Q2 revenue and earnings fell short of expectations! Pinterest: We are increasing our investment in e-commerce!

It is learned that although Pinterest's Q2 earnings and revenue were lower than expected, and the company's Q3 performance guidance was weak, Pinterest's stock price rose by more than 22% in after-hours trading in the U.S. stock market. The following is a summary of Pinterest's Q2 earnings report:

• Revenue: $666 million vs. $667 million expected by Refinitiv
• Earnings: Adjusted earnings per share of 11 cents, below Refinitiv expectations of 18 cents per share.
• Net loss was $43.08 million, compared with a net profit of $69.40 million in the same period last year;
• Average monthly active users: 433 million, down 5% year-on-year. Analysts predict that it will drop to 431 million in Q3.

Pinterest said it has made significant investments in shopping and e-commerce, which was one of the reasons the company reported a net loss.

Pinterest's financial picture has been bleak as the social media market has grown. Facebook-parent Meta, Twitter and Snap all reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the second quarter and attributed their dismal results to a weak online advertising market.

Pinterest's performance is much better than that of its peer Snap, which announced its financial report earlier. Its net loss and adjusted EBITDA are much better than Snap. However, Pinterest's stock price has fallen nearly 45% so far this year amid the headwinds in the advertising industry.

Pinterest said in a letter to investors that economic challenges are driving up marketer spending costs. It also said the macroeconomic environment has created significant uncertainty for advertiser partners. Demand from large U.S. retailers and mid-market advertisers has been lower than expected, and they have pulled back on advertising spending due to concerns about weakening consumer demand.

In June, Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann resigned as CEO of the company and was replaced by Bill Ready, the former head of Google's business division. Pinterest's hiring of Ready also means that it will further promote e-commerce and online retail. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Elliott had acquired more than 9% of the company's shares. After Pinterest announced its results, Elliott confirmed that it was the company's largest shareholder and said it was satisfied with Ready's progress.

According to reports, Pinterest said its third-quarter guidance takes into account "slightly larger foreign exchange headwinds" than the previous quarter. It expects Q3 revenue to "grow by a mid-single digit year-on-year percentage," lower than analysts' forecast of 12.7%.

Editor ✎Estella/

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