Here's how Pinterest is mostly dodging the tariff bullet

Dow Jones
09 May

MW Here's how Pinterest is mostly dodging the tariff bullet

By James Rogers

Pinterest reported first-quarter results and gave revenue guidance that was 'worthy of a Friday rally'

Pinterest Inc. powered higher Friday after a strong earnings report that saw the photo-sharing platform largely shrug off the impact of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.

The San Francisco-based company $(PINS)$ reported first-quarter revenue growth of 16% to beat Wall Street's expectations. Pinterest also recorded global monthly active users of 570 million, a year-over-year increase of 10%. The company's second-quarter revenue guidance of $960 million to $980 million was also better than expected.

"We're seeing strengths in our business, and trends remain healthy both in [the first quarter] and the early signals on [the second quarter]," Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly said during a conference call to discuss the results, according to a FactSet transcript.

The stock jumped 10.2% in morning trading Friday. It has run up 13.7% amid a three-day winning streak, the stock's best three-day stretch since the period ending Feb. 11, 2025, when it rose 17.8%, Dow Jones Market Data show.

While Trump's tariff agenda has cast a long shadow for many companies this earnings season, Pinterest has avoided significant impact thanks to advertisers reallocating their spending across the platform.

Donnelly said that small pockets of spending have been impacted by tariffs in recent weeks. She said that, like other platforms, Pinterest has observed a reduction in spending from Asia-based e-commerce retailers in the U.S., given the change in the "de minimis exemption" for goods from China and Hong Kong.

Related: These companies are emerging as potential winners in Trump's trade war

"However, we've also seen a geographic diversification from some of those Asia-based retailers to our European and Rest of World user regions," she added. "And that's a theme that has continued to play out over multiple quarters now and continues today."

In a note released Friday, Wedbush reiterated its outperform rating for Pinterest's stock, citing the company's strong first-quarter results and "encouraging" second-quarter guidance.

"Advertiser spending on Pinterest has been resilient, consistent with trends observed in our prior digital advertising survey," Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt wrote in the note. Wedbush raised its price target to $40 from $38.

This is a stark contrast to Snapchat parent Snap Inc. (SNAP), which recently declined to give guidance, citing the impact of economic uncertainty on its advertising business. Streaming-device company Roku Inc. (ROKU) also cut its outlook amid concerns about ad spending.

Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White wrote that Pinterest's stock was "worthy of a Friday rally," as he maintained his buy rating.

"Pinterest has enhanced support for advertisers, upgraded the user experience, expanded its shopping capabilities, and tapped third-party ad partners," he wrote. However, the analyst acknowledged that competition is fierce, and digital ad spending "is sensitive to the vicissitudes of the economy and the macro darkening."

Of 44 analysts surveyed by FactSet, 34 are bullish on Pinterest's stock, while nine are neutral and one is bearish.

Related: Snap sees bumps ahead hurting its ad business

Pinterest shares have gained 5.8% in 2025, outpacing the S&P 500 index's SPX decline of 3.4%.

-James Rogers

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2025 10:11 ET (14:11 GMT)

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