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Pinterest Forecasts Strong Q1 Revenue, Shares Surge on AI Advertising Boost

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Pinterest (PINS.N) announced Thursday that it expects first-quarter revenue to exceed market expectations, with a forecast between $837 million and $852 million, driven by the platform’s AI-powered advertising tools. The forecast came after a successful fourth-quarter performance, with record monthly active users and revenue, bolstered by a strong holiday shopping season.

Pinterest’s Performance+ suite, which leverages artificial intelligence to help advertisers target users more effectively, has become a major driver of ad spend. CEO Bill Ready highlighted the platform’s increasing engagement, stating that users are visiting Pinterest more frequently and finding the platform more actionable. The growth is particularly fueled by a rise in Gen Z users and the expansion of shoppable content, making Pinterest increasingly appealing to marketers.

The platform is also benefiting from growing third-party ad deals with major players like Google and Amazon, helping to diversify Pinterest’s revenue streams. However, experts note that ad spend remains heavily concentrated in North America, and the company has historically been slow to execute on expanding these third-party integrations.

Pinterest’s global monthly active users reached 553 million, surpassing estimates of 545.8 million, marking an 11% increase from the previous year. Despite an 18% year-on-year revenue growth to $1.15 billion in Q4, the company’s adjusted profit per share of 56 cents missed analyst expectations of 65 cents due to tax adjustments.

 

Qualcomm Forecasts Strong Q2, Shares Drop After Licensing Outlook

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Qualcomm exceeded analysts’ expectations for Q1 sales and adjusted profits but forecast a more tempered outlook for its patent licensing business, sending its stock price down 4.8% in after-hours trading. The company reported Q1 sales of $11.67 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.41 per share, significantly outperforming the expected $10.93 billion and $2.96 per share. For the upcoming fiscal second quarter, Qualcomm projected sales of $10.75 billion and adjusted profits of $2.80 per share, both surpassing analysts’ expectations.

However, the company warned that its patent licensing business, which generates revenue from companies paying royalties for 5G technology, would not see growth this year after a deal with Huawei expired. This news caused some investor concern, despite positive projections in Qualcomm’s chip business. Licensing revenue for Q2 is forecasted at $1.35 billion, below the $1.43 billion analysts anticipated.

The market’s response was mixed, with Qualcomm’s shares dropping by 4.8% after the announcement. Investors have been closely monitoring Qualcomm’s involvement in the AI and smartphone markets, and while the company continues to secure major deals, such as with Samsung and Microsoft, the uncertain future of its Huawei agreement looms large.

Despite the dip in licensing revenue expectations, Qualcomm’s position in the smartphone, automotive, and IoT markets continues to strengthen. The company reported strong handset revenue of $7.57 billion, up 13% from the previous year, and its automotive chip sales saw significant growth, reaching $961 million.

 

Cognizant Predicts Lower 2025 Revenue as IT Spending Tightens

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Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH.O) revised its 2025 revenue forecast downwards on Wednesday, citing the impact of ongoing uncertainty about future interest rate cuts, which is prompting businesses to reduce their spending on IT services and consultancy. The company warned that while demand for AI-related investments remains strong, persistent high capital costs are leading enterprises to reconsider their IT spending strategies.

Despite the cautious outlook for the upcoming year, Cognizant saw a positive fourth quarter, driven by a surge in demand from the financial services sector. The company secured more large deals compared to the previous year, helping its quarterly revenue exceed Wall Street’s expectations.

Jatin Dalal, Cognizant’s finance chief, noted a strong pipeline of transformation and modernization projects, particularly within North America’s insurance sector and select areas of banking and financial services. This helped the company achieve fourth-quarter revenue of $5.08 billion, surpassing analysts’ projections of $5.07 billion. Additionally, Cognizant’s adjusted earnings for the quarter came in at $1.21 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.12.

For the first quarter of 2025, Cognizant forecasts revenue to range between $5 billion and $5.1 billion, slightly above analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. However, the company expects its 2025 annual revenue to be between $20.30 billion and $20.80 billion, which is lower than the $20.89 billion forecasted by analysts. The projected adjusted earnings per share for 2025 are expected to fall between $4.90 and $5.06, with the midpoint of $4.98 per share, in line with analysts’ estimates of $4.99.