Pinterest’s second quarter results were met with a negative market response, despite exceeding Wall Street’s expectations for revenue and non-GAAP profitability. Management attributed the quarter’s performance to continued user momentum, especially among Gen Z, and advancements in AI-driven personalization, which have strengthened engagement on the platform. CEO William Ready emphasized the role of Pinterest’s proprietary Taste Graph and visual curation in powering more relevant shopping recommendations, noting that “over 96% of text-based searches are unbranded,” making Pinterest a valuable destination for product discovery. However, the company faced rising costs from investments in GPU capacity and continued to report negative operating margins, which contributed to investor concerns.
Is now the time to buy PINS? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Pinterest (PINS) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.18 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.15 billion (18.2% year-on-year growth, 2.8% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.43 vs analyst estimates of $0.36 (20.4% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $311.3 million vs analyst estimates of $269.6 million (26.4% margin, 15.5% beat)
- Revenue Guidance for Q3 CY2026 is $1.2 billion at the midpoint, roughly in line with what analysts were expecting
- EBITDA guidance for Q3 CY2026 is $345 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $334.8 million
- Operating Margin: -4.7%, down from -0.4% in the same quarter last year
- Monthly Active Users: 640 million, up 62 million year on year
- Market Capitalization: $13.8 billion
While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Pinterest’s Q2 Earnings Call
- Mark Shmulik (Bernstein) asked about regional revenue growth differences, especially Europe’s slowdown; CFO Julia Donnelly cited difficult prior-year comparisons and ongoing restructuring, expecting some disruption to persist next quarter.
- Colin Sebastian (Baird) questioned early engagement with Pinterest Assistant; CEO William Ready emphasized strong Gen Z adoption and the compounding effect of AI-powered human curation on user growth and differentiation.
- Ross Sandler (Barclays) inquired about progress with AI bidding and measurement integrations; Ready explained pilots with major advertisers have improved performance and are expanding, but full adoption across the client base will take time.
- John Blackledge (TD Cowen) asked about managing AI compute costs and productivity; Donnelly detailed use of a blended model approach and centralized model routing to optimize for cost and reliability, with early internal productivity improvements.
- Nitin Bansal (Bank of America) pressed for clarity on stock-based compensation trends; Donnelly attributed Q2’s spike to annual grants and lower share prices, but expects expense growth to moderate in the second half of the year.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
In the quarters ahead, our team will be watching (1) the pace of adoption and monetization of AI-powered features like Pinterest Assistant, (2) the effectiveness of international go-to-market changes and new leadership in driving non-U.S. revenue growth, and (3) the impact of ongoing investments in AI infrastructure and automation on operating margins. Execution on these milestones will be critical for Pinterest’s ability to translate user engagement into sustained profitability.
Pinterest currently trades at $24.30, down from $25.58 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free).
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