Pinterest Posts Strong Revenue Gains in Q4

The pandemic forced people to rethink their ways of life and businesses to come up with new strategies on the fly in 2020, paving the way for Pinterest, a platform where people turn for ideas to thrive. On Thursday, the company reported $706 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020, up 76% from the same period in 2019, and $1.69 billion for the full year, up 48% year over year. Pinterest noted seasonal “healthy holiday demand” from advertisers during the period, adding that demand was healthy across different advertiser sizes and verticals, further building off the recovery that began in the third quarter of 2020. The U.S. accounted for $582 million of Pinterest’s fourth-quarter revenue, up 67% year over year, driven by gains in average revenue per user. Meanwhile, the company’s $123 million in international revenue was up 145% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, driven by both ARPU growth and a boost in monthly active users. “History will remember 2020 as a year unlike any other," Pinterest said in a letter to its shareholders. "Covid-19 forced people all over the world to adjust their lives in many unpredictable ways. We were inspired by the resilience we saw from so many families and businesses. We are also humbled and proud that Pinterest played a part in hundreds of millions of these stories.” However, the news was not all positive for the company in 2020. In June, there were allegations of discrimination by two former employees, which led co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann that parts of its culture were broken at the time. There was also a $22.5 million payout to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit by former chief operating officer Françoise Brougher that affected its reputation more than its coffers. On the user side, Pinterest boosted the functionality of boards on its platform during the quarter, making it easier for Pinners to organize their thoughts. Pinterest also introduced a virtual try-on tool for makeup brands during the period, enabling Pinners to sample over 4.000 lipstick shades through augmented reality. In its letter to shareholders, the platform said these efforts helped product-only searches grow 20 times more since the beginning of the year. Its research found that Pinners are 70% more likely to engage with products that are tagged in scene images than with standalone product Pins, so it's testing more product tagging capabilities for brands. The company also outlined its priorities for 2021, which includes investing in video to enable creators to bring more dynamic experiences to users. It's also taking important first steps in building Story Pins, a creator ecosystem that rolled out in beta in September. The platform will continue to invest in tools to help inspire Pinners and assist them in turning their ideas into realities, while making improvements for advertisers including better automation, more robust measurement capabilities and growing its sales coverage. Making it easier to shop on Pinterest is also key, as the company said it will expand the availability of its ecommerce offerings to allow more businesses to share their products on its platform. “I’m proud of our company and the inspiration we’ve been able to bring to so many lives during a trying year," Silbermann said in a statement. "As we look to the future, our focus will continue to be delivering more inspiring and shoppable content and helping advertisers realize the value and positivity of our platform.” Chief financial offer and head of business operations Todd Morgenfeld added: “Q4 capped a remarkable year of growth for Pinterest. Continued product innovation, execution and an earlier and longer holiday season helped us deliver 76% year-over-year revenue growth. As we start 2021, we'll be building on this momentum by continuing to invest in the success of our advertisers, as well as a first-class Pinner experience around the globe.”

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Pinterest Posts Strong Revenue Gains in Q4 as Pinners Seek Ideas and Inspiration

The platform now has 459 million monthly active users, with its international total rising 46% year over year

David Cohen

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David Cohen