Pinterest Inc. (NYSE:PINS) shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and issued second-quarter sales guidance above estimates.

Earnings Snapshot

Pinterest posted first-quarter revenue of $1.01 billion, beating analyst estimates of $966.25 million, according to Benzinga Pro. The idea discovery platform company reported adjusted earnings of 27 cents per share, beating analyst estimates of 23 cents per share.

Total revenue was up 18% on a year-over-year basis as Pinterest's global monthly active users increased 11% year-over-year to 631 million. Average revenue per user in the quarter was $1.61 globally and $7.12 in the U.S. and Canada.

Revenue growth was driven primarily by retail, with contributions from financial services and other emerging categories.

AI Advancement

A major AI advancement is PinRec, a generative retrieval system trained on user activity and the Taste Graph. It delivers personalized results across all surfaces using a single model.

Since its launch in 2025 and expansion in the first quarter, PinRec improved search fulfillment by approximately 180 basis points and reduced advertiser cost per acquisition (CPA) and cost per click (CPC) by about 180 basis points.

Search improvements have also been significant, with over 72% of impressions coming from search surfaces.

Key Metrics & Developments

Pinterest ended the quarter with 631 million monthly active users, representing 11% year-over-year growth. The company saw strong gains across all regions: 106 million users in the U.S. and Canada (up 4%), 159 million in Europe (up 7%), and 367 million in the Rest of World (up 15%).

Total ad impressions increased 24%, while ad pricing declined 5% year-over-year.

In the first quarter, Pinterest expanded search ranking models by increasing user context windows by 30 times, now using up to 16,000 user actions over two years. This update improved search fulfillment by approximately 70 basis points and increased saves by about 390 basis points.

A/B testing tools introduced in the first quarter show strong results. For example, Mejuri achieved a 46% increase in return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 62% increase in conversions using Performance+ campaigns.

Pinterest is strengthening measurement capabilities by integrating with advertisers' first-party systems, enabling optimization based on metrics such as lifetime value and profit per order.

Early testing showed a 15% to 20% improvement in lifetime value ROAS. The company also plans to expand integrations with third-party measurement partners.

Outlook

Pinterest expects second-quarter revenue to be in the range of $1.13 billion to $1.15 billion, versus estimates of $1.11 billion. The company anticipates adjusted EBITDA of $256 million to $276 million in the second quarter.

The company expects the 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin to remain around 29%, including the impact of TVScientific integration and continued investment in AI infrastructure.

PINS Price Action: Pinterest shares were up 16.88% at $24.37 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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