Pinterest shares fall on third-quarter sales guidance despite Q2 beat

Pinterest shares fell 7% in extended trading on August 4 after the company’s third-quarter sales forecast met, rather than exceeded, Wall Street expectations. The reaction to the Pinterest shares fall guidance came despite second-quarter revenue of $1.18 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 43 cents, both ahead of consensus estimates reported by CNBC.

Pinterest forecast third-quarter revenue of $1.19 billion to $1.21 billion, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13% to 15%. The $1.20 billion midpoint matched analysts’ expectations, according to CNBC. That outlook points to a slower growth rate than the 18% revenue increase the company reported for the second quarter.

The company said its forecast assumes a modest foreign-exchange headwind at current spot rates. It also projected third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $335 million to $355 million in its earnings release.

Why did Pinterest shares fall after its Q2 results?

Investors focused on the absence of an above-consensus revenue outlook for the current quarter. A company can exceed expectations for the period just ended while its shares decline if its forecast for the next period does not improve on what the market had anticipated.

Chief financial officer Julia Donnelly said calendar effects also affected the outlook. Amazon’s Prime Day had moved from the third quarter a year earlier into the second quarter of 2026, generating an approximately half-percentage-point benefit to second-quarter revenue growth and creating a roughly half-point headwind for the third quarter, she told analysts.

Donnelly also said advertising connected to the World Cup added nearly one percentage point to second-quarter growth. That spending benefit will not recur in the third quarter, she said.

What did Pinterest report for the second quarter?

Revenue rose 18% from $998.2 million a year earlier, Pinterest said. On a constant-currency basis, growth was 17%, according to the company’s August 4 release. The reported $1.18 billion total was above the $1.15 billion consensus estimate compiled by LSEG, CNBC reported.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 43 cents, compared with a 36-cent LSEG consensus estimate. Its GAAP net loss was $47 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with GAAP net income of $38.76 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Pinterest also reported adjusted EBITDA of about $311 million, above the $270 million StreetAccount estimate cited by CNBC.

User figures continued to rise. Global monthly active users increased 11% year over year to 640 million, while global average revenue per user was $1.86. Pinterest reported revenue of $880 million in the US and Canada, $213 million in Europe and $87 million across the rest of the world.

The company completed more than $2 billion of share repurchases year to date at an average price of $18.17, according to its earnings release.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.