Pinterest Nearing $1B In Ad Rev; Eye 2019 IPO

Pinterest, the social media company, is nearing $1 billion in advertising revenue and is eyeing an initial public offering in the middle of next year.

CNBC reported that Pinterest had $500 million in sales last year and is now on pace to nearly double that in 2018. The company is seeing brisk business with mobile ads as its social media platform became a popular place for fashion and beauty brands to get in front of its 200 million monthly active users.

CNBC noted that if Pinterest was to launch an IPO in the second quarter of next year it would be one of a handful of high profile consumer startups that are looking to become publicly traded companies around the same time, like ride sharing startup Uber and homestay company Airbnb. Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, has said he expects the company to launch its IPO in 2019. CNBC also reported that Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, said at a recent conference that the company will be ready for an IPO in 2019, but he’s not sure if Airbnb will go that route.

Ahead of a potential IPO of Pinterest, investors are becoming more upbeat about the company’s prospects. The report noted that, based on trades in the secondary market, Pinterest is valued at between $13 billion and $15 billion, which is up from $12.3 billion in June of last year.

Pinterest has been stepping up in terms of taking on the competition, which was on display in June when it announced new collaboration tools to allow users to plan parties and projects on the site. By using group boards, users are able to have conversations with other members of their board through the new group activity feed. “The activity feed helps you keep track of what’s happening on the board, like when someone saves a new Pin or adds a new section, or a new member joins,” Pinterest wrote in a press release.