Pinterest Q1 Earnings Beat: $1B Revenue Growth, $2B Buyback After Elliott Stake

Pinterest’s Q1 earnings came in better than expected. The company reported $1.008 billion in revenue, which is up 18% year over year. This was ahead of estimates of about $965 million. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.27, beating the $0.23 consenus. After several uneven quarters, this was a more direct set of results. These were supported by steady user growth and improving ad performance.

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631M Users Hit Record, Revenue Up 18%, EPS $0.27 Crushes $0.23 Estimate

Pinterest ended the quarter with 631 million monthly active users. This is a 11% increase from a year ago. Growth was broad across the regions, with international markets continuing to contribute meaningfully. The company also noted that engagement remains strong. More than 80 billion searches were reported on the platform each month. Several of these were tied to shopping-related intent. Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, added,

“We delivered a strong start to 2026, with Q1 revenue surpassing $1 billion, up 18% year over year, and global monthly active users growing to 631 million, our tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit user growth.”

This has further started to show up in revenue. Pinterest’s Performance+ ad tools, which use AI for targeting and bidding, now account for about 20% of lower funnel revenue. The firm said these tools also helped balance out weaker spending from large retail advertisers earlier in the quarter.

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Buybacks Take Center Stage as Elliot Investment Tightens Grip

Another key part of the quarter was capital return. Pinterest said it completed around $2 billion in share repurchases so far this year. This included about 109 million shares bought at an average price near $18. As a result, the company reduced its share count by about 16% compared with the previous quarter.

This move is closely tied to Elliot Investment, which disclosed a $1 billion stake in March. It is now the company’s largest shareholder. The firm has been involved with Pinterest since 2022, with partner Marc Steinberg already on the board. The buyback was partly funded through a $1 billion convertible note, along with existing cash. Ready added,

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Elliott for the next phase of Pinterest’s growth. Elliott’s investment is a strong vote of confidence in the work we have done to build our business and the significant opportunities ahead for Pinterest.“

Pinterest still has about $2 billion remaining under its total $3.5 billion buyback authorization. The Pinterest stock price showed sharp volatility around the earnings release, briefly spiking before settling closer to the $20–$21 range.

Margins Hold Steady, But GAAP Loss Continues

On profitability, adjusted EBITDA came in at $207 million with a 20% margin, in line with last year. Free cash flow was at $312 million. But the company reported a GAAP net loss of around $74 million, compared with a profit in the same period last year.

Ad impressions increased 24% year over year. Meanwhile, pricing declined about 5%. The firm said pressure from large retail advertisers remained, though AI-based improvements helped ease some of that impact later in the quarter.

Outlook Slightly Ahead of Expectations

For the second quarter, Pinterest expects revenue between $1.13 billion and $1.15 billion. This is slightly above analyst estimates and suggests continued momentum in Pinterest revenue growth.

Despite the earnings beat, the Pinterest stock price saw only limited movement after the results. The muted reaction shows that investors are still looking for consistent execution over a longer period.

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