Pinterest, Inc. (PINS Quick QuotePINS - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of 27 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents by 22.73%. The bottom line increased from the year-ago quarter’s non-GAAP earnings of 23 cents per share.

Revenues of $1.01 billion rose 18% year over year and surpassed the consensus mark of $964 million by 8.47%. Strength in AI-driven ad performance and improving advertiser demand aided results. Global monthly active users (MAUs) increased 11% to 631 million, reflecting sustained platform engagement growth.

PINS Sees Strong User Growth and Engagement Trends

Pinterest ended the quarter with 631 million global MAUs, up 11% year over year, marking continued double-digit expansion. Growth was broad-based across regions, with Rest of World MAUs rising 15%, Europe up 7% and the United States and Canada increasing 4%.

User engagement remained robust, supported by ongoing improvements in personalization and visual discovery. The company highlighted that more than 80 billion searches occur monthly on the platform, with roughly half tied to commercial intent, reinforcing Pinterest’s positioning as a discovery-led shopping platform.

Pinterest Revenue Growth Driven by Ads and AI

Pinterest generated revenues of $1.008 billion, up 18% year over year. Growth was driven primarily by improvements in conversion-focused advertising and continued momentum in retail and emerging verticals such as financial services.

Geographically, U.S. and Canada revenues rose 13% to $750 million, while Europe revenues increased 27% to $186 million. Rest of World revenues surged 59% to $72 million, highlighting strong international traction despite ongoing monetization gaps.

Ad impressions grew 24% year over year, although pricing declined 5%, reflecting mix shifts and prior-year comparisons. Improvements in AI-driven bidding and targeting partially offset pressure from large retail advertisers later in the quarter.

PINS Expands AI Capabilities and Ad Platform

Pinterest continued to deepen its AI capabilities, which remain central to its growth strategy. The company’s proprietary models, including its Taste Graph and generative retrieval system, enhanced personalization and search relevance, driving higher engagement and advertiser performance.

Adoption of Pinterest Performance+, its AI-powered ad suite, gained traction, with approximately 30% of lower-funnel revenue now flowing through these campaigns. Advertisers using these tools reported improved return on ad spend and higher conversion rates, underscoring the platform’s growing effectiveness.

Additionally, the acquisition of tvScientific expanded Pinterest’s reach into connected TV advertising, enabling advertisers to leverage PINS’ audience data beyond its platform and unlocking incremental revenue opportunities.

Pinterest Margins Improve on Strong Revenue Flow-Through

Pinterest reported adjusted EBITDA of $207 million, up 20% year over year, with a margin of 20%, reflecting modest expansion from the prior year.

Cost of revenue increased 20% to $232 million, driven by higher infrastructure investments to support user growth and AI initiatives. Non-GAAP operating expenses rose 16% to $574 million, primarily due to increased spending in sales, marketing and research and development.

Despite higher expenses, stronger revenue flow-through and cost discipline supported profitability improvements during the quarter.

PINS Strengthens Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

Pinterest generated $328 million in operating cash flow and $312 million in free cash flow during the quarter.

The company ended the quarter with $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, maintaining a solid liquidity position.

Pinterest also repurchased approximately $2 billion worth of shares year to date, reducing shares outstanding by about 16% compared with the prior quarter. The company has $2 billion remaining under its $3.5 billion authorization, reflecting confidence in its long-term growth prospects.

Pinterest Outlook Reflects Continued Growth Momentum

For the second quarter of 2026, Pinterest expects revenues between $1.133 billion and $1.153 billion, indicating 14-16% year-over-year growth.

Adjusted EBITDA is projected in the range of $256 million to $276 million. The company expects continued investments in AI, sales and marketing, and infrastructure to support long-term growth, while maintaining a full-year adjusted EBITDA margin target of around 29%.

Management remains focused on expanding monetization, improving measurement capabilities and scaling its global go-to-market strategy to better align revenue growth with strong user engagement trends.

Zacks Rank

PINS currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Releases

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Akamai has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 7%. Akamai delivered an average earnings surprise of 9.4% in the last four reported quarters.

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