San Francisco, Feb 12, 2026, 13:55 PST
- Pinterest is looking at first-quarter revenue between $951 million and $971 million, trailing the $980.1 million analysts had been expecting.
- After the outlook, shares dropped roughly 12% in after-hours trading.
- Q4 revenue climbed 14% to $1.319 billion, with monthly active users reaching 619 million.
Pinterest shares sank roughly 12% after hours Thursday after the company guided first-quarter revenue to a range of $951 million to $971 million—coming up short of the $980.1 million average estimate from analysts. The image-sharing platform, locked in a fight for advertising spend against TikTok along with Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, fell short of Wall Street’s hopes for the March quarter. (Reuters)
The outlook’s under the microscope as Pinterest works to convince advertisers their dollars lead to actual sales—not just inspire users to scroll. Even the slightest miss or cautious forecast ramps up the pressure, with the company fighting for ad spend against much larger rivals.
Pinterest is betting on artificial intelligence to sharpen ad targeting and squeeze more revenue from in-app shopping. But a careful outlook? That’s not what investors have been waiting for—they want results, and soon.
Pinterest reported a 14% jump in fourth-quarter revenue to $1.319 billion and said 2025 revenue reached $4.222 billion, up 16%, both for the quarter and full year ending Dec. 31, 2025. Adjusted earnings, stripping out certain items, came in at 67 cents a share. Average revenue per user hit $2.16, while global monthly active users climbed 12% to 619 million—up from 553 million a year ago. For the first quarter, Pinterest is projecting adjusted EBITDA between $166 million and $186 million. CEO Bill Ready highlighted record user numbers, adding, “Users are at all-time highs,” and noted more than 80 billion searches a month. (Business Wire)
Pinterest has found it simpler to boost user numbers than to flex its pricing muscle, particularly overseas, where ad rates lag North American levels. The disparity has nudged the company further into “performance” ads—those designed to spark sales instead of just rack up views.
Pinterest announced in late January it would slash less than 15% of its staff and trim office space, aiming to wrap up the layoffs by the end of its third quarter. The company projected pre-tax restructuring charges between $35 million and $45 million. eMarketer’s Jeremy Goldman didn’t mince words: “Without clear cost savings or a concrete path to AI-driven revenue growth, these cuts look more defensive than strategic.” (Reuters)
Some on the Street are sounding the alarm, too. “This appears defensive and signals current growth initiatives aren’t working and underlying growth isn’t supporting the cost base,” Jefferies analyst James Heaney said. (Barron’s)
Pinterest is rolling out tools such as Performance+, a suite powered by AI that aims to automate chunks of the ad campaign process, while also shaking up its sales strategy to attract more ad dollars. The catch: the largest social platforms already operate at massive scale, and their ad systems are highly automated.
Still, the risk is clear. Should ad spending remain uneven and more money shift toward the giants, Pinterest might find it tough to pick up speed—despite ramped-up AI investment and the ongoing shakeup from restructuring.
For now, what matters for investors is whether Pinterest manages to boost revenue per user without dragging down user growth. The coming guidance update carries more weight than the user numbers; it’s the moment when the AI pitch either starts delivering real money or not.
