San Francisco, May 5, 2026, 06:08 PDT
Pinterest Inc projected second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations, lifting shares in after-hours trading and putting the spotlight back on its ability to translate rapid user gains into consistent ad dollars. The guidance followed a first quarter where the company pulled in over $1 billion in revenue and hit a new high with 631 million monthly active users worldwide.
Timing is key here. Digital advertisers are shifting more budget to automated ad platforms that promise trackable sales, and tariffs have put extra cost pressure on bigger retailers, making them warier. Pinterest, in response, has been working to expand its revenue streams, leaning harder into the small and mid-sized advertiser segment.
Pinterest, based in San Francisco, is projecting second-quarter revenue in the $1.133 billion to $1.153 billion range, which points to a year-over-year climb of 14% to 16%. That outlook tops analyst expectations; LSEG data cited by Reuters had pegged the figure at $1.11 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is seen landing between $256 million and $276 million.
Pinterest pulled in $1.008 billion in revenue for the first quarter, up 18%. The platform said monthly active users increased 11% year over year. GAAP net loss was $74 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $207 million, with free cash flow at $312 million.
Pinterest shares shot up 15% in after-hours trading following the forecast, Reuters reported, with the move coming before Tuesday’s regular U.S. market open at the dateline.
Chief Executive Bill Ready emphasized Pinterest’s role as a discovery and shopping hub, saying, “online discovery leads to real-world action.” He acknowledged that aligning ad revenue with user engagement is still a work in progress for the company. Pinterest Investor Relations
“Large advertisers remain important for stability but are not the primary growth driver,” said Lenny Zéphirin, principal and analyst at The Zéphirin Group, in comments to Reuters. He noted demand from small and mid-sized businesses is picking up, but these firms remain vulnerable to tariffs and economic fluctuations. Reuters
During the earnings call, Ready told analysts Pinterest processes over 80 billion searches every month, with roughly half tied to shopping or product discovery. Its AI-driven ad platform, Performance+, has climbed to around 30% of lower-funnel revenue—ads targeting users nearing a purchase. Advertisers who’ve adopted Performance+ campaigns have upped their spending almost twice as fast as those who haven’t, Ready said.
That’s the battleground. Pinterest still trails Meta’s Instagram and Facebook in digital ad share, and Reddit has been rolling out its own AI-driven ad tools. Pinterest takes a more focused tack: it’s selling advertisers on visual intent, clear shopping signals, and an audience actually looking to plan buys—not just idly browsing.
Pinterest is pushing to expand its ad reach outside its core platform. In February, it wrapped up the tvScientific acquisition; just last week, it introduced tvScientific by Pinterest—a connected-TV product that allows advertisers to tap Pinterest audiences on streaming television inventory.
Buybacks gave Pinterest another boost, according to a filing. The company snapped up and retired 26.2 million Class A shares on the open market in the first quarter. Another 41.3 million shares were picked up through an accelerated repurchase agreement. Then, after settling the deal later in April, Pinterest received and retired 13.5 million more shares. The March 2026 buyback program still has $2 billion left.
The path forward isn’t smooth. Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly told analysts that major retailers continue to be a drag, despite a bit of improvement late in the quarter. Tariff-related margin pressure hasn’t let up for that segment. Donnelly also flagged a modest dollar hit linked to Middle East conflict in specific regions and verticals exposed to rising oil prices.
Costs remain in focus. In its latest quarterly filing, Pinterest revealed it signed a new private pricing addendum with Amazon Web Services this May, locking in a minimum $4 billion cloud spend through May 2031. That deal adds muscle to the AI effort, but it tightens flexibility—any slowdown in ad growth leaves less margin for mistakes.
