Pinterest’s stock pops 10% on sales, earnings beats

Pinterest proves an exception to the digital-advertising slog that has roiled much of the tech sector

Pinterest Inc. proved an exception to the digital-advertising slog that has roiled much of the tech sector.

The social-media company on Thursday reported sales and profit, as well as monthly active users, that beat financial analysts’ estimates, catapulting the shares in after-hours trading.

Pinterest PINS, -0.68% reported a third-quarter loss of $65.2 million, or 10 cents a share, on sales of $684.6 million, up 8% from $632.9 million in the year-ago quarter. After adjusting for stock compensation and other factors, the social-media company reported earnings of 11 cents a share.

“Despite the challenging macro environment, we are delivering performance and a distinct value proposition to advertisers, reaching users across the full funnel,” Pinterest’s new Chief Executive Bill Ready said in a statement.

During a conference call with financial analysts, Pinterest’s executive team highlighted stability among customers, particularly in large retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing.

Pinterest also said fourth-quarter revenue will “grow mid-single digits on a year-over-year percentage basis.”

Analysts on average expected Pinterest to report adjusted earnings of 6 cents a share on sales of $667 million, according to FactSet. Shares popped 10% in after-hours trading Thursday, after closing down 0.7% at $21.89.

Monthly active users remained flat, at 445 million; Wall Street analysts on average projected 437.4 million.

The financial results were a surprising counter-narrative to the sagging profits and declining revenue earlier this week and last week that have plagued the likes of Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. META, -24.56%, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL, -2.85% GOOG, -2.34% Google and Snap Inc. SNAP, -0.21% as the economy worsens.

Pinterest’s stock is down 40% so far this year, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.61% has declined 20% in 2022.