What’s Going On Here?Social media platform Pinterest reported disappointing results earlier this week. What Does This Mean?There’s something heart-breaking about gazing at the places you could go, the interiors you could design, and the recipes you could cook at a time when travel, furniture, and food have become so pricey. So it follows that Pinteresters wouldn’t want to subject themselves to such temptation: the platform lost 5% of its monthly active users last quarter from the same time last year, compounded by stiffer competition from TikTok and a traffic-disrupting change in Google’s search algorithm. That left advertisers – already worried about dwindling consumer demand – with fewer users to target, leading them to bail on the platform. That might be why Pinterest’s revenue and profit missed forecasts, and why it gave a worse-than-expected revenue outlook for this quarter too. Why Should I Care?For markets: It’s who you know, not what you know.
Someone still believes in Pinterest: Elliott Management – an activist investor that uses its shareholder clout to influence the companies it buys into – revealed earlier this week that it had become Pinterest’s biggest investor, making the case that the company’s going in the right direction. That vote of confidence will have meant a lot to investors, which might be why Pinterest’s shares jumped 20% on the news.
The bigger picture: Pinterest’s future is bright.
Elliott might have seen some potential in Pinterest’s future plans: the social media platform intends to personalize the customer experience using AI, as well as make it easier for advertisers and retailers to sell on the site. Elliott might likewise be confident that rejuvenated leadership will help it do just that, with the company boasting a new CEO who made a name for himself at Alphabet and PayPal. | 