Pinterest Shares and Number of Users Drop

The Shares of Pinterest plummeted more than 10% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company reported its first-quarter earnings. The company also reported that it missed user growth expectations.The company reported that the Adjusted earnings per share are 11 cents vs. 7 cents. According to the forecast by Refinitiv, the revenue of the company is $485 million vs. $474 million. Predicted monthly users are  478 million vs. 480.5 million. According to the Factset Average, revenue per user is $1.04 vs. $0.99.

In the letter to the shareholders, the company said that  Pinterest noted a strong correlation between user engagement and pandemic lockdowns throughout 2020. Currently, the user growth is slowing and engagement is lowering as a result of easing Covid-19 restrictions.The company wrote in the letter that Starting in mid-March, the easing of pandemic restrictions slowed US MAU growth and lowered engagement year over year as people spent less time online. In Quarter 1 they saw good retention of the MAUs they gained during 2020, but they still don’t know if or how long this retention will last. The company’s understanding of future engagement levels is similarly limited.

The company reported revenue of $485 million for the quarter, which was up 78% compared with a year prior. Pinterest net loss shrunk 85% to $21.7 million, from a loss of $141.2 million a year ago. The company also provided a Quarter 2 revenue growth estimate of 105% year to year. That was ahead of Refinitiv expectations of 95% year-to-year revenue growth for the upcoming quarter.

Chief Executive Ben Silbermann said in a news release said that During this quarter, the company continued strong growth internationally, including our recent launch of advertising in Brazil, and made significant progress with shopping, making it easier for people to discover and buy products they find on Pinterest.