(Updated - May 1, 2024 4:54 AM EDT)
Pinterest Inc . (NYSE:PINS) reported a strong performance in the first quarter, surpassing Wall Street expectations with an earnings beat and robust revenue forecast, sending its shares soaring by more than 17% in premarket trading Wednesday.
The social media company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.20, exceeding the analyst consensus of $0.14.
Revenue for the quarter was reported at $740 million, topping the consensus estimate of $700.27 million and marking a significant 23% increase, nearly doubling the growth rate from the previous quarter.
The company's impressive results were driven by a record 518 million global monthly active users, representing a 12% increase.
"In many ways, we see this quarterly report as evidence of management progress across its mix of product initiatives (shoppable content, direct response/bottom-funnel ad budgets and partnerships aiding in wider scaled monetization)," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.
"In addition, we think investors will appreciate PINS mgmt emphasizing that Amazon and Google partnerships are contributing revenue momentum in the recent reported quarter and that dynamic should continue to build throughout 2024," they added, reiterating a Buy rating and raising the price target from $41 to $44.
Similarly, analysts at Stifel also raised their price objective from $42 to $46.
"We believe the next opportunity for incremental budgets is likely to come from the upcoming launch of ROAS-based bidding (which, in addition to other AI-based initiatives, will start to look more like PMAX (GOOGL) and Advantage+ (META))," analysts at Stifel said.
Pinterest sees second-quarter revenue at between $835 million to $850 million, against analysts' expectations of $826.5 million. This forecast suggests year-over-year revenue growth of 18-20%.
Moreover, the company anticipates second-quarter adjusted operating expenses to grow by 11-15%, excluding the cost of revenue.
“Q1 was a milestone quarter for Pinterest as we reached new highs: surpassing half a billion monthly active users and reporting 23% revenue growth – our fastest user and revenue growth since 2021,” said Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest.
“Thanks to our investments in AI and shoppability, we’re driving even greater returns for advertisers and gaining access to performance budgets. We’re executing with tremendous clarity and focus, shipping new products and experiences that users want, and in doing so, we’re finding our best product market fit in years.”