Pinterest jumps on better-than-expected third-quarter results

Pinterest reported third-quarter earnings on Monday that beat on the top and bottom lines. The stock jumped more than 11% in extended trading.

Here’s how the company did:

• Revenue: $763.2 million vs. $743.5 million expected, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
• Earnings: 28 cents per share, adjusted, vs. 20 cents expected, according to LSEG.

Pinterest’s revenue increased 11% from $684.6 million in the third quarter of 2022.  

The number of global monthly active users in the quarter rose 8% from a year earlier to 482 million. Analysts were expecting Pinterest to report 473 million global monthly active users. Average revenue per user was $1.61, which was higher than analysts’ projections of $1.59.

“As we lean into Pinterest’s unique differentiators as a visual search, discovery, and shopping platform, we’re finding our best product market fit in years,” Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said in a statement. “Our users are engaging deeply and we’re delivering better results for advertisers through improved measurement and innovation across the full funnel.”

For the fourth quarter, Pinterest said it expects revenue growth of 11% to 13%. The midpoint is higher than analyst estimates, which call for growth of 11.3%, according to LSEG.

Last week, Meta reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results, but its stock price dropped over 3% after finance chief Susan Li told analysts that the company “observed softer ads in the beginning of the fourth quarter” due to the Israel-Hamas war.

Because of the volatility surrounding the Middle East crisis, Meta widened its fourth-quarter revenue guidance range. Snap also noted some detrimental effects from the Israel-Hamas war in its earnings report last week, and said it wouldn’t provide official fourth-quarter guidance “due to the unpredictable nature of war.”

Snap said it “observed pauses in spending from a large number of primarily brand-oriented advertising campaigns immediately following the onset of the war in the Middle East.”

Pinterest reported a net income for the third quarter of $6.73 million, or a penny a share, compared with a loss of $65.2 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company’s expenses in the quarter rose nearly 2% to $768.2 million from the $753.9 million a year earlier. The company said that its fourth quarter 2023 non-GAAP operating expenses, which don’t include the costs of revenue, will decline in the range of 9% to 13% year over year.

Company executives will host a conference call with analysts on Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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