Bumble explores potential sale with Morgan Stanley as dating app users and revenue decline
Bumble $BMBL is exploring a sale as dating app growth stalls. It is working with Morgan Stanley $MS, though it may stay independent. Its shares are down about 48% over the past year, leaving a market value near 388 million dollars after paying users fell.
Bumble, one of the best-known names in online dating, is weighing a sale as growth across the sector slows. The Austin-based company is working with investment bankers at Morgan Stanley $MS on a potential sale process, according to reporting, though no deal is certain and Bumble $BMBL may decide to stay independent. The pressure shows in the numbers. Its shares have fallen about 48% over the past year, leaving a market value near 388 million dollars, a steep drop for a company that went public in February 2021 at a valuation above 7 billion dollars. Total paying users fell more than 11% in 2025 to about 3.7 million, while annual revenue declined nearly 10% to roughly 966 million dollars. In the first quarter of 2026, paying users dropped about 20% from a year earlier as the company trimmed lower-engagement accounts. Founded in 2014, Bumble drew early attention for requiring women to make the first move in heterosexual matches.