Pinterest Stock Plummets After Q1 Earnings

Pinterest revealed its Q1 financials in its first earnings report as a public company.

According to reports, the company “posted revenues of $202 million on losses of $41.4 million for the three months ending March 31, 2019.” While its revenue surpassed Wall Street’s estimates of about $200 million, and showed significant growth from last year’s Q1 revenues of $131 million, Pinterest’s losses were about three times higher than estimates at $.32 per share.

The company went public in April, pricing its initial public offering (IPO) at $19 per share, raising $1.43 billion and giving the company a valuation of $10 billion. Its market performance has continued to perform well, closing up about 8 percent at nearly $31 per share for a market cap of $16.7 billion.

“The IPO was a significant milestone, but our focus at Pinterest hasn’t changed,” said Co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann in a statement, according to reports. “We want to help people discover inspiring ideas for every aspect of their lives, from fashion and home decor to travel and fitness. Our success can be seen in our Q1 results, and we’re excited to continue to grow our reach and impact in the years to come.”

Last year, Pinterest reported revenues of $755.9 million for the year ending December 31, 2018, up from $472.8 million in 2017. Losses, meanwhile, fell to $62.9 million from $130 million in 2017. This year, Pinterest, which is expected to reach profitability by 2021, predicted revenues of between $1.05 billion and $1.08 billion.

To attract customers, the company is enhancing the level of shopping that can be done on the social media platform by launching new features. Over the past year, it has been combining visual search and shopping to make it easy to buy products on Pinterest, and for brands to reach people in need of inspiration. The new features include more spaces to shop, personalized recommendations for style and home decor boards, browsable sections, in-stock products from brands and shopping search.