Pinterest, Inc.
Pinterest, Inc. operates a global visual discovery platform where users, especially Gen Z, find inspiration through "Pins" for life ideas. Leveraging AI, it act
Pinterest, Inc. operates a global visual discovery platform where users, especially Gen Z, find inspiration through "Pins" for life ideas. Leveraging AI, it acts as a personalized shopping assistant, driven by its "Taste Graph." The company monetizes via AI-enhanced advertising solutions like Performance+, selling to retail and emerging vertical advertisers. U.S. and Canada revenue is about 75% of global revenue, with connected TV expansion underway.
Not in registry
Source Investment in additional GPU capacity was a key driver of the 25% year-over-year increase in cost of revenue in Q2 2026. Pinterest uses NVIDIA GPUs (e.g., Blackwell GPUs) to power its AI infrastructure.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Source Pinterest has a 'multiyear infrastructure agreement' and operates within a 'secure cloud infrastructure' to support its platform and AI models. These services are fundamental to its operations.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Source Essential for delivering content and services to 640 million monthly active users globally.
Confidence: medium
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Source A portion of engineering and operations staff is directly involved in maintaining and deploying the core infrastructure and AI models, contributing to cost of revenue.
Confidence: medium
Not in registry
Source The 'full quarter impact from tvScientific' was a driver for the 25% year-over-year increase in cost of revenue in Q2 2026.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Source Directly consumed by GPU capacity and data center infrastructure.
Confidence: medium
Not in registry
Source Pinterest uses 'select closed third-party models in very limited cases' in addition to its own and open-source models.
Confidence: low
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Metric/field RSXFS
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Consumer spending directly impacts advertiser budgets, especially in retail, a key vertical for Pinterest. Strong retail sales indicate a healthy environment for ad spend.
Signal to watch Increasing or stable growth in retail sales is bullish.
Confidence: high
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Metric/field CPIAUCSL
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Inflation affects consumer purchasing power and can influence advertiser willingness to spend. Lower inflation can lead to more stable consumer spending.
Signal to watch Stable or declining inflation is bullish.
Confidence: high
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Metric/field UNRATE
Cadence monthly
Why it matters The unemployment rate is a key indicator of economic health and consumer confidence, which correlates with discretionary spending and advertising budgets.
Signal to watch Stable or declining unemployment rates are bullish.
Confidence: high
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Metric/field Euro Area Retail Sales
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Pinterest generates significant revenue from Europe. This metric directly reflects consumer spending trends in a major international market, impacting regional ad spend.
Signal to watch Increasing or stable year-over-year retail sales growth in the Euro Area is bullish.
Confidence: high
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Metric/field World Composite PMI
Cadence monthly
Why it matters A broad indicator of global economic activity and business sentiment, which influences overall advertising market health and international expansion opportunities.
Signal to watch An increasing or stable Composite PMI above 50 is bullish.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Metric/field Overall Rank for 'Pinterest' app
Cadence daily
Why it matters Indicates user acquisition and app visibility, crucial for a mobile-first platform like Pinterest, especially given its strong Gen Z growth.
Signal to watch Higher or improving overall rank is bullish.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Metric/field 'Pinterest' search interest index (Worldwide)
Cadence daily
Why it matters Reflects general public interest and awareness of the Pinterest platform, indicating potential for user growth and engagement.
Signal to watch Increasing search interest trend is bullish.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Metric/field Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition
Cadence event_driven
Why it matters Provides official, timely updates on Pinterest's financial performance, strategic developments, and material events that can impact investor sentiment.
Signal to watch Positive financial results or strategic announcements are bullish.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Metric/field Number of open roles for 'AI' or 'Machine Learning'
Cadence weekly
Why it matters Indicates Pinterest's ongoing investment and strategic focus on AI talent, which is core to its product development and monetization strategy.
Signal to watch Increasing number of relevant job postings is bullish for AI investment and development.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Metric/field Stars and Commits for 'meta-llama/llama3' (or similar leading open-source LLM)
Cadence daily
Why it matters Pinterest leverages open-source AI models for cost efficiency and performance. Increased activity and improvements in leading open-source models can indicate better tools and lower costs for PINS.
Signal to watch Increasing stars, commits, and community engagement are bullish for open-source AI development.
Confidence: medium
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Metric/field Total Visits (monthly), Pages per Visit, Average Visit Duration for pinterest.com (Global, UCAN, Europe)
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Provides direct, granular insights into web user engagement and traffic trends, complementing reported MAU figures and indicating platform stickiness.
Signal to watch Increasing total visits, pages per visit, and average visit duration are bullish.
Confidence: high
Not in registry
Metric/field Monthly Active Users (MAU), Downloads, Engagement Rate for 'Pinterest' app (Global, UCAN, Europe)
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Offers detailed insights into mobile app performance, user acquisition, and retention, particularly important given Pinterest's strong mobile and Gen Z user base.
Signal to watch Increasing MAU, downloads, and engagement rates are bullish.
Confidence: high
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Metric/field E-commerce spend attributed to Pinterest referrals (US)
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Directly measures the commercial intent and monetization effectiveness of Pinterest's platform by tracking actual consumer purchases driven by the platform.
Signal to watch Increasing e-commerce spend attributed to Pinterest is bullish.
Confidence: medium
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Metric/field Advertiser spend on 'Pinterest Performance+' campaigns vs. competitors
Cadence monthly
Why it matters Provides competitive intelligence on advertiser adoption and spend within Pinterest's key monetization products like Performance+, indicating its success against rivals.
Signal to watch Increasing relative spend on Pinterest Performance+ is bullish.
Confidence: medium
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Metric/field Cost per inference for leading open-source LLMs (e.g., Llama 3) on cloud providers
Cadence quarterly
Why it matters Pinterest emphasizes cost-efficient AI leveraging open-source models. Tracking inference costs helps assess their ability to maintain margins while scaling AI capabilities.
Signal to watch Declining cost per inference for relevant open-source LLMs is bullish for Pinterest's AI cost efficiency.
Confidence: high
Pinterest leverages its unique visual "Taste Graph" and AI-powered platform to drive a differentiated shopping experience for 640M+ users, particularly Gen Z. T
Pinterest leverages its unique visual "Taste Graph" and AI-powered platform to drive a differentiated shopping experience for 640M+ users, particularly Gen Z. The company is effectively monetizing this engagement through AI-enhanced advertising solutions like Performance+ and strategic go-to-market improvements, demonstrating strong revenue growth and expanding profitability. Its cost-efficient AI strategy, utilizing open-source models, further strengthens the long-term investment case as of October 21, 2026.
Pinterest continues to achieve durable user growth, marking its 12th consecutive quarter of record users with 640 million MAUs and 11 straight quarters of double-digit growth. Gen Z remains its largest and fastest-growing cohort, representing over half of its user base, providing a robust foundation for sustained monetization efforts and platform stickiness.
The company's proprietary "Taste Graph," fueled by 80 billion monthly searches and 16 billion boards, provides a uniquely valuable signal for AI training. This AI differentiation, combined with a cost-efficient approach leveraging open-source models (achieving cost per transaction at less than 8% of comparable closed models), drives superior advertiser performance through Performance+ campaigns and integrated measurement systems, leading to increased ad spend.
Pinterest is successfully expanding its monetization avenues and improving operational efficiency. Performance+ campaigns are driving meaningfully better ROAS and faster spend growth, with new features like Smart Assembly showing a 6% improvement in click-through rate. The planned 2027 integration of tvScientific will create a full-funnel search, social, and CTV platform, opening access to larger budget pools, while a raised full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin outlook to 30% reflects strong profitability.
International growth, particularly in Europe and Rest of World, has moderated due to deliberate leadership and structural changes, tougher prior-year comparisons, and incremental pressure from regulatory actions impacting Asia-based cross-border retailers. Management expects some level of disruption to continue in Q3, indicating execution risk in fully realizing monetization benefits outside of UCAN.
Despite overall profitability improvements, stock-based compensation (SBC) remains elevated, with Q2 2026 being the highest quarter for SBC expense in the year. While expected to step down in Q3, sustained high SBC could pressure future GAAP net income and dilute shareholder value if not effectively managed. The ongoing investment in GPU capacity also represents a significant cost of revenue.
While Pinterest highlights its differentiated visual search and shopping experience, the broader competitive landscape for AI-powered discovery and commerce remains intense. The risk of AI-native platforms or evolving general-purpose AI applications redirecting consumer attention or offering more compelling vertical-specific solutions could challenge Pinterest's ability to fully monetize its unbranded search intent and maintain its unique position.
| Key Factor | Why It Matters | What To Watch | What It Signals | Where/How To Track | Free Alt Data | Paid Alt Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCAN Revenue Growth Rate and Ad Platform Performance | Continued strong growth in the U.S. and Canada, Pinterest's largest market, demonstrates the sustained effectiveness of its AI-driven ad platform and go-to-market strategies in monetizing its core user base. | The reported U.S. and Canada (UCAN) revenue growth rate for Q3 2026. Also, look for commentary on the ongoing impact of AI-driven bidding optimizations, retailer spend acceleration, and the full quarter contribution from tvScientific. | Bullish if UCAN revenue growth is at or above 18% year-over-year, indicating continued strong momentum from ad platform improvements. Bearish if UCAN revenue growth decelerates significantly below 18% year-over-year, suggesting challenges in sustaining ad platform effectiveness. | Company earnings calls and press releases for Q3 2026. | [] | [] |
| International (Europe & Rest of World) Revenue Growth and Go-to-Market Transformation Progress | Successful replication of the UCAN playbook and mitigation of regional headwinds are critical for unlocking significant monetization potential in international markets and diversifying revenue streams. | Reported revenue growth rates for Europe and Rest of World regions in Q3 2026. Look for management commentary on the effectiveness of new international leadership, go-to-market strategies, and progress in addressing regulatory pressures and challenges with Asia-based cross-border retailers. | Bullish if Europe revenue growth exceeds 12% year-over-year (reported basis) and Rest of World revenue growth exceeds 38% year-over-year (reported basis), indicating early success of go-to-market changes. Bearish if Europe revenue growth decelerates further or remains significantly below 12% year-over-year, or if Rest of World growth falls below 38% year-over-year, signaling continued disruption or ineffective transformation. | Company earnings calls and press releases for Q3 2026. | [] | [] |
| Full-Year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA Margin and AI Cost Efficiency | The raised full-year Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance and demonstrated AI cost efficiency through open-source models indicate strong profitability and disciplined expense management, crucial for long-term shareholder value. | The reported Q3 2026 Adjusted EBITDA margin (guidance range $335 million to $355 million) and any further updates to the full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance. Pay attention to commentary on AI-related compute and token spend, and the continued cost efficiency of open-source models (less than 8% of comparable closed models). | Bullish if Q3 Adjusted EBITDA is at or above the guided range, or if the full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance is raised further above 30%. Bearish if Q3 Adjusted EBITDA falls below the guided range, or if full-year guidance is lowered, indicating higher-than-expected AI or operating costs. | Company earnings calls and press releases for Q3 2026. | [] | [] |
| Pinterest Performance+ Adoption and Advertiser Spend | Increased adoption and improved performance of Performance+ campaigns directly drive advertiser spend and revenue growth, validating Pinterest's AI monetization strategy and strengthening its competitive position. | Monitor updates on the percentage of lower-funnel revenue running through Performance+ campaigns (was ~30% as of Q1 2026), the expansion of the AI bidding pilot to additional advertisers in Q3, and reported ROAS improvements or spend increases from Performance+ adopters. Look for commentary on the impact of Smart Assembly and the simpler campaign creation flow targeted for early next year. | Bullish if Performance+ adoption continues to increase significantly beyond ~30% of lower-funnel revenue, or if the AI bidding pilot expands successfully with reported increases in advertiser spend and ROAS. Bearish if adoption rates stagnate or if reported ROAS improvements are not sustained. | Company earnings calls and press releases, particularly during Q3 2026 earnings. | [] | [] |
| Pinterest Assistant User Engagement and Monetization | Successful adoption and increased commercial activity through the Pinterest Assistant will validate the company's strategy of bringing AI capabilities to the foreground, enhancing the user experience, and driving monetization. | Management commentary on Pinterest Assistant adoption rates, user interaction metrics (e.g., visual searches, outbound clicks, time spent) linked to the Assistant, and any early indicators of monetization or increased commercial activity during the Q3 2026 earnings call. The Assistant was made available to the vast majority of U.S. users by the end of July. | Bullish if management reports strong user adoption and increased commercial intent signals (e.g., higher conversion rates, more specific product searches) directly attributable to the Pinterest Assistant. Bearish if there is no significant update on adoption or if engagement metrics related to the Assistant are flat or declining. | Company earnings calls and press releases for Q3 2026. | [] | [] |
Sustained global MAU growth, especially among Gen Z, is critical for Pinterest's long-term engagement and monetization potential, reinforcing its unique 'Taste
| Key reported metrics | Rerating thresholds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Last period | Why it matters | What's needed for rerating | Rerating context | Earnings date |
| Global Monthly Active Users (MAUs) Growth | 11% | Sustained global MAU growth, especially among Gen Z, is critical for Pinterest's long-term engagement and monetization potential, reinforcing its unique 'Taste Graph' and AI flywheel. | Global MAU growth of at least 12% year-over-year. | Sustained double-digit MAU growth, particularly among Gen Z and internationally, validates Pinterest's platform stickiness and expanding reach. This reinforces its unique 'Taste Graph' and long-term monetization potential through a growing, engaged user base, driving a positive rerating. | |
| Adjusted EBITDA Growth | 25.9% | This metric reflects Pinterest's profitability and efficiency in managing costs, particularly its significant AI investments. An expanding EBITDA indicates successful monetization and disciplined spending. | Adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 30% for Q3 2026, or a further raise in the full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance above 30%. | An expanding Adjusted EBITDA margin demonstrates Pinterest's successful monetization and efficient management of AI investments. Achieving or exceeding 30% signals strong profitability and disciplined cost control, crucial for long-term shareholder value and a positive rerating. | |
| U.S. and Canada (UCAN) Revenue Growth | 18% | UCAN is Pinterest's largest market and showed significant acceleration in Q2 due to ad platform improvements and go-to-market transformation. Continued strong growth here signals successful monetization of core users. | UCAN revenue growth of at least 19% year-over-year. | Continued acceleration or outperformance in UCAN revenue growth, exceeding the prior quarter's 18%, indicates the effectiveness of Pinterest's ad platform improvements and go-to-market strategies in its largest market. This signals successful monetization of core users and drives a positive rerating. | |
Will Pinterest's AI-driven ad platform enhancements, particularly the expansion of Performance+ adoption and the AI bidding pilot, enable the company to meet or
Will Pinterest's AI-driven ad platform enhancements, particularly the expansion of Performance+ adoption and the AI bidding pilot, enable the company to meet or exceed its Q3 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance despite sequential headwinds?
Can Pinterest successfully replicate its UCAN monetization and go-to-market playbook in international markets, particularly Europe, to accelerate revenue growth and mitigate ongoing headwinds from regulatory actions and tougher comparisons in Q3?
Will Pinterest maintain its strong user growth and engagement, particularly with Gen Z, and will the newly launched Pinterest Assistant and its differentiated AI-powered visual search continue to strengthen its competitive moat against evolving AI-native platforms?
| 3 Things Management Is Most Focused On | Call Takeaway & Tone | Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By Segment | 3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses) | Revenue Segments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Things Management Is Most Focused On1. Building a differentiated visual search, discovery, and shopping experience for users: Management emphasized Pinterest's unique position in helping users find inspiration and take action in the real world, leveraging their proprietary 'Taste Graph' and AI for personalized recommendations, exemplified by the new brand campaign and Pinterest Assistant. 2. Keeping AI at the core of everything they do: This includes powering the user experience (e.g., every Pin served by AI, GPU serving, Pinterest Assistant), enhancing the ads platform (e.g., Performance+, Smart Assembly, Business Assistant), and improving internal operations, stressing early adoption and cost-efficient open-source models. 3. Accelerating monetization through improved go-to-market and measurement capabilities: Management is focused on driving advertiser performance through ROAS enhancements, AI-driven bidding, integration with advertiser measurement systems, and a more disciplined sales and go-to-market approach, with strong Q2 UCAN results being a testament to this strategy, which is now being applied internationally. | Call Takeaway & ToneThe call conveyed a positive and confident tone, emphasizing Pinterest's strong Q2 2026 results, marked by its 12th consecutive quarter of record users and 11th straight quarter of double-digit user growth. Management expressed confidence in their AI-driven strategy, which is enhancing both the user experience (visual search, shopping assistant) and advertiser performance (Performance+, bidding/measurement improvements). While international growth saw some moderation due to strategic changes and tougher comparisons, management is actively applying the successful UCAN playbook globally. Key themes included the durability of user engagement, the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of their AI strategy (especially leveraging open-source models), and significant monetization runway, balanced with a disciplined approach to profitability and capital allocation. | Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By SegmentIn Q1 2026, global revenue grew 18% year-over-year (15% on a constant currency basis). U.S. and Canada (UCAN) revenue growth was approximately 13% year-over-year (inferred from Q2's 5-point acceleration to 18%). Europe revenue grew 27% year-over-year. Rest of World revenue grew 59% year-over-year. | 3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)1. Q3 revenue guidance and regional differences, particularly a slowdown in Europe: Julia Donnelly explained that Q3 guidance is consistent with Q2 when adjusted for sequential impacts (FX, Prime Day shift, World Cup spend). She noted strong UCAN growth is expected to continue, while moderation in Europe and Rest of World was anticipated due to leadership/structural changes, tougher prior-year comparisons, and regulatory impacts on Asia-based cross-border retailers, with Q3 being the most difficult comparison for Europe. 2. Evolution of Pinterest Assistant, early engagement signals, and broader user experience innovation in a competitive landscape: Bill Ready stated that Pinterest has been an AI-driven shopping assistant for three years, with AI personalizing every Pin. The Pinterest Assistant brings these AI capabilities to the foreground, differentiated by Pinterest's unique 'Taste Graph' and cost-effective open-source models post-trained on proprietary data, which outperforms closed models for their specific use cases. 3. How Pinterest is managing token-spend usage and AI-compute costs, and tracking KPIs for productivity gains: Julia Donnelly highlighted that they are expanding AI capabilities while improving profitability, using a blended model approach (proprietary, open-source, limited closed third-party) and a centralized model routing layer to optimize for quality, cost, latency, and reliability. She noted open-source models are significantly more cost-efficient and they track adoption, developer throughput, cycle time, incident rates, and service uptime for internal use cases. | Revenue SegmentsGlobal revenue grew 18% year-over-year (17% on a constant currency basis). U.S. and Canada (UCAN) revenue grew 18% year-over-year. Europe revenue grew 12% year-over-year (7% on a constant currency basis). Rest of World revenue grew 38% year-over-year (32% on a constant currency basis). |
| About Expanding Eligible Market | About Competition | About The Broader Industry | Where Things Are Headed | Updates On Theme | Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short) | Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short) | Hiring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About Expanding Eligible MarketPinterest is winning significantly with the next generation of users, as Gen Z continues to be their largest and fastest-growing cohort, representing over half of their user base. They are serving a broader group of advertisers with Pinterest Performance+ campaigns, having launched Smart Assembly to help more advertisers benefit from creative optimization tools. Pinterest is extending its consumer intent signal and audience to connected TV through tvScientific, with plans to fully integrate tvScientific capabilities into Pinterest Performance+ by 2027, creating a full-funnel search, social, and CTV platform performance solution and opening access to larger and incremental budget pools. The company is also making progress on mid-market and managed SMB go-to-market efforts and is applying its UCAN playbook internationally to close the gap between engagement and revenue, including testing the expansion of third-party demand into Europe. | About CompetitionPinterest believes the search market will continue to fragment, with vertical-specific experiences solving distinct consumer needs alongside horizontal general-purpose platforms. They note that general-purpose AI applications are finding it difficult to be 'all things to all people' and have pulled back from many vertical-specific experiences. Pinterest is focused on visual search, particularly around shopping, and uses AI to make the experience more actionable. Their latest multimodal models outperform closed models by 30 percentage points in the relevancy of shopping recommendations. Gen Z, which makes up over half of Pinterest's user base, perceives Pinterest as different, with 39% of Gen Z considering Pinterest a first place to search and over 70% seeing it as more personalized, according to an Adobe study. Pinterest emphasizes that 85% of its users come directly to its mobile app, indicating it is a beloved destination not dependent on others for traffic. | About The Broader IndustryThe global conversation around online safety and youth well-being continues to grow, with Pinterest emphasizing its foundation as a positive platform centered on time well spent. The industry is shifting beyond last-click attribution to recognize value earlier in the funnel. The open-source AI ecosystem is expanding, and Pinterest believes that any CEO not leveraging open-source models is likely wasting shareholder money, especially with hyperscalers making it easy to use open-source in secure cloud environments. They highlight that most of Silicon Valley, the web, and mobile were built on open-source software, and a thriving open-source ecosystem is crucial for U.S. tech. | Where Things Are HeadedPinterest's near-term roadmap includes a simpler campaign creation flow, more sophisticated bidding, and more automated creative to drive further adoption of Pinterest Performance+. The goal is for nearly every lower-funnel campaign to start in an AI-powered best practice setup, with controls for more complex buyers. By 2027, tvScientific capabilities are expected to be fully integrated into Pinterest Performance+, creating a full-funnel search, social, and CTV platform performance solution. For Q3 2026, revenue is projected to be between $1.190 billion and $1.210 billion, representing 13% to 15% year-over-year growth. The company has increased its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin expectation to approximately 30% from 29%. For 2027 and beyond, the company reiterates its long-term adjusted EBITDA margin range of 30% to 34%. | Updates On ThemeDistribution | Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)"Our strong Q2 results reflect the progress we're making against our strategic priorities." "Q2 marked our 12th consecutive quarter of record users and our 11th straight quarter of double-digit user growth." "Gen Z continues to be our largest and fastest-growing cohort, representing over half of our user base." "With open models, we are achieving cost per transaction at less than 8% of the cost of comparable closed proprietary models." "Smart Assembly delivered a 6% improvement in click-through rate on average." "The small number of advertisers that were participating in the pilot, they're seeing meaningful performance improvements, which is giving them greater confidence to increase their spend on Pinterest." "Paid clicks to advertisers on Pinterest are up well over 5x over the last 3 years." "We now expect full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 30% versus our prior expectation of approximately 29%." "net dilution for Q2 was down 12% year-over-year, leading to growth in Q2 non-GAAP EPS of 30%." | Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)"The deceleration from prior quarters was partly driven by lapping the ramp in ad impressions from previously undermonetized international markets." "In addition, we faced incremental pressure mid-quarter from Asia-based cross-border retailers impacted by regulatory actions, particularly in Europe, and that pressure is continuing in the third quarter." "We have more work to do to fully realize the benefits of our go-to-market transformation in Europe and Rest of World, and we expect some level of disruption to continue in Q3." "Q3 represents the most difficult comparison of the year for our Europe region in particular." "While stock-based comp will remain elevated in 2026, starting in Q3, we do expect both stock-based compensation expense dollars and the year-over-year growth in stock-based compensation to step down versus Q2." | HiringReported headcount was up 3% year-over-year in Q2, which includes employees who joined Pinterest through the tvScientific acquisition. Excluding the acquisition, headcount was down year-over-year in Q2 and is down 6% since the end of 2025. The company will continue to invest in specialized talent where there is a clear and compelling ROI, focusing on the right mix of talent, infrastructure, and AI-enabled productivity. The increase in Q2 stock-based compensation expense was partly driven by the annual equity grant cycle and a lower stock price at the time of grant, requiring more RSUs to remain competitive on compensation. |
| About Expanding Eligible Market | About Competition | About The Broader Industry | Where Things Are Headed | Updates On Theme | Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short) | Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short) | Hiring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About Expanding Eligible MarketPinterest is winning significantly with Gen Z, their largest and fastest-growing cohort, representing over half of their user base. They are expanding their advertiser base by launching Smart Assembly for Pinterest Performance+ campaigns to help more advertisers, especially those without existing shopping product catalogs. The company is extending its consumer intent signal to connected TV through tvScientific, with full integration into Pinterest Performance+ expected by 2027 to create a full-funnel solution and open access to larger budget pools. Pinterest is also making progress on mid-market and managed SMB go-to-market efforts and is applying its UCAN playbook internationally, including testing the expansion of third-party demand into Europe. In Q2, global monthly active users (MAUs) reached 640 million, growing 11%, with U.S. and Canada MAUs at 106 million (up 4%), Europe at 157 million (up 8%), and Rest of World at 377 million (up 15%). | About CompetitionPinterest believes the search market will continue to fragment, with vertical-specific experiences solving distinct consumer needs alongside horizontal general-purpose platforms. They observe that general-purpose AI applications are finding it difficult to be 'all things to all people' and have pulled back from many vertical-specific experiences. Pinterest focuses on visual search, particularly around shopping, leveraging AI to make the experience more actionable. Their latest multimodal models outperform closed models by 30 percentage points in the relevancy of shopping recommendations. Gen Z, which constitutes over half of Pinterest's user base, perceives Pinterest as different, with an Adobe study indicating that 39% of Gen Z considers Pinterest a first place to search and over 70% see it as more personalized. Notably, over 85% of Pinterest users come directly to its mobile app, indicating it is a beloved destination not dependent on others for traffic. | About The Broader IndustryThe global conversation around online safety and youth well-being continues to grow, with Pinterest emphasizing its foundation as a positive platform centered on time well spent. The industry is shifting beyond last-click attribution to recognize value earlier in the funnel. The open-source AI ecosystem is expanding, and Pinterest believes that any CEO not leveraging open-source models is likely wasting shareholder money, especially with hyperscalers making it easy to use open-source in secure cloud environments. They highlight that most of Silicon Valley, the web, and mobile were built on open-source software, and a thriving open-source ecosystem is crucial for U.S. tech. | Where Things Are HeadedPinterest's near-term roadmap includes a simpler campaign creation flow, more sophisticated bidding, and more automated creative to drive further adoption of Pinterest Performance+. The goal is for nearly every lower-funnel campaign to start in an AI-powered best practice setup, with controls for more complex buyers. By 2027, tvScientific capabilities are expected to be fully integrated into Pinterest Performance+, creating a full-funnel search, social, and CTV platform performance solution. For Q3 2026, revenue is projected to be in the range of $1.190 billion to $1.210 billion, representing 13% to 15% year-over-year growth. The company has increased its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin expectation to approximately 30% from 29%. For 2027 and beyond, the company reiterates its long-term adjusted EBITDA margin range of 30% to 34%. | Updates On ThemeDistribution | Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)Our strong Q2 results reflect the progress we're making against our strategic priorities. Q2 marked our 12th consecutive quarter of record users and our 11th straight quarter of double-digit user growth. Gen Z continues to be our largest and fastest-growing cohort, representing over half of our user base. With open models, we are achieving cost per transaction at less than 8% of the cost of comparable closed proprietary models. Smart Assembly delivered a 6% improvement in click-through rate on average. Paid clicks to advertisers on Pinterest are up well over 5x over the last 3 years. We now expect full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 30% versus our prior expectation of approximately 29%. Net dilution for Q2 was down 12% year-over-year, leading to growth in Q2 non-GAAP EPS of 30%. | Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)The deceleration from prior quarters was partly driven by lapping the ramp in ad impressions from previously undermonetized international markets. In addition, we faced incremental pressure mid-quarter from Asia-based cross-border retailers impacted by regulatory actions, particularly in Europe, and that pressure is continuing in the third quarter. We have more work to do to fully realize the benefits of our go-to-market transformation in Europe and Rest of World, and we expect some level of disruption to continue in Q3. Q3 represents the most difficult comparison of the year for our Europe region in particular. While stock-based comp will remain elevated in 2026, starting in Q3, we do expect both stock-based compensation expense dollars and the year-over-year growth in stock-based compensation to step down versus Q2. | HiringReported headcount was up 3% year-over-year in Q2, which includes employees who joined Pinterest through the tvScientific acquisition. Excluding the acquisition, headcount was down year-over-year in Q2 and is down 6% since the end of 2025. Pinterest will continue to invest in specialized talent where there is a clear and compelling ROI, focusing on finding the right mix of talent, infrastructure, and AI-enabled productivity. The increase in Q2 stock-based compensation expense was driven by the annual equity grant cycle for employees and a lower stock price at the time of grant, requiring more RSUs to remain competitive on compensation. The company is directing more investment capacity towards GPUs and internal AI tools while being thoughtful and disciplined about where they add headcount. |
| Catalyst ID | Estimated Timing | Estimated Date Start | Estimated Date End | Catalyst | Why It Matters | Ticker Or Theme Specific | Transcript Date | Source Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PINS_9e076595 | early next year | 2027-01-01 | 2027-03-31 | Launch of a simpler campaign creation flow for Pinterest Performance+ campaigns. | This aims to increase adoption of Performance+ among a broader range of advertisers, especially SMBs, by making campaign setup easier, which should drive further monetization. | Ticker | 2026-08-04 | earnings_transcript |
