Pinterest Revenue Soars 125%, but User Growth Falls Short

Pinterest’s revenue more than doubled year-over-year in the second quarter, reaching $613.2 million, up 125% from $272.5 million in the same period of 2020. The company credited the easing of pandemic restrictions globally, as well as increased adoption of its measurement solutions by large advertisers, noting that spending by mid-market and managed small advertisers also rose but contributed a smaller share of overall revenue. Pinterest said in its letter to shareholders that travel spend on its platform was particularly strong during the second quarter as Pinners began to plan vacations that were put off by Covid-19. However, the easing of pandemic restrictions had the opposite effect on the platform’s user base. Pinterest reported a 9% year-over-year uptick in global monthly active users, to 454 million, but that figure did not meet its expectations. Pinterest Adds Monetization Options for Creators The company said in its letter to shareholders that people spent less time at home during the second quarter than during the first three months of 2021 as they began eating in restaurants, socializing with friends and attending events, driving down engagement on Pinterest topics like cooking, décor, do it yourself and gardening. Pinterest posted GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income of $69.4 million for the three-month period compared with a net loss of $100.7 million in the second quarter of 2020, and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, debt and amortization) of $178.2 million versus a $33.9 million loss in the year-ago period. The company said ongoing uncertainly over Covid-19 and other factors led it to project revenue growth in the low-40% range for the third quarter, and it would not provide guidance on global MAUs for the same reasons. Pinterest said in its letter to shareholders that shopping engagement proved to be more resilient than overall engagement during the second quarter, while search engagement rates remained elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels, and Gen Z Pinners showed particularly strong engagement with the platform’s new Idea Pins native content format. The number of Idea Pins created daily is up by more than seven times since the beginning of the year, and daily impressions from that content are up by more than 10 times over the same period. The company said Pinners are 89% more likely to engage with products tagged in Idea Pins than with those on Product Pins or other shopping surfaces. Back to shopping, catalog uploads were up nearly 50% in the second quarter versus the first three months of 2021, driven by Pinterest’s integration with Shopify for international merchants and the debut of its multifeed catalog tool. The company added that it will begin testing an integration with WooCommerce during the third quarter. Co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann said in a statement, “Our second quarter results reflect both the strength of our business and the recent shift in consumer behavior we’ve seen as people spend less time at home. While we navigate through pandemic impacts, Pinterest is focused on building for the long term by transforming from a place to browse, save and organize to a community of inspiring people sharing their passions and expertise.”

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Pinterest Revenue Soars 125% in Q2, but User Growth Falls Short of Expectations

The platform had 454 million global monthly active users as of June 30

David Cohen

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David Cohen