Pinterest profit miss overshadows Gen Z, AI-driven growth
The social media platform reported adjusted profit per share of 33 cents, below analysts' average estimate of 35 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
However, its quarterly revenue grew 17 per cent to $998.2 million, beating expectations of $974.8 million. The company's stock has gained about 35 per cent so far this year.
The growth was boosted by a surge in Gen Z users—who now represent more than half of Pinterest's user base— and adoption of its AI-powered ad suite, Performance+, which has appealed to advertisers seeking personalized and automated campaigns.
CEO Bill Ready said adoption of Performance+ among mid-market advertisers was accelerating, cutting campaign creation time in half.
Still, Pinterest forecast third-quarter revenue between $1.03 billion and $1.05 billion, broadly in line with estimates of $1.03 billion.
The revenue growth outlook "is strong but not accelerating from second quarter's 17 per cent," said eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman. "In a high-expectation environment, even a small gap between reality and euphoria can trigger a sell-the-news reaction."
Rivals Meta and Reddit posted upbeat second quarter performance last week. In contrast, Snap reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth in over a year.
The termination of the "de minimis" exemption - a U.S. duty-free import provision - led to tighter ad budgets for smaller platforms such as Snap, as marketers preferred to larger platforms with wider reach.
Pinterest CFO Julia Donnelly said the change prompted Asia-based e-commerce retailers to reduce their U.S. ad spending, though some shifted spending to Europe and other international markets.
The San Francisco-based company's ad pricing fell 25 per cent year over year, as a larger share of ad impressions now comes from international markets, where ad prices are generally lower than in the U.S.
Pinterest has third-party ad deals with Google, Amazon.com and ad platform Magnite.
The platform's global monthly active users (MAUs) rose 11 per cent from a year earlier to 578 million, topping estimates of 553 million, but user growth slowed to 8 million additions in the quarter from 17 million in the first.
"MAUs are approaching a ceiling level of maturity, and the market is maturing rapidly despite the incremental implementation of AI to drive user growth," Zephirin Group analyst Lenny Zephirin said.
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