Pinterest weak forecast signals intense competition for ad dollars, shares slump

PINTEREST forecast first-quarter revenue largely below Wall Street estimates on Thursday, a sign that it faces tough competition from larger social media players even as the digital advertising market stabilises.

Shares of the San Francisco, California-based company fell more than 14 per cent in extended trading.

Pinterest faces competition from the likes of TikTok and Meta Platforms-owned Facebook and Instagram, which have become the go-to platforms for advertisers in an uncertain economy because of their more extensive user base and higher engagement for target ads.

Ad spending in the shopping category, which is generally a large advertiser in the quarter, grew by less than 1 per cent sequentially, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told Reuters on Tuesday.

Ad spend from software and gaming categories in the US saw sequential increases of 34 per cent and 22 per cent respectively in the fourth-quarter for Pinterest, Sensor Tower added.

Rival Snap missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue earlier in the week, as the Snapchat owner has also struggled to compete against larger rivals for digital advertising dollars.

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Global monthly active users (MAUs) on the platform, which lets users create online pinboards, rose by 11 per cent to 498 million in the fourth quarter compared with estimates of 484.5 million.

Pinterest posted revenue of US$981.3 million for the fourth-quarter ended Dec 31, missing market estimates of US$990.6 million. REUTERS