Match Group, Inc.MTCH
Match Group, Inc. Commitments Disclosure
NOTE 13—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Commitments
The Company has funding commitments in the form of purchase obligations and surety bonds. The
purchase obligations are $56.3 million for 2026, $73.6 million for 2027, and $70.3 million for 2028, for a total of
$200.2 million in purchase obligations. The purchase obligations primarily relate to web hosting service
commitments.
Contingencies
In the ordinary course of business, the Company is a party to various lawsuits. The Company establishes
reserves for specific legal matters when it determines that the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome is probable
and the loss is reasonably estimable. Management has also identified certain other legal matters where we
believe an unfavorable outcome is not probable and, therefore, no reserve is established. Although management
currently believes that resolving claims against us, including claims where an unfavorable outcome is reasonably
possible, will not have a material impact on the liquidity, results of operations, or financial condition of the
Company, these matters are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s view of these matters may
change in the future. The Company also evaluates other contingent matters, including income and non-income
tax contingencies, to assess the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome and estimated extent of potential loss. It is
possible that an unfavorable outcome of one or more of these lawsuits or other contingencies could have a
material impact on the liquidity, results of operations, or financial condition of the Company. See “Note 3—
Income Taxes” for additional information related to income tax contingencies.
FTC Lawsuit Against Former Match Group
On September 25, 2019, the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) filed a lawsuit in federal
district court in Texas against the company formerly known as Match Group, Inc. See FTC v. Match Group, Inc.,
No. 3:19:cv-02281-K (Northern District of Texas). The complaint alleges that, prior to mid-2018, for marketing
purposes Match.com notified non-paying users that other users were attempting to communicate with them,
even though Match.com had identified those subscriber accounts as potentially fraudulent, thereby inducing
non-paying users to subscribe and exposing them to the risk of fraud should they subscribe. The complaint also
challenges the adequacy of Match.com’s disclosure of the terms of its six-month guarantee, the efficacy of its
cancellation process, and its handling of chargeback disputes. The complaint seeks among other things
permanent injunctive relief, civil penalties, restitution, disgorgement, and costs of suit. On March 24, 2022, the
court granted our motion to dismiss with prejudice on Claims I and II of the complaint relating to communication
notifications and granted our motion to dismiss with respect to all requests for monetary damages on Claims III
and IV relating to the guarantee offer and chargeback policy. On July 19, 2022, the FTC filed an amended
complaint adding Match Group, LLC as a defendant. The FTC is seeking up to approximately $257 million in
damages and penalties. On September 11, 2023, both parties filed motions for summary judgment. On June 9,
2025, the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle the matter. The settlement was approved by the
Court, and payment of $14 million was made in the quarter ended September 30, 2025.
Irish Data Protection Commission Inquiry Regarding Tinder’s Practices
On February 3, 2020, we received a letter from the Irish Data Protection Commission (the “DPC”) notifying
us that the DPC had commenced an inquiry examining Tinder’s compliance with GDPR, focusing on Tinder’s
processes for handling access and deletion requests and Tinder’s user data retention policies. On January 8,
2024, the DPC provided us with a preliminary draft decision alleging that certain of Tinder’s access and retention
policies, largely relating to protecting the safety and privacy of Tinder’s users, violate GDPR requirements. We
filed our response to the preliminary draft decision on March 15, 2024. Our consolidated financial statements do
not reflect any provision for a loss with respect to this matter, as we do not believe there is a probable likelihood
of an unfavorable outcome. However, based on the preliminary draft decision and giving due consideration to
the uncertainties inherent in this process, there is at least a reasonable possibility of an exposure to loss, which
could be anywhere between a nominal amount and $60 million, which we do not believe would be material to
our business. We believe we have strong defenses to these claims and will defend vigorously against them.
Consumer Class Action Litigation Challenging Tinder’s Age-Tiered Pricing
On May 28, 2015, a putative state-wide class action was filed against Tinder in state court in California. See
Allan Candelore v. Tinder, Inc., No. BC583162 (Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles). The complaint
principally alleges that Tinder violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act by offering and charging users over a
certain age a higher price than younger users for subscriptions to its premium Tinder Plus service. Plaintiff seeks
damages in an unspecified amount. On July 15, 2024, the court granted Plaintiff’s motion to certify a class of
approximately 270,000 individuals based upon California Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold subscribers age 29 and
over. On January 17, 2025, the court denied our motion to compel the class and the Plaintiff to arbitration. We
filed a Notice of Appeal on January 24, 2025, and on April 18, 2025, the court stayed the case pending our
appeal. On September 10, 2025, the parties agreed to settle the case on a class-wide basis for $60.5 million,
which is included in our consolidated financial statements as “general and administrative expense” and a related
accrual is included in “accrued expenses and other current liabilities.” On January 13, 2026, the court
preliminarily approved the settlement agreement. The settlement amount was placed into escrow in January
2026, pending the final court approval.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 27, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 23, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 24, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 24, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 25, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 28, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Mar 1, 2019 | |
| 2016 | Feb 28, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 29, 2016 | |
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.