Even IAC, Tinder’s parent company raised its eyebrows at Bloomberg’s $5 billion valuation for Tinder; and the media had no shortage of snark when Tinder unrolled its premium pricing models that charged anyone over 30. However, especially in an age where concerns about over-valuations abound, you’d be particularly surprised to hear that Tinder is actually incredibly undervalued. That’s because Tinder has not one, but two viable business models in the works, and unlike the vast majority of tech companies has contrived a way to pursue both simultaneously. This article will make the case that not only can Tinder monetize like Match.com and other predecessors, its addictiveness makes it suitable for the freemium model, popularized and legitimized by online gaming companies like Glu. On either path, Tinder is well on its way toward achieving the user-base worldwide that it needs to become profitable.
2. Michael Jones Bio
Long-time entrepreneur and former CEO of Myspace, Michael Jones now serves as the CEO of Science, Inc., the
disruptive media, marketing and brand building company. Science Inc. nurtures successful digital businesses by
bringing together the best ideas, talent, resources and financing through a centralized platform. As a serial
internet entrepreneur, Jones has founded, advised, invested in and sold numerous businesses, including
application platform Userplane, which he led from startup to its acquisition by AOL, Tsavo Media, Maker Studios,
GoodReads, PeopleMedia and Myspace.
Disclosure: Michael Jones both personally invested as well as invested through Science in Chill, Inc which was
acquired by Tinder in 2015, meaning that both Jones and Science are now passive equity holders of Tinder and
IAC.
Disclosure
2
3. Core Assumptions
• Tinder in the short and long term will remain a dating service.
• Tinder will penetrate the global singles audience at an order of magnitude larger than Match ever did.
This is similar to the original Myspace/Facebook position, Myspace trained
a 100M user audience about social network, Facebook perfected the platform
and drove to over 1B people.
• Tinder at scale will monetize simliar to…
- Match with premium subscription
- a game with advertising and in app transaction
- or both.
For this analysis we looked at revenue, growth and market assumptions and then assumed the final result
was a public company – using comparable public company trading multiples around projected revenue
and EBITDA.
Tinder Breakout Scenario
3
4. • The US market has always seen online dating as a less desirable commerce activity, this position has prevented
Yahoo, AOL, Google or Facebook to engage deeply into the business practice.
• IAC with match.com has been the only large scale valued dating property in the US
• International buyers are a possibility, and market could change its opinion on large players like Facebook
owning Dating properties
• Most likely outcome is Tinder looks for a 2018 IPO and competes or compliments match.com IPO spin out.
Exit Scenarios
4
5. $122 $157
$237 $267
$265
30% 30%
33%
33%
30%
27%
28%
29%
30%
31%
32%
33%
34%
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
$1,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
EBITDAMargin
RevenuesMillions
MATCH SEGMENT PERFORMANCE 2010-2015
Revenues EBITDA EBITDA Margin
Source: SEC.gov!
$14.57 $14.85
$15.07
$14.62
$14.07 $14.21
$14.47
$14.81
$16.04 $15.97
$15.47
$16.39 $16.33 $16.24
$14.99
$15.88
$12.50
$13.00
$13.50
$14.00
$14.50
$15.00
$15.50
$16.00
$16.50
$17.00
Q1-13 Q2-13 Q3-13 Q4-13 Q1-14 Q2-14 Q3-14 Q4-14
MATCH REVENUE PER PAID SUBSCRIBER
North American Revenue Per Subscriber International Revenue Per Subscriber
Match is a Market Leader with a 22% Market Share, 30% EBITDA, and $15.00 Revenue Per Paid
Subscriber
5
6. Despite Garnering a Small Portion of the Singles Market
Source: SEC.gov, Pew Research, IBIS World!
1.96%
1.97% 1.97%
1.94% 1.94%
1.96%
1.99%
1.97%
1.90%
1.91%
1.92%
1.93%
1.94%
1.95%
1.96%
1.97%
1.98%
1.99%
2.00%
Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
MATCH.COM US SINGLES PENETRATION
Singles Market
Key Assumptions: According to Pew Research, only 9% of singles utilize online dating, and of that 9%, 22% utilize Match.com.
6
7. Tinder Currently has 25M MAU trending toward 50M MAU by end of year
-
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
March April May June July August September October November December
TINDER 2015 EXPECTED GROWTH
Monthly Users Monthly Change Daily Users
Key Assumptions: Tinder will reach 50MM Monthly Users and reach 24MM Daily users by December 2015
7
8. $0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$0.0000
$0.0100
$0.0200
$0.0300
$0.0400
$0.0500
$0.0600
$0.0700
March April May June July August September October November December
RevenuesMillions
RevenuePerUser
TINDER DAILY REVENUE PER USER
Monthly Revenue Monthly Revenue Change Daily Revenue Per Monthly Users Daily Revenue Per Daily User
Based on Tinder’s Current Monetization Strategy and MAU Trend, Daily Revenue Per User Will
Approximate $0.04 by December
Key Assumptions: Tinder Monthly Revenue will reach $60MM by December and Monthly Users will Reach 50MM
8
9. Other Social Media Players have Proven that Monthly Active Users in Excess of 100MM are
Attainable
Source:http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/active-users!
9
10. Match monetizes its users at an average rate of 8%, but Match targets a much smaller market
than Tinder
Source: SEC.gov!
Key Assumptions: Match will revert to its long-run average mean of 8% monetization. Assumes Match.com has 40MM users. Monetization is the percentage of MAU
s that are paid subscribers.
7.85%
7.99%
8.27%
8.39%
8.67%
8.75%
9.03%
8.77%
7.20%
7.40%
7.60%
7.80%
8.00%
8.20%
8.40%
8.60%
8.80%
9.00%
9.20%
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
Millions
MATCH.COM MONETIZATION RATE
North American Paid Subscribers InternationalPaid Subscribers Monetization Rates
10
11. Mobile Game Networks like Glu are Monetizing with Premium In App Transactions at an Average
Rate of 2%.
Source: SEC.gov, GLU Mobile!
Key Assumptions: While gaming revenues are extremely cyclical , they have on average monetized at a rate of
2%. The assumption is that gaming revenues will revert back to 2%.
1.33%
1.74%
1.19%
1.83%
1.70%
1.45%
4.30%
3.98%
0.00%
0.50%
1.00%
1.50%
2.00%
2.50%
3.00%
3.50%
4.00%
4.50%
5.00%
0
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
70,000,000
Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
MOBILE GAMING MONETIZATION
Purchases MAU Monetization Rate
11
12. GLU’s Mobile Games Earn on Average $0.17 in Ad Revenue per MAU
Source: SEC.gov, GLU Mobile!
Key Assumptions: Based on historical ad revenues, mobile gaming earns $0.17 per monthly active user.
0.18 0.18
0.12
0.18
0.13
0.16
0.21
0.19
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
70,000,000
Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
MAU Ad Revenue Per MAU
12
13. We can expect Tinder to address up to 49% of the global singles market
Consumers 18 to 24
Years Old, 15.20%
Consumers 25 to 34
Years Old, 33.30%
Consumers 35 to 44
Years Old, 25.80%
Consumers 45 to 54
Years Old, 12.10%
Consumers 55 to 64
Years Old, 9.10%
Consumers 65 and
Older, 4.50%
Tinder’s Addressable
Market, 49% of all
Global Singles
Source: IBISWorld!
Key Assumptions: Tinder will target the key consumer segments of 25 to 34 Years Old and 18 to 24 Year Olds.
13
14. Recent Internet and Mobile IPOs are Trading at a Median of 7.9x Revenue
1.2x
3.7x
1.1x
0.5x
16.9x
7.9x
8.3x
19.9x
10.7x
0.0x
5.0x
10.0x
15.0x
20.0x
25.0x
Onvia Inc.
(NasdaqCM:ONVI)
Salon Media
Group Inc.
(OTCPK:SLNM)
QuoteMedia Inc.
(OTCPK:QMCI)
Marchex, Inc.
(NasdaqGS:MCHX)
Facebook, Inc.
(NasdaqGS:FB)
Box, Inc.
(NYSE:BOX)
Yelp, Inc.
(NYSE:YELP)
Twitter, Inc.
(NYSE:TWTR)
CoStar Group Inc.
(NasdaqGS:CSGP)
TEV/TOTAL REVENUES LTM
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings! 14
15. Recent Internet and Mobile IPOs are Trading at a Median of 33.9x EBITDA (Excluding Yelp)
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
11.3x
0 0
10.5x
33.9x
0
127.8x
0 0
39.9x
0.0x
20.0x
40.0x
60.0x
80.0x
100.0x
120.0x
140.0x
Onvia Inc.
(NasdaqCM:ONVI)
Salon Media
Group Inc.
(OTCPK:SLNM)
QuoteMedia Inc.
(OTCPK:QMCI)
Marchex, Inc.
(NasdaqGS:MCHX)
Facebook, Inc.
(NasdaqGS:FB)
Box, Inc.
(NYSE:BOX)
Yelp, Inc.
(NYSE:YELP)
Twitter, Inc.
(NYSE:TWTR)
Ancestry.com LLC CoStar Group Inc.
(NasdaqGS:CSGP)
TEV/EBITDA LTM - Latest
Key Assumptions: Although EBITDA multiples within the internet and mobile space are highly volatile, industry
players with strong earnings streams and conservative valuations have EBITDA multiples between 10 and 20 times.
15
16. ..if Tinder Monetizes at Rates Similar to Match.com, Enterprise Value Could be in Excess of $2B by
2019
$450,314,235
$599,999,999
$900,000,000
$1,260,000,000
$1,638,000,000
$0
$200,000,000
$400,000,000
$600,000,000
$800,000,000
$1,000,000,000
$1,200,000,000
$1,400,000,000
$1,600,000,000
$1,800,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
TINDER MONETIZES LIKE MATCH-BASE CASE
ENTERPRISE VALUE
Enterprise Value Average Monthly Users EBITDA
EV#EBITDA#Multiple 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.00 $300,209,490 $399,999,999 $600,000,000 $840,000,000 $1,092,000,000
12.50 $375,261,863 $499,999,999 $750,000,000 $1,050,000,000 $1,365,000,000
15.00 $450,314,235 $599,999,999 $900,000,000 $1,260,000,000 $1,638,000,000
17.50 $525,366,608 $699,999,998 $1,050,000,000 $1,470,000,000 $1,911,000,000
20.00 $600,418,980 $799,999,998 $1,200,000,000 $1,680,000,000 $2,184,000,000
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
Tinder Assumptions Match.com
• 125MM MAU by 2019 • 40MM MAU
• 0.20% monetization rate • 8% monetization rate
• $9.99/ subscriber • $15 / subscriber
• FY 2015 revenue-$100MM
• FY 2016 revenue-$133MM
• FY 2017 Revenue-$200MM
• FY 2018 Revenue-$280MM
• FY 2019 Revenue-$364MM
• EBITDA Margin: 30%
Enterprise Value Sensitivities
16
17. ..if Tinder Monetizes its 125MM MAU at a Rate of Only 1.25%, Revenues Could be in Excess of $2.2bn by
2019 and over 10B EV.
$606,892,500
$1,618,380,000
$3,641,355,000
$6,473,520,000
$10,114,875,000
$0
$2,000,000,000
$4,000,000,000
$6,000,000,000
$8,000,000,000
$10,000,000,000
$12,000,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
TINDER MONETIZES LIKE MATCH-UPSIDE CASE
ENTERPRISE VALUE
Enterprise Value Average Monthly Users EBITDA
EV#EBITDA#Multiple 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.00 $404,595,000 $1,078,920,000 $2,427,570,000 $4,315,680,000 $6,743,250,000
12.50 $505,743,750 $1,348,650,000 $3,034,462,500 $5,394,600,000 $8,429,062,500
15.00 $606,892,500 $1,618,380,000 $3,641,355,000 $6,473,520,000 $10,114,875,000
17.50 $708,041,250 $1,888,110,000 $4,248,247,500 $7,552,440,000 $11,800,687,500
20.00 $809,190,000 $2,157,840,000 $4,855,140,000 $8,631,360,000 $13,486,500,000
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
Tinder Assumptions Match.com
• 125MM MAU by 2019 • 40MM MAU
• 1.25% paid to subscription • 8% monetization rate
• $9.99/ subscriber • $15 / subscriber
• FY 2015 revenue $134MM
• FY 2016 revenue $360MM
• FY 2017 Revenue $809MM
• FY 2018 Revenue $1,439MM
• FY 2019 Revenue $2,248MM
• EBITDA Margin: 30%
Enterprise Value Sensitivities
17
18. Tinder has the potential to monetize like a game and if its able to earn only $0.03 per DAU, it will
be worth over $4.9bn by 2019
$1,231,875,000
$1,847,812,500
$2,463,750,000
$3,695,625,000
$4,927,500,000
$0
$1,000,000,000
$2,000,000,000
$3,000,000,000
$4,000,000,000
$5,000,000,000
$6,000,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
TINDER MONETIZES LIKE A GAME-BASE CASE
ENTERPRISE VALUE
Enterprise Value Average Daily Users EBITDA
EV#EBITDA#Multiple 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.00 $821,250,000 $1,231,875,000 $1,642,500,000 $2,463,750,000 $3,285,000,000
12.50 $1,026,562,500 $1,539,843,750 $2,053,125,000 $3,079,687,500 $4,106,250,000
15.00 $1,231,875,000 $1,847,812,500 $2,463,750,000 $3,695,625,000 $4,927,500,000
17.50 $1,437,187,500 $2,155,781,250 $2,874,375,000 $4,311,562,500 $5,748,750,000
20.00 $1,642,500,000 $2,463,750,000 $3,285,000,000 $4,927,500,000 $6,570,000,000
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
Tinder Assumptions GLU
• $0.03 R/DAU • $0.08 R/DAU
• 100MM DAU by 2019 • 5.25MM DAU
• FY 2015 revenue $273MM
• FY 2016 revenue $411MM
• FY 2017 Revenue $548MM
• FY 2018 Revenue $821MM
• FY 2019 Revenue $1,095MM
• EBITDA Margin: 30%
Enterprise Value Sensitivities
18
19. ..if Tinder is able to monetize at a rate similar to GLU, at Tinder’s current Revenue Per DAU of
$0.12, its revenues will be in excess of $4.3bn by 2019
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
$1,231,875,000
$2,463,750,000
$4,106,250,000
$7,391,250,000
$19,710,000,000
$0
$5,000,000,000
$10,000,000,000
$15,000,000,000
$20,000,000,000
$25,000,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
TINDER MONETIZES LIKE A GAME-UPSIDE CASE
ENTERPRISE VALUE
Enterprise Value Average Daily Users EBITDA
EV#EBITDA#Multiple 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.00 $821,250,000 $1,642,500,000 $2,737,500,000 $4,927,500,000 $13,140,000,000
12.50 $1,026,562,500 $2,053,125,000 $3,421,875,000 $6,159,375,000 $16,425,000,000
15.00 $1,231,875,000 $2,463,750,000 $4,106,250,000 $7,391,250,000 $19,710,000,000
17.50 $1,437,187,500 $2,874,375,000 $4,790,625,000 $8,623,125,000 $22,995,000,000
20.00 $1,642,500,000 $3,285,000,000 $5,475,000,000 $9,855,000,000 $26,280,000,000
Tinder Assumptions GLU
• $0.12 R/DAU • $0.08 R/DAU
• 100MM DAU by 2019 • 5.25MM DAU
• FY 2015 revenue $273MM
• FY 2016 revenue $575MM
• FY 2017 Revenue $913MM
• FY 2018 Revenue $1,643MM
• FY 2019 Revenue $4,380MM
• EBITDA Margin: 30%
Enterprise Value Sensitivities
19
20. ..if Tinder has Premium Subscription Revenue, Converts 0.20% of all Users and Game-Like Ad
Revenue of $0.03 per DAU, its Revenues Could be in excess of $1.1bn by 2019
$1,374,220,485
$1,985,859,374
$2,747,812,500
$4,031,718,750
$5,333,625,000
$0
$1,000,000,000
$2,000,000,000
$3,000,000,000
$4,000,000,000
$5,000,000,000
$6,000,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION AND GAME LIKE AD REVENUE-
BASE CASE ENTERPRISE VALUE
Enterprise Value Average Monthly Users EBITDA Average Daily Users
EV#EBITDA#Multiple 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.00 $916,146,990 $1,323,906,249 $1,831,875,000 $2,687,812,500 $3,555,750,000
12.50 $1,145,183,738 $1,654,882,811 $2,289,843,750 $3,359,765,625 $4,444,687,500
15.00 $1,374,220,485 $1,985,859,374 $2,747,812,500 $4,031,718,750 $5,333,625,000
17.50 $1,603,257,233 $2,316,835,936 $3,205,781,250 $4,703,671,875 $6,222,562,500
20.00 $1,832,293,980 $2,647,812,498 $3,663,750,000 $5,375,625,000 $7,111,500,000
Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
Enterprise Value Sensitivities
Tinder Assumptions
• $0.03 R/DAU
• 100 MM DAU by 2019
• 125MM MAU by 2019
• 0.20% paid to subscription
• $9.99/ subscriber
• FY 2015 revenue-$306MM
• FY 2016 revenue-$411MM
• FY 2017 Revenue-$611MM
• FY 2018 Revenue-$896MM
• FY 2019 Revenue-$1,185MM
• EBITDA Margin: 30%
21. Source: Capital IQ, SEC.gov, Company Filings!
$1,530,798,750
$3,466,192,500
$6,721,042,500
$12,016,957,500
$24,897,375,000
$0
$5,000,000,000
$10,000,000,000
$15,000,000,000
$20,000,000,000
$25,000,000,000
$30,000,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION AND GAME LIKE AD REVENUE-UPSIDE
CASE ENTERPRISE VALUE
Enterprise Value Average Monthly Users EBITDA Average Daily Users
EV#EBITDA#Multiple 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.00 $1,020,532,500 $2,310,795,000 $4,480,695,000 $8,011,305,000 $16,598,250,000
12.50 $1,275,665,625 $2,888,493,750 $5,600,868,750 $10,014,131,250 $20,747,812,500
15.00 $1,530,798,750 $3,466,192,500 $6,721,042,500 $12,016,957,500 $24,897,375,000
17.50 $1,785,931,875 $4,043,891,250 $7,841,216,250 $14,019,783,750 $29,046,937,500
20.00 $2,041,065,000 $4,621,590,000 $8,961,390,000 $16,022,610,000 $33,196,500,000
..if Tinder has Premium Subscription Revenue, Converts 1.25% of all Users and Game-Like Ad
Revenue at Rates of $0.09 per DAU its Revenues will be in Excess of $5.5bn by 2019
Enterprise Value Sensitivities
Tinder Assumptions
• $0.09 R/DAU
• 100MM DAU by 2019
• 125MM MAU by 2019
• 1.25% paid to subscription
• $9.99/ subscriber
• FY 2015 revenue-$340MM
• FY 2016 revenue-$770MM
• FY 2017 Revenue-$1,494MM
• FY 2018 Revenue-$2,670MM
• FY 2019 Revenue-$5,533MM
• EBITDA Margin: 30%