Allegations
According to the complaint, defendants provided overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning Bumble’s relaunch strategy, including: Premium Plus and base tiers, focused engagement and more personalized experiences for younger users, and enhancing premium offerings for paid subscription members. Such statements absent material facts caused shareholders to purchase Bumble’s securities at artificially inflated prices.
The truth began to emerge on February 27, 2024, when Bumble issued a press release reporting disappointing fourth quarter fiscal 2023 results despite the recent launch of the Premium Plus subscription tier in December 2022. During the subsequent earnings call, management announced that the Premium Plus tier would be revamped as part of the planned Bumble app relaunch, as it “did not have a clear enough market fit” at launch. As a result, Bumble lowered its guidance for full year 2024. In response to this news, Bumble’s stock price declined from $13.18 per share on February 27, 2024 to $11.23 per share on February 28, 2024.
On August 7, 2024, Bumble issued a press release announcing mixed second quarter 2024 results. During the corresponding earnings call, defendants disclosed that the app relaunch was not going to plan and the Company would need to “reset” its outlook to refocus on the “consumer ecosystem” and “rebalance Bumble subscription tiers,” including a pause in the revamp of the poorly received Premium Plus tier. On the back of this news, Bumble drastically cut its fiscal year guidance for a second time. As a result, the price of Bumble stock declined from $8.06 per share on August 7, 2024 to $5.71 per share on August 8, 2024.