Grindr revenue jumps 33% to $138M, raises 2026 guidance

Grindr reported Q2 revenue of $138 million, up 33% and beating consensus by $5.56 million, while raising its full-year outlook.

"Our users are responding even better than we expected to the significant product work underway across the app," Chief Executive George Arison said.

App-based revenue rose 30% to $113 million, supported by demand for the XTRA and Unlimited tiers, while advertising revenue climbed 44% to $25 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $58 million, a 42% margin, up 27% from a year earlier. Net income was $17.7 million, or 10.2 cents a share, versus $16.6 million a year earlier.

Metric	Actual	Consensus	Beat/Miss
Revenue	$138M	$132.44M	+4.2%
Adjusted EBITDA	$58M	—	—

Shares fell 3.43% to $17.17 in regular trading and slipped another 3.44% after hours to $16.56, as investors weighed higher operating expenses and a projected slowdown in second-half growth. The stock remains near the top of its 52-week range of $9.73 to $18.69.

Grindr raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to about $540 million from $535 million and lifted adjusted EBITDA guidance to about $232 million from $227 million. Chief Financial Officer John North said second-half growth will moderate as the company laps subscription price increases introduced late last year and faces tougher comparisons against an accelerating second half of 2025.

Operating expenses excluding cost of revenue totaled $71 million, up from $53 million a year earlier, with part of the increase tied to one-time marketing costs for the Madonna partnership. The company executed a $60 million accelerated share purchase in the quarter and has about $300 million remaining under its $900 million repurchase authorization.

Arison said Grindr's shift to an "AI-native" engineering model has lifted output about 2.5 times since July 2025 with roughly the same team size, reducing the need for the roughly 200 additional engineers that output would have required. The company is preparing a broader rollout of EDGE, its AI-enabled premium tier, in the fall, which management identified as a key driver of 2027 growth.

The guidance raise signals management expects pricing power and AI-driven operating leverage to sustain momentum. Investors will watch the third-quarter earnings call for updated EDGE conversion data and advertising trends.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.