Activist investor Elliott takes big stake in Pinterest amid turmoil

Pinterest Inc. proved an exception to the digital-advertising slog that has roiled much of the tech sector.

The social-media company on Thursday reported sales and profit, as well as monthly active users, that beat financial analysts’ estimates, catapulting the shares in after-hours trading.

Pinterest
PINS,
-0.68%

 reported a third-quarter loss of $65.2 million, or 10 cents a share, on sales of $684.6 million, up 8% from $632.9 million in the year-ago quarter. After adjusting for stock compensation and other factors, the social-media company reported earnings of 11 cents a share.

“Despite the challenging macro environment, we are delivering performance and a distinct value proposition to advertisers, reaching users across the full funnel,” Pinterest’s new Chief Executive Bill Ready said in a statement.

Pinterest also said fourth-quarter revenue will “grow mid-single digits on a year-over-year percentage basis.”

Analysts on average expected Pinterest to report adjusted earnings of 6 cents a share on sales of $667 million, according to FactSet. Shares popped 14% in after-hours trading Thursday following the release of the results, after closing down 0.7% at $21.89.

Monthly active users remained flat, at 445 million; Wall Street analysts on average projected 437.4 million.

The disappointing financial results mirror sagging profit and declining revenue earlier this week and last week from Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
-24.56%
,
Alphabet Inc.’s
GOOGL,
-2.85%

GOOG,
-2.34%

Google and Snap Inc.
SNAP,
-0.21%

as the economy worsens.

Pinterest’s stock is down 40% so far this year, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.61%

has declined 20% in 2022.

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