Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to Bumble's second quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. I'll now hand the conference over to Will Tavares, Head of Investor Relations. Will, please go ahead.

Thank you for joining us to discuss Bumble's second quarter 2026 financial results. With me today are Bumble's founder and CEO, Whitney Wolfherd, and CFO, Kevin Cook. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that certain statements made on this call today are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and reflect our current expectations based on our beliefs, assumptions, and information currently available to us. Although we believe these expectations are reasonable, we undertake no obligation to revise any statement to reflect changes that occur after this call. Descriptions of factors and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in today's earnings press release and our periodic filings with the SEC. During the call, we also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from our gap results reconciliations to the most comparable gap measures are available in our earnings press release which is available on the investor relations section of our website at ir.bumble.com with that i will turn the call over to whitney hello everyone and thank you for joining us today second quarter results were in line with our expectations and kevin will take you through the numbers in greater detail shortly as we get into the final stages of our transformation i want to share our progress what we are learning and where we are headed next

over the first half of this year we have improved the quality of our member base and we are rebuilding on a stronger foundation we have made meaningful progress from here the path back to growth is in clear sight and it will be defined by two things one product innovation and two winning back the cultural zeitgeist through brand and marketing investment we have a very clear view of what is needed to win on both of these fronts and we are executing with full focus last time we talked about our new technology platform on which we will deliver the reimagined bumble experience we are now in the process of putting core features and functionality to the new tech stack key to completing this effort is migrating critical data from our own data centers onto modern cloud infrastructure the underpinning of the entire platform due primarily to the volume and complexity of the data this has been more time consuming than we initially expected and delayed us by a couple of months and has pushed our new interaction model and parts of our innovation roadmap we have a clear plan internally and we are making good progress once we are fully on the platform we will be able to ship products faster than we have ever been able to before in the meantime we are not standing still we have been able to execute on other important improvements to address member pain points on the bumble app i will share a few examples The first is a major product enhancement we've been able to test in 12 markets, changing how chats are initiated. Now, for the first time on Bumble, by default, anyone will be able to send only one single opening message, and the conversation does not progress until the recipient responds. We are also addressing another major complaint that existed from our members, and we are extending the 24-hour match response window. In our initial test, we saw very positive signals with members experiencing a significant increase in chat initiation and mutual chat rate. We plan to roll out both updates globally by the end of this month. As I touched on earlier, we are also making a series of other impactful algorithmic improvements to show how we sort and surface recommendations. These changes are driving meaningful improvements in outcomes for our members in testing, including solid gains in members with a match and chat initiations, and culminating in substantial increases in average mutual chats. These wins help drive progress towards our North Star, delivering our members successful dates. The goal with many of our updates is to get people out from behind the screen faster to meeting in person. In addition to strengthening the core experience, you will see us lean more into real life experiences, more ways to meet, not just match, and more ways to meet together with friends instead of just one-to-one. I am a firm believer that the future of meeting people in groups will become more important. People love to come together in groups and see who they naturally share chemistry with once they have met. Bumble can be a catalyst for helping people socialize more broadly. This is precisely the foundational that we are doing on group experiences. Group socializing is a real part of how Gen Z prefers to meet, and we believe Bumble represents a natural bridge from meeting to socializing to then dating. We are already seeing signs of this in our groups initiative at BFF. We are seeing strong growth in both the number of active groups and in the average number of active members per group on BFF. It has been very exciting to see the natural and organic demand and love for the VFF brand and how much it resonates with Gen Z women in particular. Another initiative that supports the IRL theme is PLANS. Our standalone apps that we are testing for curated in-person social events with the functionality to match with attendees after the event is over. plans is showing promising results in very early tests this summer marketed to the youngest cohort of prospective members the premise of plans is simple meet first match later this comes to life via these group experiences consistent with how younger generations are finding connection and eventually love together the chat initiation feature algorithmic improvements and group initiatives are important steps towards the better experience our members want and i am pleased with the progress that we've made however this alone does not satisfy our full ambition frankly this has been the most frustrating part of the technical transformation the inability to ship the features our members are craving at a cadence that modern technology demands the good news is that we are close so let's turn to what's next the exciting stuff to close out 2026 we expect to begin shipping a multitude of product enhancements that our members have been asking for ranging from profile and onboarding updates to more compelling interesting ways to meet people in real life along with testing elements of our fundamentally new interaction model that i lightly previewed last quarter given the data migration delay we now expect to begin rolling this out in very early 2027. the core idea is a shift away from optimizing for swipe speed and velocity towards something more intentional fewer better more considered signals what will replace the swipe i will be keeping under wraps a bit longer for competitive purposes but it is designed to generate more immediate interactions and most importantly better outcomes mimicking real life and eliminating the friction and delay that exists in current dating app models the early member feedback on the new interaction model has been very positive and gen z in particular as well as millennials both women and men have responded enthusiastically we remain very bullish and excited about the direction we are headed. Turning to B, our AI dating assistance tool. It's expected to play an important role in how the experience will be delivered, but never degrading the human-first approach that we will always adhere to. Let me be clear. B is not replacing the swipe. We are not aiming for an AI-driven experience. B is simply the intelligence under the hood. We believe that AI tools can help engaged members show up as their true authentic selves even better, connect with a higher degree of relevancy, and get to better outcomes. B is in select members' hands for onboarding and matching today, and it is resulting in a more complete and authentic view of the individual. Member feedback has been that the resulting matches are more relevant thanks to the greater signal we are being very deliberate about how we deploy b because trust is paramount we believe the biggest opportunity to our overall member satisfaction is to provide greater value to all non-paying members which can attract more people especially gen z to the platform and drive increased engagement we will be making the free experience much more compelling. For example, by offering free, limited access to LightView, the most in-demand part of the product, which is currently only available to paid members. We believe that there's a lot of opportunity in allowing members to see the value and then convert to a subscribing member for more access. We've been testing different iterations and what we have seen is that in early results, there is a significant uptick in yes votes, matches, and mutual chats. These are all key for driving top of funnel and member satisfaction, which drives the flywheel of word of mouth growth. These tests are early and actively underway, but we do look forward to updating you next quarter as we have more to share. More broadly, we are planning to re-architect our subscription tiers to be simpler and more inviting upfront, emphasizing a great free experience with a clean, obvious path into paid tiers that can deliver clear value by enhancing member outcomes. As we build more innovation into our product, we will have more value-additive offerings to distribute across the different pricing tiers. Our philosophy is simple. Monetize value and outcomes, not friction. This will take some tuning, but we have conviction that a better free experience is how we widen the top of funnel and earn the right to monetize. This is how you build the kind of product loyalty that lasts. At the other end of the funnel, we are exploring a higher subscription tier than we have previously offered, one that really anchors on mutual serious intent, which is ultimately what will drive value for a higher paying member. Turning to brand investment. So far this year, our investment focus has been on technology and product, and I've just walked you through some of those highlights. We have maintained a very strong margin for more than a year as we pulled back on marketing spend while the product was under transformation in order to not waste dollars on bringing people into a product experience that was not up to their or our standards. But now as we enter the final stages of our transformation, it is time to prioritize brand marketing again. As a reminder, I built this company and brand from intuitively understanding what women want, need, and expect from dating, consumer brands, and experiences. This is my strength, and I'm excited to go full force back into rebuilding the brand into an incredibly relevant, beloved company that once again captures the cultural zeitgeist. A brand that not only young women love and advocate for, but can also win culture with men. We are starting from a strong base. Among those who know Bumble, we continue to lead in our category on brand favorability. However, the younger cohort just entering our category does not have the same familiarity with fumble. This is not product related. It is an awareness issue. And this is good news for us because we have an opportunity to go back and do what I did when I launched this company and take over culture again. We're doing this by reinvesting in community creators and hyperlocal energy, pointing it directly at a younger audience. This will be a big focus for us in 2027, and it will start ramping in Q3 and Q4 of this year. It is time to start reinvesting for growth. However, as evidenced by this past year, we will remain prudent and surgical about how we spend, and we will be mindful of healthy margins. It is important to recognize that product and marketing are not separate initiatives. They complement one another. In our business, the most important element of the product is people using it the right mix of numbers makes every match more relevant and every conversation better which means who we attract shapes the quality of the experience itself but that flywheel only turns if the product works and the people marketing brings to the top of the funnel that's why the core experience improvements come first and why we are now stepping up brand investment. It is also why we expect the investment supporting our new product updates to be more efficient than the performance marketing spend that you saw from our company in prior years. Our new approach to performance marketing is boosting the great content that our creators and members are making and the success stories that stem from Bumble along with highlighting all of our IRL activities that have been resonating very well with Gen Z. To summarize, the core app will be getting better every day, and our velocity of innovation will only accelerate as we complete our data migration. The early results from the changes that we've been able to push through are encouraging. They're leading to better experiences for a healthier, more stable member base. Before I close, I stepped back in as CEO in March of 2025. My first priority was to do a quality reset. We raised the bar on profile quality, focused on subscription revenue, and took the necessary and difficult steps to transform our tech backend to be modern and advanced for future innovation. We transformed our team, brought in the best talent, and operated in a much more lean and efficient capacity. Essentially, I knew we had to shrink in order to grow. it has not been easy but i believe it has been worth it i believe the best is ahead of us when i stepped back in the top complaint was trust with profiles on the platform prior complaints about bots spammers and low quality profiles have in many respects been addressed as the quality of our member base has dramatically improved turning our member base into one of our strengths. Now, we will deliver the roadmap that our members deserve with the innovation that delivers the outcomes that they are seeking. Members first, always. We will win back culture with incredible marketing and brand experiences. And that is how Bumble will win. Demand for love and human connection has never been in question. In fact, as AI progresses, I find myself asking what won't be replaced by AI. And the answer is very clear. The need for real love, friendship, and connection in the real world with other humans. Because we are better together. Our job is to build products worthy of it, and that is exactly what our team is doing. Thank you so much, and with that, I will turn it over to Kevin.

Thank you, Whitney. Hello, everyone. For the second quarter, total revenue finished in the upper half of our guidance range. and adjusted EBITDA exceeded the high end. Consistent with the strategy Whitney just described, the most acute effects of the quality reset, our member base is stable and brand marketing. I will review our quarterly results before turning to the outlook. Unless otherwise noted, my comments are on a non-gap basis and comparisons $111 million compared to $248 million a year ago. Foreign exchange was a tailwind of approximately $3 million in the quarter. Bumble app revenue was $172 million compared to $201 a year ago. Padu app compared to $47 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was said we've continued to produce healthy margins even as we've invested more to accelerate brand marketing ahead of our product rollouts. This spend will likely bring adjusted EBITDA margins in line. This is the expected normalization of the cost base we've been discussing for several quarters as we put selective well-timed resourcing behind this next transformation phase. Gross margin expanded roughly 380 basis points year-over-year with cost of revenue at 26% of revenue versus 29%, driven by continued adoption of alternative billing methods and the corresponding reduction in aggregator fees. Alternative billing to remain a year-over-year tailwind to gross margin through the balance of the year. On operating expenses, compared to $30 million or 12%. We managed marketing spend to well below historically, as we invested primarily in product updates, with a planned acceleration beginning in the third quarter. Product development expense was $31 million, or 15%, up from $24 million and 10% a year ago, reflecting our continued investment in platform modernization, including the infrastructure migration Whitney described. and an administrative expense was $25 million. Doing our gap results, please note that our net loss of $128 million includes a non-cash impairment charge of $169 million. This charge has no impact on our operations, cash flow, or liquidity, and therefore is excluded from adjusted EBITDA. Excluding the impact of the charge, the company generated positive net income in the quarter. With respect to the balance sheet and cash flow, we continue to generate strong cash flow. In the quarter, we generated $54 million of operating cash flow and $51 million of free cash flow. Near-to-date, operating cash flow was $131 million, and free cash flow was $125 million. We concluded the second quarter with $154 million of cash and cash equivalents. Turning to the outlook, our focus is on activating our higher-quality member base through the investments in product and marketing Whitney outlined, which we expect will ultimately lead to member growth and its derivative effects on payers and revenue. These benefits will take time to show up in the financials, but we believe best position us for durable engagement and margin of $205 million to $213 million, including bumble lap revenue of $163 million and adjusted EBITDA of $56 million, a 28% margin at the midpoint. More broadly, we expect adjusted EBITDA margins to continue to normalize over the remainder of 2026 as we increase investment in technology and talent to modernize the platform and drive product innovation, and as we aim marketing at organic member growth. In closing, Q2 played out as continued gross margin expansion and strong cash flow. In the second half of the year, we are leveraging our strong margin profile and cash generation to invest in the vision and transformation Whitney outlined, maintaining strong operating discipline.

We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Nathan Feather with Morgan Stanley. Nathan, please go ahead.

Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for the question. Two, if I may. First, can you just unpack a little bit what's led to the delay in the TechStack 2.0 transition here, and as you get that rolled out, just in a way to help contextualize what the upside can be from a proximity, et cetera, perspective, and then on the margins, you know, if you of margin stepping down a little bit quarter over quarter. How much of that is marketing versus other investments? And is that kind of the right run rate we should think of for margins going forward now that the marketing investment is back in the cost base? Thank you.

Thanks so much for the question. So the data and which data there is, we'll get into this in a second because there's where we've been. As you can imagine, that has due to the nature of our resources to just complete this data migration. It has hindered us from shipping excellent product updates that the members can see, feel, engage with. That's just one part of it because remember that a big component of this 2.0 transformation is the next gen recommendation engine. What do I mean by this? As you know, on making sure that we serve our members relevant people to interact with, the algorithmic system, the recommendations engine, it could have taken us months to make very, you know, marginal changes. The velocity and the ability we will have now once fully migrated onto next gen or our members, the way we can algorithmically make, you know, enhancements and changes to serve our members better, to get them better matches in a quicker, more efficient, more relevant manner. So that's really touching on the first two pieces of that. Let me just summarize that really quick. Data migration delayed by just a couple of months to get it right, really only because of the depth of that data and the complexity of it. Yes, this will this will convert to extreme velocity of output for great product updates for our members, super bullish and excited about the roadmap that we have. Now let's turn to margins. So as I said in my prepared remarks, we were very, very mindful of preserving margins and operating in the most efficient way we possibly could while we took these huge leaps that were necessary and painful, as I touched on, to really set ourselves up for long-term success. Both of those things being the quality reset and the technical transformation. Now that we are looking towards the end and the light is at the end of the tunnel, it is time to market again. It is time to grow. So as you saw, going to be kind of that margin decrease into marketing, that is where the cost is going. and it's strategic marketing. It's not just spending to spend. This is really all about recapturing culture, recapturing that young dating audience, and this is what we know how to do extraordinarily well. So that is precisely where the margins go. As far as normalization of margins, we will spend to grow. We will not spend just to spend. So as long as we are growing, we will be spending, be managed in a really healthy and mindful way.

Very helpful.

A reminder that if you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Marrock with Raymond James. Andrew, please go ahead.

Hi. Thanks for taking my questions. Maybe to piggyback off that last commentary with the return to marketing, it seems like there's a lot of change happening in the app and the user experience, of course. How do you condense all of that into a digestible message, either for returning users who already have an existing sense of the Bumble app or new users who you're looking to expand to?

Thank you so much for the question, Andrew. So one of the things that we care most about a member, simplicity is the name of the game. And when we make these enhancements, I don't want you to think about it. These are enhancements in terms of the disruption to a member. So the complaint we get right now is the overwhelm of the like to you tab for women in particular, pleasant, efficient. So basically, and I hope I'm answering this properly, but we aren't just going to overwhelm the app one day with like 20 new features. That's not how this is going to work. We are going to be extremely mindful about not overwhelming the member, which is precisely why our new interaction model, the swipe-free interaction model, will not just turn on one random day, or thankfully test our way into these changes so that we don't disrupt the ecosystem and we just want a more seamless, more simplistic, less clunky, more rewarding, outcome-driven experience for our members.

Got it. if I can maybe squeeze in one more. Obviously, early days, and this is a lot of testing and experimentation ahead, I imagine. But when you're talking about the enhanced free offering, just if you could give a little sense of your tolerance for a little short-term ARPU headwind for the promise of greater conversion in LTV down the line.

Yes, it's a really great question. So again, this team is extraordinary at putting in guardrails, right there are certain things that we will and will not tolerate for example right now we have several essentially letting people see who like per day or some some certain level of cadence without giving too much uh information with a guardrail on our poo on on revenue decline on on payer penetration all of the things that drive good business but what we have seen in early tests and I want to reinforce that these are early tests, is that this actually become a paying member. These things that drive saying yes votes or getting a match or a chat or a mutual chat, these are the things that determine a member's perception of success. And success leads to wanting to use the product more and get a better experience. And so by letting the member actually you know, experience that tier, which is the like you tab, which is the most, you know, used feature in the product by letting them experience without putting the paywall up right away is actually showing more positivity than you might expect. And so again, we're going to be very mindful and test our way into this with very strict guardrails around what we will and will not tolerate when it comes to all those other business.

Great. Thank you.

There are no further questions at this time. This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.