Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Pinterest had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Pinterest’s conference call:

• Q3 revenue missed expectations, coming in at $1.174 billion, up 12% year over year. European de minimis regulatory changes caused cross-border sellers to pull back more than anticipated, while international go-to-market restructuring added pressure.
• Pinterest expects continued near-term pressure in international markets, with Q4 revenue guidance of $1.425 billion to $1.475 billion, representing only 8% to 12% growth. Management does not expect cross-border spending to recover during the holiday period.
• User momentum remained strong, with global MAUs reaching a record 661 million, up 10%, and engagement in UCAN deepening faster than user growth. UCAN revenue grew 14% in Q3 and 15% year to date, demonstrating progress in Pinterest’s performance-advertising strategy.
• Pinterest is expanding AI-driven monetization through Pinterest Assistant, Visual Search Ads, improved bidding, and programmatic partnerships. Approximately 80% of Pinterest Assistant searches are commercial, while an early advertiser test showed a 77% increase in new-customer return on ad spend using Pinterest’s measurement integration.
• Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $339 million, with a 29% margin, and trailing 12-month free cash flow reached nearly $1.26 billion. However, Pinterest expects increased infrastructure and GPU spending in Q4 while maintaining its full-year adjusted EBITDA margin target of approximately 30%.

Pinterest Trading Down 4.8%

PINS traded down $1.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.92. 45,160,171 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,619,233. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Pinterest has a 1 year low of $13.84 and a 1 year high of $34.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.83. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.90.

Pinterest News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Pinterest this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue increased 11.9% year over year to $1.17 billion, while global monthly active users rose 10% to a record 661 million. Pinterest also generated $339 million in adjusted EBITDA, $316 million in operating cash flow and $300 million in free cash flow. Pinterest Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Pinterest expanded programmatic advertising deals worldwide, allowing large advertisers to purchase display and video inventory through existing demand- and supply-side platforms. The move could improve advertiser access and support future monetization. Pinterest Opens Programmatic Ad Deals Worldwide
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp maintained an “overweight” rating but lowered its price target from $30 to $28. The revised target remains materially above recent trading levels, though the cut reflects more cautious expectations. KeyCorp Pinterest Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Pinterest missed third-quarter expectations: adjusted earnings were $0.46 per share versus a $0.49 consensus, and revenue of $1.17 billion came in below estimates near $1.21 billion. Pinterest Misses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $1.45 billion was approximately 4.7% below analysts’ consensus, raising concerns that revenue growth is slowing. Pinterest Misses Q3 Sales Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability deteriorated: GAAP net income was about $22 million, while operating profit fell to roughly $30 million. Continued insider selling, including sales by executives and co-founder Benjamin Silbermann, adds another source of investor caution.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINS has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Pinterest from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Pinterest from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore lifted their target price on Pinterest from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Phillip Securities upgraded Pinterest to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Pinterest from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinterest

In related news, CFO Julia Donnelly sold 29,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.61, for a total transaction of $549,888.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 751,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,993,249.81. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Benjamin Silbermann sold 46,875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.56, for a total value of $1,057,500.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 692,877 shares of company stock worth $14,733,501 over the last three months. 8.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Pinterest

Pinterest, Inc (NYSE: PINS) operates a visual discovery platform that helps people find ideas and inspiration for activities such as home improvement, cooking, fashion, travel and event planning. Users can discover, save and organize images and videos—known as Pins—on personalized boards and explore recommendations based on their interests.

The company also provides tools for businesses and creators to showcase products and content on the platform. Its advertising business includes promoted Pins and other advertising formats designed to help marketers reach users while they are discovering ideas, researching products and planning purchases.