Pinterest (PINS) Q3 Shock: 600M Users & 17% Growth, New AI Tools

Q3 2025 Results: Revenue ~$1.05 billion (+17% YoY) and 600 million monthly active users (record high, +12% YoY) ^[1] ^[2]. Adjusted EPS was $0.38 vs. ~$0.40 expected ^[3] ^[4].
Guidance: Q4 revenue outlook $1.31–$1.34 billion (midpoint just below consensus) ^[5]. This cautious forecast – in a peak holiday ad season – rattled investors ^[6] ^[7].
Stock Action: PINS closed Nov 4 at $32.91 ^[8], down ~2.3% on the day. After the earnings release, shares plunged ~16% to ~$27.90 in after-hours trading ^[9] ^[10]. Over the prior session (Nov 3), PINS had jumped ~1.8% to $33.70 ^[11] on pre-earnings optimism. Trading volume on Nov 4 was heavy (~16.9 million shares) ^[12].
Valuation: Market cap ~$22.4 billion ^[13]. Trailing P/E ~12.3 (forward ~17.8) ^[14] – relatively low for a tech growth stock. 52-week trading range was ~$23.7–$40.9 ^[15]. Analysts’ consensus rating is Strong Buy, with a 12-month target around $43 (implying ~30% upside) ^[16]. Price target estimates range roughly $26–$51 ^[17].
New AI Features: In late Oct, Pinterest launched major AI-driven shopping tools. A new “Pinterest Assistant” and AI-powered board upgrades (e.g. “Make It Yours,” “More Ideas,” “Styled for You”) aim to turn saved ideas into shoppable suggestions ^[18] ^[19]. For example, the “Styled for You” collage (pictured below) generates outfits from a user’s pins. The goal, per CEO Bill Ready, is to become an “AI-enabled shopping assistant” that helps users act on inspiration ^[20] ^[21]. At the same time, Pinterest added an “AI tuner” so users can control how much generative AI content appears in their feed ^[22]. These innovations underscore the company’s focus on marrying discovery with e-commerce.
Peers & Context: Pinterest competes with larger social media (Meta’s Facebook/IG, TikTok) for advertising dollars. Meta has far more users and ad muscle – its stock was up ~68% in 2024 ^[23] – while smaller peers like Snap have struggled (Snap fell ~34% in 2024 ^[24]). Industry analysts note “TikTok and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook remain the top choices for marketers” ^[25]. Thus, PINS faces intense competition, especially in the crucial holiday season.

Stock Price & Recent Trading

PINS stock has been choppy heading into earnings. On Nov. 3 it closed at $33.70, up about +1.8% on the day ^[26]. On Nov. 4 (Q3 report day), shares fell: the stock opened near $32.68 and closed at $32.91 ^[27] (–2.34% intraday) amid cautious sentiment. Trading volume on Nov. 4 was roughly 16.9 million shares ^[28], above its recent average. After the earnings release, PINS plunged further: in after-hours trading on Nov. 4 it traded around $27.6–$27.9 ^[29] ^[30] (about –15% from the close). This volatility reflects investor reaction to the missed EPS and soft guidance.

In context, Pinterest’s stock has recovered from 2024’s lows (it was down ~18% for all of 2024 vs. a +68% gain for Meta ^[31]), so the 2025 year-to-date performance (roughly +13%) lags the broad market. Its 52-week range is $23.68–$40.90 ^[32]. The stock’s beta (0.87) suggests somewhat lower volatility than the market ^[33]. Technical analysts note that the $27–$28 area (after-hours low) may act as support.

Q3 2025 Earnings Results & Financials

On Nov. 4, 2025 (after market close) Pinterest reported a strong top line but slight earnings miss. Revenue for Q3 was about $1.049 billion, +17% year-over-year ^[34]. This matched street expectations ^[35]. The company also announced record users: ~600 million monthly active users, up 12% YoY ^[36]. This was the highest user count in Pinterest’s history, reflecting continued growth especially among younger users.

However, earnings per share came in at $0.13 GAAP ($0.38 adjusted) ^[37] ^[38], slightly below analyst consensus (~$0.40) ^[39]. As an AP report noted, “results did not meet Wall Street expectations” ^[40]. (Zacks had surveyed 11 analysts expecting ~$0.40 EPS.) In fact, Reuters highlights that Pinterest’s adjusted EPS $0.38 missed the $0.42 estimate ^[41]. Nevertheless, revenue growth and cash flow were robust: net cash from operations was $322M (up 30% YoY) and free cash flow $318M ^[42]. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was ~$262.9M (vs. $223.3M a year ago, +18%) ^[43].

CEO Bill Ready struck an upbeat tone in the report, noting that investments in AI and shopping features are paying off. “Our investments in AI and product innovation are paying off,” Ready said, adding that Pinterest has “effectively turned our platform into an AI-powered shopping assistant for 600 million consumers” ^[44]. In short, the company is attempting to convert inspiration (pins and boards) into direct commerce.

New AI Shopping & Personalization Features

In the weeks before earnings, Pinterest rolled out new AI-driven shopping features. On Oct. 30, it introduced a “Pinterest Assistant” and major AI upgrades to boards ^[45]. These features include sections like “Make It Yours,” “More Ideas,” and “All Saves” (launched in U.S./Canada) as well as “Boards Made for You” and “Styled for You” (in testing) ^[46]. For example, the “Styled for You” collage (illustrated above) uses generative AI to combine a user’s fashion pins into outfit boards ^[47] ^[48]. TechCrunch reported that these AI tools let users turn pinned inspiration into actionable shopping collections ^[49]. CEO Ready calls this the core of Pinterest’s strategy: moving from inspiration to “a more actionable destination” and being an “AI-enabled shopping assistant” ^[50] ^[51].

Pinterest has also emphasized user control over AI content. In tandem with new AI features, it launched an “AI tuner” that lets people adjust how much generative AI content appears in their feed ^[52]. AI-generated or altered pins are now labeled, and a “See fewer like this” option lets users filter out AI content ^[53]. CTO Matt Madrigal explained that this empowers users “to personalize their Pinterest experience… striking the right balance between human creativity and AI innovation” ^[54]. These product moves – combining AI shopping assistants with content controls – have been a key news driver for the stock heading into the report.

Expert Commentary & Analyst Views

Analysts and industry watchers have mixed views on the results. Jeremy Goldman of eMarketer observed that “investors were looking for a guidance beat, not just another steady quarter,” underscoring disappointment at the cautious outlook ^[55]. Goldman also noted that big platforms like TikTok and Meta’s Instagram/Facebook “remain the top choices for marketers, thanks to their massive user bases and sophisticated ad tools” ^[56]. This comment highlights the challenge for Pinterest to grow ad revenue amid stiff competition.

On the bullish side, Wall Street analysts remain generally positive on PINS. Several firms have maintained or raised their ratings this season. For instance, UBS analyst Stephen Ju reiterated a Buy rating and lifted his 12-month price target from $50 to $51 on Oct. 9, 2025 ^[57]. Mizuho and Citigroup analysts have also issued Outperform/Buy ratings with targets in the mid-$40s ^[58]. Overall, the analyst consensus is “Strong Buy,” with an average 12-month target around $43.19 (implying ~31% upside) ^[59]. TradingView’s aggregate confirms a similar view: analysts’ 1-year target is $43.40 on average (high $51, low $26) ^[60]. CNBC recently noted Pinterest’s fall on earnings, but also included it in a list of stocks with “top pros” bullish on their future ^[61] ^[62].

There is broader context for these views. A Motley Fool analysis (cited on Sharewise) pointed out that Pinterest underperformed in 2024 – it was down ~18% versus +68% for Meta ^[63] – but it argued that Pinterest is carving out a niche in social commerce. Goldman and others warn that any slowdown in user growth or ad spending (e.g. from the China/Hong Kong “de minimis” change) could be headwinds ^[64]. In Q2 2025, Zephirin Group analyst Lenny Zephirin cautioned that MAUs “are approaching a ceiling level of maturity” even with AI initiatives ^[65]. Future performance likely hinges on whether Pinterest can keep growing international revenue and raise ARPU from new users. Currently, ARPU is modest ($1.78 globally in Q3; $7.64 in U.S./Canada) ^[66], so monetization of the large user base remains a focus.

Valuation & Technical Analysis

From a financial perspective, Pinterest appears reasonably valued given its growth. The P/E ratio is about 12.3 on trailing EPS, with a forward P/E of ~17.8 ^[67]. By comparison, high-growth tech stocks often trade at much higher multiples. The stock’s 52-week range was $23.68–$40.90 ^[68], illustrating recent volatility. After the post-earnings dip, PINS is near the lower half of that range.

At the close on Nov 4, the market cap was about $22.4B ^[69]. Pinterest’s balance sheet is strong – it has no debt and over $1.13B cash on hand, and the recent quarter produced $322M cash from ops ^[70]. Free cash flow of $318M (Q3) indicates solid cash generation. For valuation, note that analysts’ average price target (low-$40s) and the new AI roadmap imply the stock may have room to run.

Technically, the stock has retraced much of its earnings-driven gain. Some chart-watchers see the sharp sell-off as creating a buying opportunity, especially since the fall was broad-based across tech after other ad-report disappointments (e.g. Reddit, Google, Meta gave cautious signals ^[71]). Support is now around the after-hours level (~$28), and resistance is near the year’s high. Overall, the medium-term technical trend may hinge on whether Q4 execution and broader market (tech/ads) sentiment improve.

Forecast & Outlook

Looking ahead, analysts’ near-term forecast assumes continued healthy user growth with modest revenue gains. Pinterest’s own guidance ($1.31–1.34B in Q4) implies roughly 10–13% YoY sales growth in the holiday quarter. If macro ad spending holds up, beating or at least meeting that guidance could stabilize the stock. Beyond Q4, Wall Street analysts generally expect Pinterest to maintain double-digit growth in 2026, driven by its AI ad tools and shopping initiatives.

Our sourced data shows analyst targets in the mid-$40s ^[72] ^[73]. If PINS moves toward those, it would reflect belief that Pinterest can better monetize its 600M users via the new AI features and expanded ad suite. Some long-term bull cases envision Pinterest tapping into e-commerce (like a visual Amazon) and justify even higher valuations. However, risks remain: stiff competition from Facebook/Instagram, TikTok and Google, and any slowdown in global ad budgets could cap growth.

Peer & Sector Comparison

In the social media ad sector, Pinterest is a smaller player. Meta Platforms dominates (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) with billions of users and much larger ad revenue – Meta’s Q3 sales were ~$50B, and its stock has surged on strong ad demand. By contrast, Pinterest’s $1B+ quarters are modest. Snap Inc., another advertiser-driven platform, is closer in scale; Snap’s revenue was ~$1.40B in Q3 2025 (analysts expected ~8% growth) but its user and revenue growth have slowed, keeping its stock price relatively flat at $7–8 ^[74]. In 2024 Snap fell ~34% ^[75], underscoring the volatility in this niche.

Experts note that Meta, TikTok and Google still capture the lion’s share of ad spending. As Reuters put it, “large platforms such as TikTok and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook remain the top choices for marketers” ^[76]. That makes it crucial for Pinterest to prove that its new users (especially Gen Z, which now ~50% of its base) can spend at least as much with advertisers as U.S. users do ^[77] ^[78]. On balance, investors see PINS as a growth-with-risk stock in tech: it can offer higher returns if the AI shopping strategy works, but it is also more vulnerable to “sell-the-news” reactions than giants like Meta.

Sources: Official filings and press releases ^[79] ^[80]; news reports (Reuters, Benzinga, AP/Times Union) ^[81] ^[82] ^[83]; analyst and industry commentary ^[84] ^[85] ^[86]; stock data from market sites ^[87] ^[88] ^[89]. (All data as of Nov. 4, 2025.)