At the time, Bumble had just over one million paying users. This number is about to triple - the three million mark should be passed shortly - and, with Badoo, the number of paying users now totals 4.1 million, compared with 3.7 million at the end of last year.

The problem is that growth seems to have reached its glass ceiling. Bumble's growth is laborious, and Badoo's has ground to a halt. Not infinitely expandable, the online dating market is completely saturated; while average revenue per user is eroding, at $23 in 2024 versus $21.2 last year.

Rival platforms Tinder and Hinge, owned by Match, face similar challenges. Last summer, we wrote in these same columns that we found the stock market valuation of the world leader in dating very attractive, all the more so following the acquisition of a stake by the formidable activists Elliott.

At less than x3 EBITDA, Bumble's valuation is not to be outdone. It's even extraordinarily lower, a clear sign that investors consider its two platforms, Bumble and Badoo, to be virtually finished in the ever-changing dating market.

Controlled by the no less fearsome Blackstone, which holds a quarter of the company's capital, Bumble is following the same path as Match: drastically reducing stock option remuneration and placing a strong emphasis on share buybacks - at a valuation which, as we said, is very attractive from the outset.

Profitability is improving year-on-year, and in its latest press release, the Group indicated that it was carrying $413 million in net debt, i.e. less than two years' EBITDA. Barring a sudden and brutal decline in its user base, its solvency is therefore not in immediate jeopardy.