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

Pinterest shares surged roughly 15% on Monday after CNBC reported the social media platform delivered a first-quarter earnings beat on both the top and bottom lines, while issuing second-quarter revenue guidance that exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Pinterest Clears the Bar on Revenue and Profit

The company reported adjusted earnings of 27 cents per share against analyst expectations of 23 cents. Revenue came in at $1.01 billion, well above the $966 million consensus estimate. Sales climbed 18% year over year. The company recorded a net loss of $73.59 million for the period, compared with net income of $8.92 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Global monthly active users rose 11% year over year to 631 million, meeting analyst projections. Average revenue per user globally reached $1.61, ahead of the $1.54 Wall Street had anticipated.

Guidance Comes in Above Forecasts

For the second quarter, Pinterest projected revenue between $1.13 billion and $1.15 billion. Analysts had been forecasting $1.11 billion. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for the period ranged from $256 million to $276 million, bracketing the consensus estimate of $261 million. First-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $207 million also cleared the $176 million estimate analysts had penciled in.

CEO Bill Ready told analysts the company’s February acquisition of tvScientific, a connected TV advertising analytics firm, was completed for roughly $465.1 million, primarily in cash. Ready said the deal is designed to push Pinterest’s consumer intent data into high-performing CTV campaigns beyond its own platform.

Headwinds Persist but Ease

Pinterest had missed earnings per share estimates for five consecutive quarters before this result. Finance chief Julia Donnelly acknowledged that major retailers remained a drag on ad revenue growth during the quarter. She noted that AI-driven improvements to the company’s bidding tools helped offset some pressure from that segment later in the period.

Donnelly also flagged the conflict in the Middle East as a factor the company is monitoring, noting some impact in Europe and rest-of-world markets tied to higher oil prices in certain verticals. She said those effects were already reflected in the Q2 guidance figures.

AI Push Follows January Restructuring

Pinterest announced in January it would eliminate nearly 15% of its workforce and reduce its office footprint, redirecting resources toward artificial intelligence development. The restructuring was framed as a strategic pivot rather than a cost-cutting emergency. The Q1 results arrive as digital advertising peers Meta and Alphabet also posted strong ad revenue figures last week, though Meta shares fell despite beating estimates.

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