Pinterest said on Monday it expects second-quarter revenue between $1.13 billion and $1.15 billion, a range that sits above the $1.11 billion analysts were modeling, according to LSEG data. The company attributed the stronger outlook to resilient advertiser budgets and improvements to its advertising product suite that increase automation and refine personalized targeting. In extended trading following the announcement, Pinterest shares rose about 16%.
For the first quarter Pinterest reported revenue of $1.01 billion, an 18% increase from the prior year and higher than consensus of $966.25 million. The company ended the quarter with 631 million global monthly active users, up from 570 million a year earlier, signaling continued engagement with its visual discovery service.
Executives have been increasing investment in technology to make ad creation and delivery more efficient, through enhancements to the Performance+ ad offering. Management said those changes are helping automate creative production and sharpen audience targeting - developments the firm says are beginning to produce measurable returns.
Those product moves arrive after activist investor Elliott disclosed a new roughly $1 billion equity stake in Pinterest last month. Elliott has publicly supported Pinterest's approach to growing ad revenue and has signaled backing for a recently announced $3.5 billion share repurchase program. The buyback and activist support appear to have reinforced investor confidence in the company's ability to return capital while pursuing growth initiatives.
Pinterest faces a competitive landscape where larger social platforms, including Meta's Instagram and Facebook, continue to command attention from major advertisers. The company has previously seen some advertisers pull back spending as market dynamics evolve and as brands contend with margin pressures from tariff-related cost increases. Competing platforms are likewise advancing their own automated and targeting capabilities to capture advertising dollars.
In an effort to broaden its addressable market beyond social feeds, Pinterest completed its acquisition of tvScientific in February. The move is intended to extend advertisers' reach into connected TV environments, complementing the company's existing digital ad placements.
Outside the direct competitive set, other social platforms are reporting similar technology-driven revenue trajectories. Reddit, for example, last week forecast material revenue improvements driven by returns from its automated advertising tools, illustrating how algorithmic ad products are shaping publisher monetization across the sector.
Analytical perspective
From a financial stability and capital-allocation standpoint, the combination of investor-backed buybacks and rising revenue trends can support shareholder returns, provided advertising demand remains steady. User growth and product automation are clear strategic levers for Pinterest, but execution against larger rivals and maintaining advertiser relationships will be key to sustaining momentum.