Grindr (GRND) Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026 summary

Business evolution and strategy

• Largest global social network for gay and bi men, present in nearly every country except those under U.S. sanctions.

• Focused on preserving a robust free product, increasing monetization from existing payers, and developing new business lines for long-term revenue diversification.

• New initiatives outside the core app, such as health-related services, are being developed for future growth.

• Monetization strategy is shifting toward extracting more value from current payers rather than just increasing conversion.

• Long-term goal is to establish multiple revenue streams beyond the core app.

Financial performance and guidance

• Tracking well toward 2027 targets of $600M revenue and $245M adjusted EBIT, with 2026 guidance at $528M revenue and $217M EBITDA.

• Revenue growth for 2026 will be driven mainly by price increases on paid tiers and monetization of features launched in recent years.

• Premium EDGE tier is being tested and targeted for a 2027 global launch, representing potential upside if rolled out earlier.

• New business lines like Woodwork (health/performance medications) are not yet included in guidance but represent future upside.

• Guidance is conservative, based only on initiatives with clear line of sight.

Product development and user experience

• Paid penetration increased from 6% to 8.5% as user base grew from 12M to 15M; older users have higher conversion rates.

• Free product remains a priority to attract and retain younger users, who may convert to payers over time.

• Major investment in reducing bugs and refactoring code, with significant reduction in codebase size and ongoing front-end improvements.

• Plans to improve ad quality and relevance for free users, aiming for more direct and higher-value ad formats.