Pinterest Shares Rise As Q1 Beats Analysts Predictions

Pinterest, the web-based visual discovery platform, saw its shares rally late Tuesday (April 7) after the company released guidance that beat analysts’ pre-coronavirus expectations.

While its full first-quarter results will not be released until May 5, the company expects preliminary revenues between $269 million and $272 million for the quarter, CNBC reported. That’s up from analyst predictions of $267 million in revenues.

The San Francisco-based company closed on Wednesday (April 8) at $16.83 per share, up 11.75 percent, according to Yahoo Finance.

“First-quarter revenue performance was consistent with our expectations through the middle of March, when we began to see a sharp deceleration,” the company said in a statement. “Fortunately, despite weakness across nearly the entire advertising market, our exposure to some of the most affected segments like travel, automotive, and restaurants has not been significant.”

At the end of the first quarter, the company reported $1.7 billion in cash, marketable securities, cash equivalents, no financial debt and $500 million in available credit.

One of the reasons for Pinterest’s first-quarter success is growth in its monthly users. The company said it expects between 365 million to 367 million global active users.

Still, Pinterest is anticipating the coronavirus pandemic will diminish its global advertising. As a result, the company withdrew its full-year guidance on Tuesday.

“In light of the rapidly evolving and unpredictable effects of COVID-19, Pinterest is currently not in a position to forecast the expected impact of COVID-19 on its financial and operating results for the remainder of 2020,” the company said. “As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to unfold, it has impacted Pinterest’s advertising revenue globally.”

It was a very different world just a few months ago when the social media platform’s revenue surpassed the $1 billion threshold after a strong holiday season. At the time that milestone was reported in February, Pinterest was hoping for revenue of roughly $1.52 billion this year, which would have been above analyst forecasts of $1.47 billion.