Pinterest Revenue Surges As SMBs Shift Ad Dollars From Facebook

pinterest, pandemic, social media, engagement

The social sharing platform Pinterest got a revenue bump from the pandemic as more people engaged with online entertainment as a way to socialize under lockdown, Pinterest said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct. 28).

Third quarter (Q320) revenue spiked 58 percent year over year to $443 million, with global monthly active users (MAUs) reaching 442 million, a 37 percent year-over-year increase. 

Ben Silbermann, chief executive officer and co-founder of Pinterest, said people are flocking to Pinterest “to get inspiration for their lives.” 

As the world continues to live life largely from home, people are turning to Pinterest to get ideas for school projects, Halloween customs and more, he added. 

“Our top priority is to continue making Pinterest home to the most inspiring and actionable content. This quarter we launched a set of tools to empower creators to show and share their ideas with people who are ready to act,” Silbermann said.

The Silicon Valley company said it projects Q420 revenue growth of about 60 percent year over year, “a modest acceleration compared to our growth rate in Q320,” Silberman said. “We continue to navigate uncertainty given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.”

Founded in 2009 by Silberman, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra, the company said it has more than 150 million monthly users and over 1,000 employees.

“The strong momentum our business experienced in July continued throughout the rest of the third quarter,” said Todd Morgenfeld, chief financial officer and head of business operations, Pinterest.

He credited the surge in part to factors like a rebound in advertiser demand, positive return on investment (ROI) from advertising products and expansion to other parts of the world. 

The company said that it is running operations remotely and keeping an eye on investments, spending and “long-term strategic priorities.” 

More people headed to Pinterest in recent months than in the spring when the pandemic first took hold, possibly getting a boost due to advertiser boycotts at Facebook,  according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday (Oct. 28).

Even before the pandemic-driven surge in online engagement, there has been an elevated interest in Pinterest. January’s increase in users bumped SnapChat off the list of the three most popular social media platforms.