Pinterest (PINS) Q3 2026 earnings review
Pinterest reaches 661 million users, but its sales growth slows
Pinterest added users at a steady clip, but its advertising growth lost steam and missed the company's own plan. Third-quarter revenue rose 12% to $1,174 million, falling short of the $1,190 million bottom of the outlook range as European sales stalled completely. Chief executive Bill Ready highlighted record monthly users, yet the fourth-quarter forecast points to growth slowing further to 10% at the middle of the range.
| Revenue | $1,174M +12% from a year ago (missed $1,190–1,210M plan) |
|---|---|
| Global monthly active users | 661M +10% from a year ago |
| Europe revenue | $193M 0% from a year ago (ARPU down 7%) |
| Fourth-quarter revenue outlook | 8–12% growth middle of the range: 10% growth |
⚖️ Verdict: 🔴 Bearish
The story got worse because international ad trouble is now dragging down total company growth and the holiday outlook. While North American revenue held up at 14% growth after temporary second-quarter calendar perks faded, European revenue per user fell 7% and the fourth-quarter plan leaves full-year Adjusted EBITDA margins half a point shy of the 30% target by our math.
The question now is whether the slowdown to 10% planned holiday growth comes from temporary European retailer pullbacks or broader ad demand cooling. If the drag is mostly Asian cross-border retailers in Europe, North American pricing and growth will stay in the mid-teens; if broader demand is softening, ad pricing will slip back below zero. The third-quarter filing's ad pricing figures and fourth-quarter regional results will settle it.
🐂 Bull Case
North American Ad Spending Held Up Well
Pinterest makes three-quarters of its money in the United States and Canada. Last quarter, sales there sped up to 18% growth, helped by 1.5 percentage points of temporary calendar shifts from Prime Day and the World Cup, plus the February purchase of connected-TV ad platform tvScientific. In the third quarter those calendar perks reversed, yet regional revenue still grew 14% to $894 million.
Average revenue per user (ARPU), the money Pinterest makes per monthly user, rose 10% in North America to $8.38 while user counts grew 4% to 107 million. Holding 14% growth after losing the calendar boost shows the North American sales overhaul is working. What to watch: tvScientific's exact revenue contribution in the quarterly filing. A small figure would prove underlying North American ad demand is strong on its own.
Early Buybacks Cut the Share Count 16%
Pinterest spent $2.02 billion buying back its own stock in the first half of 2026, retiring 111 million shares. In the third quarter the social media company paused open-market buybacks and spent only $101 million covering employee stock taxes. Even with the pause, the earlier buying cut the diluted share count by 16.1% from a year ago to 583 million shares.
That lower share count did the heavy lifting for per-share profit. Net income excluding one-offs rose just 2.8% to $270 million, but profit per share excluding one-offs jumped 21% from $0.38 to $0.46. What to watch: whether management resumes open-market share repurchases in the fourth quarter using its remaining $1.95 billion authorization. Resuming buybacks out of free cash flow would keep per-share profit growing faster than net income.
User Count Reached a Record 661 Million
"Our differentiated AI-driven visual search and shopping experiences are making Pinterest increasingly valuable for users and advertisers alike," chief executive Bill Ready said. Global monthly active users (MAUs), people who open Pinterest at least once a month, rose 10% from a year ago to a record 661 million. By our math, the platform added 21 million net new users in the quarter, matching last year's third-quarter gain.
The Rest of World region led user additions, growing 13% to 394 million users while its revenue rose 24% to $87 million. Europe also added users, rising 7% to 161 million even as ad sales there stalled. What to watch: Rest of World revenue per user in the fourth-quarter holiday period. Continued gains above $0.27 would show emerging markets can contribute meaningful ad dollars alongside user growth.
🐻 Bear Case
Revenue Missed Plan and Slows Toward 10%
Ready said Pinterest is "sharpening our execution, scaling our performance advertising solutions, and building an ecosystem that captures high-intent discovery". Yet third-quarter revenue of $1,174 million missed the company's $1,190 million to $1,210 million outlook entirely. Sales grew 12% from a year ago, down from 18% in both the first and second quarters, breaking a streak of two consecutive quarterly beats.
- Third-quarter revenue: $1,174 million, $26 million below the middle of the outlook range
- Underlying third-quarter growth adding back 3 points of calendar and currency headwinds: 14.9% by our math, below the 16–18% implied by the prior plan
- Fourth-quarter revenue outlook: $1,425–1,475 million, or 8–12% growth against last year's 14% fourth-quarter pace
The fourth-quarter outlook is the bigger worry because it laps the easiest comparison of the year, when tariff fears held fourth-quarter 2025 growth to 14%. Slowing to 10% at the middle of the range on an easy base shows ad demand is cooling. What to watch: fourth-quarter revenue against the $1,475 million top of the range. A finish near 10% would confirm Pinterest has shifted from high-teens to low-double-digit growth.
European Sales Stalled as User Prices Fell
Pinterest has been overhauling its international sales team to copy its North American playbook, while warning that European rules on Asian cross-border retailers would hurt third-quarter ad spending. Supporters saw international markets as a major growth driver, while skeptics warned sales disruption and retailer pullbacks would outrun the fix. In the third quarter, European revenue stopped growing entirely, staying flat at $193 million.
That 0% reading follows 12% growth in the second quarter and 41% a year ago. Because European users grew 7%, average revenue per user in Europe dropped 7% from $1.31 to $1.21, pulling global per-user revenue growth down to 1%. What to watch: management's commentary on European constant-currency growth and Asian advertiser spending on the conference call. Continued regulatory pressure in the fourth quarter would keep Europe from recovering during the holiday shopping season.
Stock Pay and Cloud Costs Squeeze Profit
Supporters point to Pinterest's artificial intelligence efficiency, while critics focus on rising cloud bills and heavy employee stock awards. In the third quarter, reported net income fell 77% from a year ago to $22 million, leaving the company with a $99 million net loss across the first nine months of 2026. Finance chief Julia Brau Donnelly had expected stock-based compensation to step down from the second quarter's $325 million, and it dipped to $292 million on the cash flow statement.
- Stock-based compensation: 24.9% of revenue by our math, up from 22.4% a year ago
- Cost of revenue (server and cloud expenses): 22.3% of revenue, up 2.1 percentage points from a year ago
- Research and development (engineering costs): 36.5% of revenue, up 1.1 percentage points from a year ago
- Cost of revenue excluding one-offs: $250 million by our math, missing the outlook for a flat $245 million quarter
Higher cloud and tvScientific costs cut gross margin by 2.1 percentage points, and operating margin fell 3.0 percentage points to 2.6%. What to watch: fourth-quarter stock-based compensation and cloud costs. To finish 2026 profitable on a reported basis, Pinterest must earn more than $99 million of net income in the fourth quarter.
Risks this quarter didn't answer
Four standing concerns and watch items depend on disclosures that live in the quarterly filing or conference call rather than the earnings release.
- Ad pricing vs ad impressions: not in the release; the filing's management discussion will show if ad prices stayed positive after rising 1% in Q2.
- Performance+ ad tool adoption and measurement pilot: not in the release; call remarks will show if lower-funnel share moved above 30%.
- Competition from general AI chat assistants: not addressed in detail; call remarks will show if shopping journeys are shifting.
- User engagement depth: no metric beyond monthly users was disclosed; any recurring search or click figure would clarify user intent.
👓 Other Themes
Restructuring Plan Finished Below its Cost Cap
In January 2026, Pinterest started a global restructuring plan to cut up to 15% of its workforce, shrink office space, and shift spending toward artificial intelligence roles. Management set a ceiling of $69.6 million in total charges through the end of the third quarter. The company recorded $4.1 million of restructuring charges this quarter, bringing the nine-month total to $65.5 million and finishing the programme inside its budget.
💲 Other KPIs
Free cash flow — operating cash flow minus property and equipment purchases — fell 5.7% from a year ago, reversing second-quarter growth of 37%. Operating cash flow dipped 1.8% to $315.7 million while equipment spending rose nearly fivefold from $3.2 million to $15.5 million, trimming the free cash flow margin to 25.6% of revenue.
By our math, cash and marketable securities of $1,470 million minus $982 million of convertible notes leaves $488 million of net cash. That is down $1.98 billion from the $2,467 million debt-free balance at the end of 2025, after the visual search group funded its first-half buybacks and the tvScientific purchase, though cash rose $195 million from Q2.
Uncollected customer bills fell 8.1% from $997.8 million at the end of 2025 as post-holiday bills were paid, though they sit 14.5% above the $800.5 million balance a year ago against 11.9% revenue growth. Collecting bills brought in $15.1 million of operating cash this quarter, compared with a $40.7 million cash drain in Q3 last year.
🔮 Guidance
New. The plan calls for 8% to 12% growth from a year ago, or 9.9% at the middle of the range by our math, down from 12% in Q3 and 18% in the first half. Pinterest said the range includes a "modest headwind from foreign exchange based on current spot rates" and laps a 14% fourth quarter last year.
New. At the $563 million middle of the range, operating profit before stock pay, depreciation and taxes grows 4.0% from a year ago by our math, down from 10.8% growth in Q3. That puts the fourth-quarter margin at 38.8% (vs 41.0% a year ago) and leaves the full-year margin at 29.5%, half a point below last quarter's ~30% full-year target.
❓ Key Questions
Why did European revenue stall completely in the third quarter?
European revenue went from 12% growth in Q2 to 0% in Q3 while per-user revenue fell 7%. Investors need to know how much of the drop came from Asian cross-border retailers pulling back versus internal disruption from the international sales reorganization.
Did ad pricing stay positive in Q3 as growth slowed?
The earnings release does not include the split between ad impressions served and price per ad. Last quarter, ad pricing turned positive (+1%) for the first time in two years; the filing's breakdown will show if falling European ARPU pushed global pricing back below zero.
Why is Q4 revenue slowing to 10% on an easy comparison?
Fourth-quarter 2025 was Pinterest's slowest quarter last year at 14% growth because of retailer tariff pullbacks. Guiding to 8–12% growth against that easy base suggests demand is weakening rather than facing a tough comparison.
How much did tvScientific add to North American revenue and costs?
U.S. and Canada sales grew 14% and cost of revenue excluding one-offs beat its $245 million flat target the wrong way at $250 million. Without tvScientific's revenue figure, readers cannot tell how much of North America's resilience is from businesses owned a year ago.