Pinterest (PINS) surged more than 11% on Friday, adding nearly $2 billion to its market capitalization, as investors welcomed a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast that defied broader concerns about advertising pullbacks amid geopolitical and trade volatility.
The visual discovery platform joins Reddit and Meta in delivering upbeat revenue figures for the quarter, at a time when U.S. trade policy shifts and rising global tensions have cast doubt over the marketing budgets of many digital firms.
Despite these headwinds, Pinterest’s AI-powered ad tools and expanding Gen Z user base are proving to be effective growth levers. Analysts praised the platform’s focus on delivering personalized and performance-driven ads, boosting advertiser confidence.
“AI is helping to serve up the right type of ads for different audience segments,” said Dan Coatsworth of AJ Bell. “There’s a greater propensity to click when the ad feels relevant.”
Key Metrics:
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Global Monthly Active Users (MAUs): Up 10% YoY to 570 million, beating LSEG analyst estimates.
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Forward P/E Ratio: Pinterest trades at 14.51x, more attractive compared to Reddit (67.65x) and Snap (22.19x).
While Asian e-commerce advertisers such as Temu and Shein pulled back spending due to the rollback of the “de minimis” import exemption, Pinterest’s international diversification and AI enhancements helped mitigate the impact.
“Pinterest’s strategic focus on AI improvements and international expansion is yielding results,” said Angelo Zino, senior equity analyst at CFRA.
Still, Barclays analysts cautioned that e-commerce ad trends could worsen later in the year if tariffs begin to directly hit consumer spending. Yet for now, Pinterest is outpacing competitors in converting ad impressions into meaningful business performance.
Pinterest’s stock performance and relatively modest valuation suggest it may be one of the more resilient digital ad plays as global marketing strategies adapt to economic uncertainty.
