Pinterest plummets on disappointing Q1 sales forecast, as retailers pull back on ad spending
Shares of social media platform Pinterest are down around 20% in premarket trading on Friday, following fourth quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday that fell short of expectations.
While revenue grew 14% to $1.32 billion in Q4, broadly in line with forecasts of $1.33 billion, the company reported earnings per share of 67 cents, below the 69 cents projected. Pinterest forecast sales in Q1 2026 to fall between $951 million and $971 million, missing average analyst estimates of $980 million.
Pinterest’s gloomier outlook for the year ahead comes amid tariff-hit retailers “pulling back on advertising spend,” Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly outlined on a post-earnings call, as advertisers turn towards platforms with larger audiences like TikTok and Instagram.
Mounting competition in the space has seen the company double down on AI offerings, cutting about 15% of its workforce just last month to pivot its resources to the tech (though CEO Bill Ready maintains that the image-sharing platform sees more searches than ChatGPT does).
Pinterest’s gloomier outlook for the year ahead comes amid tariff-hit retailers “pulling back on advertising spend,” Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly outlined on a post-earnings call, as advertisers turn towards platforms with larger audiences like TikTok and Instagram.
Mounting competition in the space has seen the company double down on AI offerings, cutting about 15% of its workforce just last month to pivot its resources to the tech (though CEO Bill Ready maintains that the image-sharing platform sees more searches than ChatGPT does).