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Grindr delivered a strong Q1, with revenue up 38% year over year to $130 million and adjusted EBITDA rising 44% to $58 million. The company also lifted full-year guidance to at least $535 million in revenue and at least $227 million in adjusted EBITDA.
Growth was driven by app revenue and advertising, including a 33% increase in app-based revenue and a 68% jump in advertising revenue. Management said recent pricing changes improved conversion and retention, and the direct ad business could expand further over time.
EDGE is being positioned as the next major growth driver, with a premium AI-focused tier targeted for late 2026 or early 2027. Executives said the product is expected to command a significant premium and could become a meaningful monetization lever in 2027.
Grindr (NYSE:GRND) reported a strong start to 2026, with executives saying first-quarter revenue rose 38% year-over-year to $130 million as the company benefited from app-based revenue growth, advertising strength and recent pricing changes.
CEO George Arison said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call that Grindr delivered “exceptional results” in the period, including a 21% net income margin and a 45% adjusted EBITDA margin. CFO John North said adjusted EBITDA increased 44% year-over-year to $58 million.
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“We have now shown repeatedly that when we improve the product, expand the value users get from Grindr, and monetize thoughtfully, the business responds,” Arison said.
Following the first-quarter performance, Grindr raised its full-year outlook. The company now expects at least $535 million in 2026 revenue and at least $227 million in adjusted EBITDA, representing a $10 million increase from its February outlook for adjusted EBITDA, according to North.
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North said the quarter’s performance was driven by strength in core app revenue, including pricing changes, better conversion and retention, and advertising. App-based revenue grew 33% year-over-year, while advertising revenue increased 68%.
The company also highlighted its first large year-long direct advertising campaign, which North said will lift advertising revenue into the “mid to high teens” as a percentage of total revenue for 2026. That increase is occurring even as Grindr moderates some third-party ad loads as part of its efforts to improve user experience and ecosystem health.
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North said Grindr expects advertising revenue as a percentage of total revenue to normalize back to roughly 15% in 2027, consistent with historical levels.
Arison said Grindr’s advertising business has grown from roughly $30 million in 2022 to an expected level of more than $90 million this year based on the company’s guidance. However, he said direct advertising remains an area where the company has more work to do, noting that brands often express interest in reaching Grindr’s audience but have not always committed spending directly on the platform.
“Grindr's a great place to advertise from the point of view of building your brand,” Arison said, adding that the app is not primarily a direct-response advertising channel because users are in a different mindset while using it.
Management spent a significant portion of the call discussing EDGE, Grindr’s new premium tier built around artificial intelligence capabilities. Arison said EDGE is designed for power users seeking the most advanced experience the company can offer.
According to Arison, several EDGE features were tested during 2025, giving the company confidence in the product experience. The company is now focused on pricing and positioning. Arison said Grindr conducted a “pretty big price test” in an English-speaking country outside the U.S. and received results supporting a “significant premium” to current subscription offerings.
Arison said EDGE is not intended for mass consumption and suggested that having 0.5% to 1% of monthly active users on EDGE after several years would be a “really powerful outcome.” He said another market test is planned for later this spring or possibly in June, with a launch potentially in late 2026 or early 2027.
“For us, the really critical thing is to have it be ready for 2027,” Arison said. “We’re doing so well this year, and everything’s firing in such a strong way that there’s no rush to put EDGE into the market.”
North said the raised revenue outlook reflects stronger payer conversion that has continued into the second quarter and the lift from the brand campaign. He also noted that recent pricing increases have not produced as much churn as the company might typically expect.
Still, management cautioned that growth rates are expected to moderate in the second half of 2026, particularly in the fourth quarter, as Grindr anniversaries the rollout of its pricing increases and compares against a strong fourth quarter in 2025.
Arison said Grindr’s revenue growth has historically come from major product launches, citing past releases such as more profiles, Boost and weekly pricing for Unlimited. The company’s most recent major monetization move was its pricing change, and the next large product expected to drive a step change is EDGE.
“We might not launch it in Q4, and that would lead to deceleration in Q4 and then acceleration looking into 2027,” Arison said.
Arison said engagement remained strong, with activations, reactivations and retention improving despite pricing changes. However, he also cited headwinds to monthly active user growth from two types of government actions.
The first involves age assurance rules in certain markets. Arison said some adult users, particularly those focused on privacy, drop out of the sign-up or login process before completing age assurance steps. He said Grindr supports keeping the app 18+ and favors App Store- or device-level age verification rather than app-by-app processes.
The second headwind comes from “repressive policies” against members of Grindr’s community in certain countries, with Arison specifically mentioning Malaysia and Indonesia. He estimated that, without those two factors, average MAU growth in 2026 would be about 400,000 higher than the company’s current full-year trajectory. He said the issue is not financially material to Grindr.
North said Grindr retired 8.3 million shares of common stock in the first quarter. Across December and the first quarter, the company deployed about $140 million in authorized repurchases using mechanisms including prepaid written put options, accelerated share repurchases and forward repurchase transactions. Grindr has $350 million remaining under its current buyback authorization.
Management also addressed hiring and investment plans. Arison said Grindr has been operating with a lean structure and had planned aggressive hiring for the year, though he now expects the company may not hire everyone originally envisioned because AI is changing how teams work.
Arison said engineers are self-reporting that they are 1.5 times more productive than nine months ago, and that small product teams can now produce work much faster because of AI tools. North said Grindr is also investing in marketing and culturally relevant events, including the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the Madonna partnership tied to her new album release.
North said the company expects a 39% to 42% adjusted EBITDA margin and is prioritizing revenue growth and long-term product development over margin optimization.
“I would much rather see an improving growth rate as opposed to an improving margin percentage,” North said.
Grindr, trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol GRND, operates a global social networking and dating platform designed primarily for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (GBTQ) individuals. The company’s core offering is a location-based mobile application that enables users to connect, chat and share content with others in their vicinity. Through its free tier and premium subscription services—known as Grindr XTRA and Grindr Unlimited—Grindr provides enhanced features such as ad-free browsing, advanced filters and unlimited profile views, catering to a broad spectrum of user needs.
Originally launched in 2009 by entrepreneur Joel Simkhai, Grindr was one of the first mobile apps to leverage geolocation technology for social networking.
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The article "Grindr Q1 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.
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