Pinterest beats on earnings and revenue even as monthly user number drops

Pinterest on Thursday reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter despite a decline in monthly users.

The company’s stock price was up more than 6% in extended trading after closing on Thursday at its lowest in over a year.

Here are the key numbers:

• Adjusted earnings per share: 28 cents vs. 23 cents expected by Refinitiv
• Revenue: $633 million vs. $630.9 million expected by Refinitiv
• Monthly active users: 444 million vs. 460 million expected by StreetAccount
• Average revenue per user: $1.41 vs. $1.38 forecast by StreetAccount

Pinterest said monthly active users fell 2% from the 454 million the company reported in July. This was the second quarter in a row that Pinterest saw a decline in monthly users.

The company said that, as of Nov. 2, its U.S. MAUs were approximately 89 million while global MAUs were 447 million. Those numbers are down 9% and 2.6%, respectively, from the fourth quarter.

Revenue climbed almost 43% from a year earlier. Pinterest also posted a net income of $94 million, even with its profit from a year ago.

Pinterest provided a fourth-quarter revenue growth estimate “in the high teens” on a year-to-year basis. That was below Refinitiv expectations of 23.9% growth.

Advertisers’ willingness to spend on Pinterest’s services has fluctuated due to pandemic-related factors, including supply chain issues, rising commodity prices and labor shortages, the company said in a financial filing. The company also said that it’s experienced and may continue to see lower levels of user engagement, growth and retention rates as pandemic restrictions begin to lessen.