EL7.AI
StocksMedium•3 November 2026•
4 min read

App Store Fees to Pressure Match Group’s Margin by One Percentage Point in 2027

Key Facts

1Match Group expects in-app purchase fees to pressure its adjusted EBITDA margin by one percentage point in 2027.
2Group revenue was $891 million in the third quarter, down 3%, and net income was $174 million, up 8%.
3Tinder’s female daily active users returned to year-over-year growth in September, but the third-quarter average remained 1% lower year over year.
4Tinder’s direct revenue reached $480 million, down 2%, while payer numbers fell 4% to 8.9 million.

Match Group expects in-app purchase fees to reduce its adjusted EBITDA margin by one percentage point in 2027, management said on the third-quarter earnings call. The pressure is linked to changes in app-store fees and the end of its partnership agreement with Google. In the European Union, Apple raised the fees paid by the company to 26% effective October 1, 2026, compared with levels in the low 20s, according to the chief financial officer. Match Group expects the increase to add $20 million to in-app purchase fees in 2027. It also expects Play Store fees to rise materially starting in the second quarter of 2027, after its partnership agreement with Google ends in the first quarter. Management said its estimate does not assume any further future fee changes.

The warning came as signs of improvement emerged in Tinder usage, though they have yet to translate into growth in revenue or payer numbers. Average daily active users returned to year-over-year growth in September for the first time in three and a half years, according to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But the average for this metric in the third quarter remained 1% below its level a year earlier. Monthly active users fell 5.5% year over year, although the pace of decline improved by one percentage point from the second quarter. Payers also fell 4% year over year, an improvement of one percentage point from the previous quarter. These metrics show that the recovery in daily activity coincided with continued declines in paid audience measures.

Tinder’s direct revenue was $480 million in the third quarter, down 2% from the same period last year, while payer numbers fell 4% to 8.9 million. At the group level, revenue reached $891 million, down 3% year over year, while net income rose 8% to $174 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $344 million, a reported increase of 14%. However, the third quarter of 2025 included a $61 million legal settlement expense. Excluding that expense from the comparison, adjusted EBITDA fell 5% in the third quarter of 2026. This adjustment puts the reported earnings growth in context when assessing the period’s performance.

The group’s other brands performed differently as Tinder’s direct revenue remained weak. Hinge’s direct revenue rose 19% year over year to $221 million in the third quarter, and its payer count increased 23% to 2.3 million. Management said Hinge remains on track to reach its $1 billion revenue target in 2027. By contrast, direct revenue for the Everyone & Everything portfolio fell 20% to $176 million. Payer numbers in the portfolio declined 23% to 2.6 million. The results reflect diverging growth trajectories across Match Group’s services during the quarter.

Management raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin outlook to 38.8%, from February guidance of 37.5%. It attributed the improvement to savings from alternative payments and lower compensation and operating expenses. For Tinder, the company is targeting direct revenue growth during 2027, year-over-year payer growth by the fourth quarter, and monthly active users holding steady year over year by the end of that quarter, according to the earnings call. Management said it is still assessing the appropriate level of marketing spend for 2027. It did not provide detailed margin guidance for that year on the call. Management said it would provide adjusted earnings guidance and a full-year margin target at its upcoming February call.

In the near term, Match Group expects fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of between $865 million and $875 million, ranging from a 1% year-over-year decline to flat. On a constant-currency basis, the company expects revenue to be flat to up 1% compared with the same quarter a year earlier. It also announced a cash dividend of $0.20 per share. The dividend is payable on January 21, 2027, to shareholders of record on January 6, 2027. Management will provide details of its 2027 margin guidance on the February call, while the expected increase in Play Store fees begins in the second quarter of that year.