'Progress in baby steps': Pinterest slips despite a 'small beat & raise'

(Updated - August 2, 2023 5:51 AM EDT)

Investing.com -- Pinterest Inc (NYSE: PINS) shares fell over 3% in pre-market Wednesday trading after the social media platform beat expectations and offered guidance that was in line with forecasts.

Pinterest reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 21 cents a share on revenue of $708 million. Analysts expected adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents on revenue of $696.4M. Revenue was up 6%.

Global monthly active users rose 8% to 465M, a faster pace than the first quarter’s 7% gain over the previous year, to 463M. Globally, average revenue per user dipped 1% to $1.53.

“In Q2, we continued to build momentum with consumers and advertisers while further accelerating our pace of innovation,” said CEO Bill Ready.

Pinterest sees third quarter revenue growing in the high single-digits range compared with the same period last year, about in line with expectations for growth of 7.6%.

The company just announced an arrangement with Amazon that allows advertisers to link to their products hosted on Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) through Pinterest.

Roth MKM analyst Rohit Kulkarni said the company is making "progress in baby steps."

"PINS reported "small beat & small raise" earnings, but active users in key geographies remained soft and stagnant. We see monetization partnerships and new direct response ad products as 2H23 revenue catalysts."

Bernstein analyst Mark Schmulik raised the price target by $2 to $29 per share on Market Perform-rated PINS shares.

"The progress is there, but when will the shoppable inflection happen?" he asks in the note.

Shares of Pinterest are up 19% this year.

Additional reporting by Senad Karaahmetovic

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