US ▾
PIPINS

Pinterest (PINS) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q1 FY26)· May 4, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Pinterest Q1 FY26 — Strong Revenue Growth and AI-Driven Performance

Pinterest delivered strong Q1 FY26 results, exceeding revenue guidance with 18% YoY growth, driven by broad-based advertiser strength and AI-powered platform improvements. The company continues to see robust user growth and engagement, particularly with Gen Z, while strategically retooling its go-to-market organization to better monetize its expanding advertiser base and unique visual search capabilities. The acquisition of tvScientific extends Pinterest's intent signals to CTV, opening new avenues for performance advertising.

Highlights

5

  • Revenue exceeded $1 billion, up 18% year-over-year, above guidance.

  • Adjusted EBITDA grew to over $207 million, with a 20% margin, up 40 basis points YoY.

  • Global MAUs reached 631 million, up 11% YoY, with UCAN MAUs up 4%.

  • Pinterest Performance+ campaigns grew lower funnel spend nearly twice the rate of non-adopters.

  • Acquisition of tvScientific led to a nearly 190% increase in incremental audience reach and 159% increase in incremental sales for an early partner.

Concerns

3

  • Continued headwind from largest retail advertisers in Q1, though partially offset by AI-driven improvements.

  • Ad pricing declined 5% year-over-year in Q1.

  • International growth expected to moderate in Q2 due to go-to-market restructuring and difficult comparisons.

Guidance & targets

CategoryTargetConfidence
Q2 Revenue
$1.133B - $1.153B
high materiality
High
Q2 Revenue FX Impact
1 point of tailwind
medium materiality
High
Q2 Adjusted EBITDA
$256M - $276M
high materiality
High
Q2 Non-GAAP Cost of Revenue Growth (sequential)
mid-single digits percent
medium materiality
High
Full Year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA Margin
around 29%
high materiality
High
Adjusted EBITDA Margin Pressure
moderate
medium materiality
Medium
Long-term Adjusted EBITDA Margin
30% to 34%
high materiality
High

Segment performance

SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
U.S. and Canada
Strength came from retail and emerging verticals, including financial services.
MAUs: 106 millionMAU growth: 4%
$750M13%——
Europe
Growth in Europe was driven by retail. Constant currency growth was 16%.
MAUs: 159 millionMAU growth: 7%
$186M27% (reported)——
Rest of World
Significantly undermonetized internationally relative to engagement and commercial intent. Constant currency growth was 50%.
MAUs: 367 millionMAU growth: 15%
$72M59% (reported)——

PINS operating KPIs by quarter

PINS operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPIThis call Mar 2026 Q1 FY26 Jun 2026 Q2 FY26Change vs prior quarter
Monthly active users (MAU)
631M Pinterest is a destination where our 631 million monthly active users, all of whom are logged in, come to discover what they want and go do it in the real world. Source: earnings call transcript
640M We ended the quarter with 640 million monthly active users and delivered revenue growth of 18% globally and in UCAN, a 5-point acceleration in our largest market. Source: earnings call transcript
+1.4%
Monthly active users (MAU) Europe
159M Our Europe region had 159 million MAUs growing 7%. Source: earnings call transcript
157M Our Europe region had 157 million MAUs growing 8%. Source: earnings call transcript
-1.3%
Monthly active users (MAU) Rest of World
367M And in the Rest of World markets, we had 367 million MAUs growing 15%. Source: earnings call transcript
377M And in the Rest of World markets, we had 377 million MAUs growing 15%. Source: earnings call transcript
+2.7%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Product announcements

ProductTypeDetails
Penn RECexpansion
Search Ranking Modelupdate
Canvasupdate
Native A/B Testing Toollaunch
Shopping ROAS Modelsupdate
Pinterest Assistantupdate

Deals & partnerships

tvScientific Acquisition of a Connected TV (CTV) ad technology company to extend Pinterest's intent signal to CTV campaigns.

Closed in Q1. Integrates Pinterest audiences and signals with tvScientific algorithms via tvScientific's buying platform. Early results show nearly 190% increase in incremental audience reach and 159% increase in incremental sales for an early partner.

Risks & headwinds

Continued headwind from largest retail advertisers Q1 FY26

Partially offset by AI-driven ad platform improvements later in Q1.

Mitigation:AI-driven ad platform improvements, including bidding optimizations and efforts to link AI bidding systems directly to advertisers' measurement sources of truth. Diversifying revenue base across mid-market, enterprise, managed SMB, and international advertisers.

International go-to-market restructuring causing disruption Q2 FY26

Expected to moderate international growth in Q2.

Mitigation:Changes are being made to best position for long-term opportunity, including a new Head of International joining soon. Long-term conviction in international opportunity is unchanged.

Difficult comparisons in Rest of World and Europe Q2 FY26

Expected to moderate international growth in Q2.

Mitigation:Acknowledged as a factor impacting Q2, but long-term international opportunity remains strong.

tvScientific acquisition creating adjusted EBITDA drag FY26

Approximately 100 basis point drag on full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin.

Mitigation:Strategic acquisition expected to open larger and incremental budget pools and integrate into a full-funnel performance solution.

Ad market environment consistency and tariff-related margin pressure for large retailers Q1 FY26, ongoing

Broadly consistent environment.

Mitigation:Focus on growing outside of large retailers through product and go-to-market changes.

Impact from the conflict in the Middle East Q2 FY26

Small on a dollar basis, isolated to certain verticals impacted by higher oil prices in Rest of World and Europe.

Mitigation:Factored into Q2 guidance range.

What to watch in Q2 FY26

International Go-to-Market Reorganization Progress

Q2 FY26
Current Modest disruption expected in Q2 due to leadership and structural changes.
Target Improved consistency and reduced disruption, with new Head of International in place.

Why it matters

Successful reorganization is key to unlocking significant long-term international monetization opportunity.

We're making deliberate leadership and structural changes to our international go-to-market organization to best position for the long-term opportunity, including a new Head of International joining soon. As we said last quarter, progress as we rebuild and retool the organization will not always be linear, but that modest disruption is playing out here in our international regions in Q2.

Find out whether PINS delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Asked for more detail on Q1 upside (core business, tvScientific, FX) and expectations for Q2, including whether mid-teens constant currency growth is sustainable in H2.

Julia explained Q1 strength came from broadening revenue base and better-than-expected performance from large retailers due to AI-driven ad platform improvements. tvScientific was in line with updated guidance. Q2 guidance implies consistent constant currency growth with Q1, but international growth will moderate due to go-to-market restructuring and difficult comps. Long-term mid-to-high teens growth targets remain.

“The story of the strong Q1 is really 2 things: First is the continued broadening of our revenue base; and then second, better-than-expected performance from our largest retail advertisers as we continue to drive improvements to the ad platform.”

asked by Doug Anmuth · answered by Julia Donnelly

2 min read 5 chapters

Detailed narrative

AI-Powered Visual Search and Discovery

Pinterest leverages its proprietary taste graph and AI to offer a differentiated visual search and discovery experience, solving the 'I'll know it when I see it' problem. The platform's AI models, including the generative retrieval system Penn REC and the search ranking model, significantly improve search fulfillment and personalization, driving deeper user engagement and retention. This approach allows Pinterest to deliver more relevant experiences across all surfaces, with Penn REC improving search fulfillment by 180 basis points and the search ranking model by 70 basis points.

Advertiser Performance and Measurement Enhancements

The company is focused on accelerating monetization by improving its ad platform and measurement capabilities. Pinterest Performance+, an AI-powered ad suite, now accounts for approximately 30% of lower funnel revenue and continues to drive higher ROAS and lower CPAs for adopters. New tools like native A/B testing and pilot integrations with advertisers' proprietary measurement systems are enhancing attribution clarity and optimizing bidding systems towards specific advertiser outcomes like customer lifetime value, with one pilot showing 15-20% LTV ROAS improvement.

Go-to-Market Reorganization

Under new Chief Business Officer Lee Brown, Pinterest is strengthening its global sales and go-to-market organization. Key changes include sharpening the coverage model, evolving sales incentive structures, and accelerating the adoption of internal AI tooling. These efforts aim to broaden the revenue base beyond large retailers, increase consistency in global execution, and strengthen measurement capabilities, positioning the company for more durable growth. Some changes are expected to take a couple of quarters to fully play through.

Strategic Acquisition of tvScientific

The acquisition of tvScientific in Q1 extends Pinterest's unique consumer intent signals and audiences to Connected TV (CTV) campaigns. Early results show significant increases in incremental audience reach (nearly 190%) and sales (159%) for partners leveraging Pinterest's data on tvScientific's platform. This move is expected to integrate CTV capabilities into Pinterest Performance+, creating a full-funnel solution and opening larger incremental budget pools, despite an anticipated 100 basis point drag on FY26 adjusted EBITDA margin.

Commitment to Online Safety and Positivity

Pinterest emphasizes its long-standing commitment to creating a positive and safe online environment, particularly for young users. Initiatives like making accounts private by default for users under 16 and applying AI to prioritize positivity resonate with Gen Z, who represent over 50% of the user base. This differentiation is highlighted in a new brand campaign, reinforcing Pinterest's focus on inspiring real-world action and contrasting with the broader online ecosystem's scrutiny on youth mental health.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.