is not a value stock. Spark Networks is also a company with a variety of online dating sites and known dating platforms such as Zoosk, EliteSingles, eDarling, JSwipe, SilverSingles.

It is a very volatile stock as it has a beta five-year monthly data of 1. This simply means that in theory, the stock is two times as volatile as the overall stock market. On a trailingmonth period the revenue has increased furthermore to million in EUR looking at data taken from MorningStar. Momo is a Chinese company that operates its Momo mobile application both for social and entertainment purposes and Tantan a social and dating app targeted mostly to young users online. There are plenty of things to like about MOMO stock.

The company has a strong balance sheet with plenty of cash and a relatively low level of debt. The sales growth is hard to ignore. The profitability is good too with a net margin of The acquisition of Fruitz shows that the company may be trying to grow through a similar roll-up strategy as Match. China blocks most U. social media apps, so it's not surprising that popular online dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble are also banned there.

That has opened the door for Hello Group, which is something of a hybrid between social media and online dating. Hello's two biggest apps are Momo, a social media and video entertainment app often used for online dating, and Tantan, which is essentially a copy of Tinder and uses the same swipe-based features.

Like other Chinese tech companies, Hello Group which changed its name from Momo in has been squeezed by the Chinese government, and regulatory pressure remains a risk for investors. In , Tantan was removed from multiple app stores, and the company suspended news feed posts from both Momo and Tantan for a month over concerns that the content was attracting scrutiny from the government. The incident cooled off investor expectations for Hello, and the pandemic also led to the business grinding to a halt and reporting flat revenue through the first three quarters of Momo's user growth has slowed, and its live-streaming and video entertainment business appears to be losing users to rival platforms such as Bilibili NASDAQ:BILI that are still seeing strong growth.

Momo's growth rate could bounce back when pandemic restrictions lift in China, but recent results have not been encouraging. Batteries are essential for the energy transition. Quantum glass battery companies may make a rocky road much easier. Although there are only a handful of online dating app companies available for investors, the sector is worthy of attention since there is still a lot of growth left and the market is expected to keep expanding.

Meanwhile, new technologies such as virtual reality headsets and the metaverse could add another dimension to dating app stocks and unlock more potential value. As the success of companies such as Match shows, dating apps can drive both strong growth and profitability, which is a rare combination in the tech industry. Of the companies above, Match is the most obvious place to start investing since it's been the industry leader since online dating began.

Its ownership of Tinder and diversification with dozens of other brands give investors exposure to almost every corner of the dating industry. However, Bumble has the potential to be the next Match, and its namesake app is the most popular in the U. after Tinder. Finally, Momo could make a recovery in China once the world's most populous country reopens.

With plenty of innovation and expansion ahead in online dating, it's not too late to invest in this exciting growth industry. Why do we invest this way? Learn More. Calculated by average return of all stock recommendations since inception of the Stock Advisor service in February of Discounted offers are only available to new members. Calculated by Time-Weighted Return since Volatility profiles based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.

Invest better with The Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services. Bumble's robust growth will likely gradually reduce its overall dependence on Badoo.

Bumble is smaller than Match, but its share of the U. It could also eventually expand BFF and Bizz, which haven't been monetized yet, into the foundations of a new social networking platform. Match has already acquired a long list of overseas platforms, but it still has room to grow. Tinder's engagement rates are still rising, and it continues to expand its ecosystem with new features like Explore, which helps users meet members with shared interests.

Match's recent acquisition of Hyperconnect in South Korea also adds two new social networking apps, Azar and Hakuna Live, to its overseas portfolio, and it plans to integrate their video, audio, and AI technologies into its other dating apps.

Bumble and Match both trade at 13 times this year's sales. Match is more profitable than Bumble and has higher adjusted EBITDA margins, but its business is also more mature and has less room to grow. Since both stocks are trading at similar price-to-sales ratios, it makes more sense to buy the smaller company that generates stronger growth. Therefore, I'm picking Bumble as the better dating stock again, since I believe it still has the potential to outperform Match over the long term.

Leo Sun owns shares of Bumble Inc. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Match Group. The Motley Fool recommends Bumble Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close. Calculated by average return of all stock recommendations since inception of the Stock Advisor service in February of Discounted offers are only available to new members. Calculated by Time-Weighted Return since Volatility profiles based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.

Invest better with The Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services.

Instead of waiting at the bar to hopefully meet someone nice, numerous dating apps and services will do the heavy lifting and find your perfect match. All you need to do is give them a flattering picture, answer a few questions about your personality, and voila! When two major companies took notice of this business model, however, they changed online dating for good…by purchasing and creating as many dating sites as they could.

They also own and operate out of this weird Frank Gehry building in New York. The majority of these apps were acquired. Share this story with your single friends, and consider making a profit on their failed hook-ups! Home Business If You Ever Found Love Online, You Have These Two Companies to Thank. by Scott Steinhardt 6 years ago 6 years ago.

com, or Match. But did you know they were all owned by the same company? com, also owns most popular online dating sites. Wikimedia Commons They also own and operate out of this weird Frank Gehry building in New York. As part of Match Group, IAC owns BlackPeopleMeet, Chemistry, HowAboutWe, Match, PlentyOfFish, Tinder, and several other dating apps. com The majority of these apps were acquired. StockTwits Match has been doing pretty well in the last several months on the market.

While they specialize in broad dating apps that anyone can enjoy, Spark Networks owns the popular niche apps. JDate Everything from ChristianMingle. com to JSwipe is under the Spark umbrella.

But executives in Spark have faith in their company, and have been buying company stock in massive quantities. Remember me. Forgot password?

NASDAQ: MOMO , Bumble Inc. It owns the most brands, adding them as part of a "roll-up" strategy to grow well beyond its roots as Match. Invest Smarter with The Motley Fool Join Over 1 Million Premium Members Receiving…. NYSE: NCR shareholders lost ground to a falling market on Friday. Market Insight Breakout in Solar Stocks Is Just the Start of a Gold Rush By Luke Lango Sep 16, Home Depot has also invested heavily in their online capabilities. Match has already acquired a long list of overseas platforms, but it still has room to grow.

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