(Reuters) – Pinterest Inc’s monthly active users for the third quarter fell short of estimates on Thursday, as easing pandemic curbs encouraged the digital scrapbooking app’s users to keep their phones aside and step out more.
Monthly active users (MAU) grew 1% to 444 million, missing analysts’ estimate of 460 million, according to Factset. Last year, the company had notched a 37% surge as users stuck at home turned to social media to keep themselves entertained.
“We believe the slowdown was due to the pandemic unwind,” Chief Financial Officer Todd Morgenfeld said in an interview. Many GenZ users are returning to school, while others who had used the app to explore cooking and home decor projects during lockdowns are now venturing out more, he added.
However, in a sign that the pandemic-accelerated shift to online shopping may be here to stay, Pinterest’s total revenue surged 43% to $633 million in the quarter. The app generates revenue by placing advertisements next to the “pins” or posts uploaded by users.
The revenue beat analysts’ average estimate of $630.9 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Pinterest’s users, called “pinners”, using the app’s shopping features had increased 60% from a year ago, it said.
Net income for the quarter was $94 million. Excluding items, it gained 28 cents per share.
(Reporting by Nilanjana Basu and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
