Investors “swiped to the right” at dating app operator Bumble Inc. on Thursday, sending their shares up 80% as they made their public debut.
Bumble Stock BMBL,
opened at $ 76 a share on Thursday, before rising slightly. The company’s initial public offering was quoted at $ 43 a share on Wednesday night, above a range raised twice and enough for the company to raise $ 2.2 billion through the IPO.
The company, which runs its eponymous dating app, as well as ramifications for finding platonic friends and network connections, allows people to browse potential peer profiles and earn money when users pay for premium features, such as the ability to see who’s already liked them in the app. Bumble also operates Badoo, a popular dating app in Europe.
Bumble calls itself focused on empowering women, including through its trademark feature that requires women to take the first step when sending messages to new contacts. “We believe we have the potential to become a preeminent global women’s brand,” said Chief Executive Whitney Wolfe Herd at the company’s virtual investor roadshow.
See more: Bumble heads for IPO focused on leading healthy relationships beyond dating
The company generated revenue of $ 416.6 million during the first nine months of 2020, compared to $ 362.6 million in the same period last year. Bumble also posted a net loss of $ 118.5 million during the first nine months of 2020, against net revenue of $ 54.0 million in the same period last year.
The company had 2.4 million paying users on average on September 30, an increase of 2.1 million the previous year.
Bumble is going public like the Renaissance IPO ETF IPO,
gained 40% in the last three months and like the S&P 500 SPX,
increased by 10% in that period.