Pinterest delivered better-than-expected revenue results in its second-quarter earnings report on Thursday. Shares of Pinterest rose as much as 15% in after-hours trading.
Here are the key numbers:
- Adjusted EBITDA: Loss of $26 million vs. loss of $39 million estimated
- Revenue: $261 million vs. $236 million, according to Refinitiv
Pinterest raised its 2019 revenue guidance above analysts' estimates. For the year, the company expects to report revenue between $1.095 billion to $1.115 billion vs. consensus estimates of $1.079 billion. Last quarter, Pinterest projected revenues between $1.055 million and $1.080 million.
On the company's earnings call, Pinterest CFO Todd Morgenfeld said the positive revenue outlook was bolstered by greater diversity in advertisers, including small businesses, autos and entertainment.
The company said global monthly active users (MAUs) rose 30% year-over-year to 300 million during the quarter. International MAUs grew 38% to 215 million, while U.S. MAUs increased 13% to 85 million in the period.
During the second quarter, international average revenue per user (ARPU) jumped 123% year-over-year to 11 cents. U.S. ARPU rose 41% to $2.80.
Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann said on the call that the company is rolling out more tools for small businesses to advertise on the platform, including a mobile interface. That should allow the company's ad revenue to ramp up "next year and beyond" to help it better compete with ad juggernauts Facebook and Google, Silbermann added.
Moving forward, Pinterest is focusing on other ways to improve user experience and boost engagement, such as bringing more videos to the feed. Silbermann said the gradual roll out of 5G wireless networks should help that process.
"We're making those investments now and we think it'll make a healthy contribution to engagement in the future," Silbermann said on the call.
Unlike some social media companies, Pinterest has managed to dodge much of the scrutiny from regulators and officials around data privacy. Still, Silbermann said it's taking privacy into account on the platform, by giving users the option of making Pinterest boards private and opting out of product recommendations.
Pinterest said in May it saw significant growth in countries like the U.K. and Canada. The company is now focused on expanding in Europe, after opening in six new markets earlier this year.
To that end, the company has rolled out a number of new updates to its platform in recent months around shopping and wellness. Pinterest on Tuesday added personalized shopping picks and shopping catalogs to the feed, while earlier this month, it launched "emotional well-being activities" to help users combat stress and anxiety.