What happened
Shares of Pinterest (PINS -1.55%) have popped today, up by 12% as of noon EDT, after the company reported preliminary first-quarter results. The social media specialist also withdrew its 2020 guidance due to continued uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
So what
Revenue in the first quarter is expected to be in the range of $269 million to $272 million, ahead of the $266.7 million in sales that analysts are modeling for. Monthly active users (MAUs) will be in the range of 365 million to 367 million, of which 89 million to 90 million are within the U.S. Wall Street was looking for 345 million MAUs. Much like peers, the pandemic is hurting Pinterest's ad revenue as marketers pull back on spending.
Image source: Pinterest.
"First-quarter revenue performance was consistent with our expectations through the middle of March, when we began to see a sharp deceleration," CFO Todd Morgenfeld said in a statement. "Fortunately, despite weakness across nearly the entire advertising market, our exposure to some of the most affected segments like travel, automotive, and restaurants has not been significant."
Now what
The tech company is withdrawing its revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance for 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Pinterest says it is unable to forecast the expected impacts of the outbreak, which continues to evolve rapidly. CEO Ben Silbermann added that engagement on the platform is soaring to record levels as users, which Pinterest refers to as Pinners, look for ideas and projects while they stay at home.
Pinterest will release full financial results on May 5.
