(Bloomberg) -- Match Group Inc. shares plummeted after the online dating behemoth gave quarterly forecasts that missed Wall Street estimates, due to mounting legal costs and economic factors that are denting sales growth. The shares slumped more than 15% in extended trading.

The Dallas-based company said fourth-quarter revenue will be $545 million to $555 million. Wall Street was expecting $560 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization will be $205 to $210 million in the period, also below analysts’ estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Match Chief Financial Officer Gary Swidler said the company incurred costs that the Street was not expecting, including legal expenses and long-term investments. “Unfortunately, we are embroiled in two or three big lawsuits,” Swidler added in an interview.

Sales are being crimped by macro economic issues, such as Brexit and currency movements, Swidler also said.

Last month, Match was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly deceiving consumers. It is also under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly tricking consumers by exploiting messages from fraudulent accounts to induce non-subscribers to sign up for subscriptions. The company has called the complaint “baseless.”

Match is also facing higher legal costs from a dispute with the founders of the online dating service Tinder, who have sued Match for $2 billion for allegedly misleading them about the app’s valuation and blocking employees from exercising stock options. An attempt to dismiss the case was recently rejected by an appeals court.

Match is partly owned by billionaire Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp. Match shares have gained more than six-fold since its initial public offering in 2015, largely driven by explosive growth in Tinder. Match’s third-quarter revenue grew 22% from a year earlier, while Tinder sales surged 49%.

The company reported earnings per share of 51 cents for the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates of 41 cents. Revenue was $541 million, matching analysts’ expectations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Match runs dozens of other dating sites like OkCupid and Plenty of Fish, which both reported strong growth in app downloads in the third quarter. Match is also expanding globally, acquiring dating apps in Japan and Egypt to cater to new audiences with different traditions and tastes.

Last month, IAC announced it was moving forward with a spinoff of Match, recommending a move to formally separate the two companies to a special board committee. In a company statement on Tuesday, Match said the committee was still evaluating the proposal.

(Updates with share move in the first paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Olivia Carville in New York at ocarville1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz

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