Pinterest Surges 15% on Strong Q1 Earnings Beat and Robust Q2 Guidance

Pinterest shares surged roughly 15% Monday after CNBC reported the social media company topped analyst forecasts on both revenue and earnings in its first quarter, while also issuing second-quarter guidance that outpaced Wall Street expectations.

Pinterest Earnings Beat Sends Stock Higher

The company posted first-quarter earnings per share of 27 cents on an adjusted basis. Analysts had forecast 23 cents. Revenue came in at $1.01 billion, comfortably ahead of the $966 million consensus estimate. Sales grew 18% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Despite the topline strength, Pinterest recorded a net loss of $73.59 million for the quarter. That compares unfavorably to a net profit of $8.92 million posted in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA reached $207 million, well above the $176 million analysts had pencilled in.

Global monthly active users climbed 11% year over year to 631 million, matching forecasts. Average revenue per user of $1.61 edged past the expected $1.54.

Q2 Outlook Tops Consensus

Pinterest’s forward guidance gave investors additional reason to buy. The company projected second-quarter revenue of $1.13 billion to $1.15 billion, above the $1.11 billion Wall Street anticipated. Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $256 million to $276 million bracketed analyst expectations of $261 million.

Pinterest CEO Bill Ready told analysts the February acquisition of tvScientific, a connected-TV advertising analytics firm purchased for roughly $465 million, is designed to push Pinterest’s audience and intent data beyond its own platform. The deal positions Pinterest to capture more performance-driven ad budgets flowing toward streaming television.

A Rocky Road Before the Beat

The strong quarter follows a rough stretch for the company. Pinterest had missed earnings-per-share estimates for five consecutive quarters before this report. Earlier this year, management flagged that tariff pressures weighing on large retailers had spilled into online ad spending, squeezing Pinterest’s business.

Pinterest finance chief Julia Donnelly said AI-powered bidding tools helped partially offset the headwind from large retailers later in the quarter. She also acknowledged some minor drag from geopolitical tensions, noting isolated effects on oil-exposed verticals in Europe and rest-of-world markets. Donnelly confirmed those risks were already factored into the Q2 guidance range.

Workforce Cuts Fuel AI Push

The earnings release comes months after Pinterest announced in January it would eliminate nearly 15% of its workforce and consolidate office footprint. The restructuring was framed explicitly as a reallocation of resources toward artificial intelligence development.

Pinterest’s results arrive in the same reporting cycle as fellow digital ad players Meta and Alphabet, both of which beat on revenue last week while disclosing heavier AI infrastructure spending. Reddit also beat estimates last Thursday, sending its shares up 9% in after-hours trading.

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