Executive Summary

Pinterest delivered its first-ever $1B+ revenue quarter: Q4 revenue was $1.154B (+18% y/y), with global MAUs at a record 553M (+11% y/y); Adjusted EBITDA was $471M (41% margin), reflecting strong lower-funnel execution and disciplined opex .
Q1 2025 guidance implies continued double-digit growth: revenue $837–$852M (+13–15% y/y; +15–17% cc, ~2pt FX headwind) and Adjusted EBITDA $155–$170M; management expects further 2025 margin expansion, though at a lower pace than 2024 given reinvestment .
Key operating drivers: ad impressions +43% y/y with ad pricing −18% (mix from newer international surfaces); clicks to advertisers +90% y/y, supported by Direct Link adoption and maturing lower-funnel suite; WAU/MAU reached a record 62% in 2024 .
Catalyst framing: Q4 revenue topped the prior Q4 guidance range ($1.125–$1.145B) and Q1 outlook signals sustained execution; GAAP EPS spiked due to a $1.6B tax valuation allowance release—non-operational—making non-GAAP profitability and FCF the better gauge for core performance .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Record scale and monetization: first $1B quarter (revenue $1.154B, +18% y/y) and record 553M MAUs (+11% y/y); Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 41% in Q4 .
- Lower-funnel traction: clicks to advertisers +90% y/y in Q4 (lapping >100% last Q4); “relevance on search” doubled over two years; Performance+ launched and showing CPA improvements and easier setup (−50% advertiser inputs) .
- Strong cash generation: 2024 FCF of $940M (≈91% conversion vs $1.03B 2024 Adj. EBITDA) and $2.5B cash+securities cushion; sustained repurchases ($600M FY24) reduced diluted share count ~1.7% y/y .
What Went Wrong
- Pricing pressure: ad pricing −18% y/y as mix shifts toward newer international monetization and auction fill (partially offset by +43% impressions) .
- Vertical headwinds: Food & Beverage (CPG subsector) remained soft; management sees only “very early green shoots” into Q1 2025, too early to call a full recovery .
- GAAP optics noisy: Q4 GAAP net income boosted by $1.6B tax valuation allowance release (non-operational), obscuring underlying trends—non-GAAP and cash metrics remain better signals .

Financial Results

Core P&L and Profitability (USD)

Metric	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Revenue ($MM)	$854	$898	$1,154
y/y revenue growth	21%	18%	18%
GAAP Net Income ($MM)	$8.9	$30.6	$1,847.5
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	$0.01	$0.04	$2.68
Non-GAAP EPS ($)	$0.29	$0.40	$0.56
Adjusted EBITDA ($MM)	$179.9	$242.1	$470.9
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	21%	27%	41%
GAAP Net Income Margin (%)	1%	3%	160%

Notes: Q4 GAAP EPS and margin include a $1.6B tax valuation allowance release; non-GAAP EPS and Adjusted EBITDA better reflect operations .

Geographic Revenue (USD)

Region Revenue ($MM)	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Global	$854	$898	$1,154
U.S. & Canada	$673	$719	$900
Europe	$143	$137	$196
Rest of World	$38	$42	$58

KPIs

KPI	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Global MAUs (MM)	522	537	553
MAUs – U.S. & Canada (MM)	98	99	101
MAUs – Europe (MM)	136	139	145
MAUs – Rest of World (MM)	288	300	307
Global ARPU ($)	$1.64	$1.70	$2.12
ARPU – U.S. & Canada ($)	$6.85	$7.31	$9.00
ARPU – Europe ($)	$1.03	$1.00	$1.38
ARPU – Rest of World ($)	$0.13	$0.14	$0.19
Q4 Ad Impressions Growth y/y	—	—	+43%
Q4 Ad Pricing y/y	—	—	−18%
2024 WAU/MAU Ratio	—	—	62% (record)

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance/Actual	Change
Revenue ($MM)	Q1 2025	—	$837–$852 (13–15% y/y; 15–17% cc; ~2pt FX headwind)	New
Adjusted EBITDA ($MM)	Q1 2025	—	$155–$170	New
Revenue ($MM)	Q4 2024	$1,125–$1,145 (from Q3 release)	$1,154 actual	Raised vs prior guide outcome (beat)

Additional color: Company will guide to Adjusted EBITDA going forward (no longer guiding non-GAAP opex) and expects 2025 margin expansion, but at a slower pace than 2024 due to reinvestment; non-GAAP cost of revenue in Q1 2025 expected roughly consistent with Q4 2024 .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Q2 2024 (Q-2)	Q3 2024 (Q-1)	Q4 2024 (Current)	Trend
AI/Technology initiatives	“AI-powered products and experiences” driving personalization and advertiser performance	“AI investments are driving results” with lower-funnel tools fastest growing	AI embedded across UX and ads; Taste Graph density +75% over two years; coding assistants produce ~15% of code	Intensifying deployment and impact
Lower-funnel/product performance	Monetization efforts “paying off” with share gains	Lower-funnel tools fastest growing; sustained 18% growth	Performance+ early in multiyear cycle; clicks +90% y/y; CPA −30% during Cyber 5; ROAS bidding rolling out	Strong execution; multi-year runway
Partnerships & demand mix	—	—	Third-party demand and resellers complement first-party; fewer gaps in mature markets as first-party grows	Complementary, dynamic use
Regional trends	UCAN/EU/ROW revenue up; MAUs growing globally	Record MAUs +11% y/y; revenue growth across regions	ROW revenue growth accelerated in 2024; Q4 UCAN +16%, EU +21%, ROW +44%	Broad-based strength, faster ROW
Regulatory/legal	—	Legal settlement $34.7M, excluded from non-GAAP	No new legal items; accounting change excludes SBC payroll taxes from Adj. EBITDA starting Q4	Clean run-rate, clearer non-GAAP

Management Commentary

“2024 was a transformative year for Pinterest... we achieved our first $1 billion revenue quarter as we grew revenue 18% and drove a record number of clicks during the critical holiday season.” — Bill Ready, CEO .
“Relevance on our search surface has more than doubled for top ad slots over the past 2 years... we grew clicks to advertisers over 90% [in Q4], even after lapping the initial launch of Direct Link.” — Bill Ready .
“Performance+ is at the beginning of a multiyear product cycle... testing showing a 20% CPA improvement for advertisers... advertisers require 50% fewer inputs to create campaigns now.” — Bill Ready .
“For the full year 2024, free cash flow increased 55% to $940 million... representing free cash flow conversion of 91%.” — Julia Donnelly, CFO .
“In Q4, ad impressions grew 43%, while ad pricing declined 18%... scaling monetization in international markets has naturally led to an increase in ad impressions and downward pressure on average pricing due to mix.” — Julia Donnelly .

Q&A Highlights

Strategy and 2025 priorities: double down on user growth/engagement, expand ad load on high-intent surfaces, enhance lower-funnel (Performance+) with ROAS bidding and creative tools, and complement demand with partners; sustainability of revenue growth emphasized .
AI investments: migration to GPU serving, LLMs for guided search, computer vision for shopping, and widespread internal coding assistants (~15% code via AI) underpin personalization and ad performance .
Quarter-to-date/trend context for Q1: guidance implies sequential acceleration on a two-year stack; continued adoption of new formats (Spotlight) and granular bidding; early “green shoots” in Food & Beverage but too early to call recovery .
Third-party partnerships: designed to fill auction gaps and improve shopability; as first-party strengthens, need for third-party declines in mature markets; capability to ingest multiple sources supports agility .
Engagement/mix: WAU/MAU at all-time high 62%; focus in mature markets is deepening engagement per user vs chasing users; lower-funnel now >80% of spend for some large advertisers .

Estimates Context

S&P Global consensus data was unavailable for this session due to an access limit, so we cannot quantify beats/misses versus Wall Street estimates at this time. Values would be retrieved from S&P Global if available.
However, Q4 revenue of $1,154M exceeded Pinterest’s own prior guidance range ($1,125–$1,145M), indicating stronger-than-expected top-line execution into the holiday period .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Lower-funnel flywheel is working: +90% clicks y/y, doubled ad relevance on search over two years, and early but promising Performance+ results (CPA and setup efficiency), supporting durable share gains in retail and emerging verticals (tech/financial services) .
Growth with discipline: Q4 Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 41% (Q4), and 2024 FCF of $940M (~91% conversion vs 2024 Adj. EBITDA), enabling continued buybacks and reinvestment in AI and product .
Mix headwinds manageable: pricing −18% y/y reflects international monetization ramp and added auction supply; impressions +43% and relevance gains should sustain revenue as international scales .
2025 setup: Q1 revenue guide +13–15% y/y (15–17% cc; ~2pt FX headwind) and EBITDA guide signal continued profitable growth; management still expects margin expansion in 2025 albeit slower than 2024 as they reinvest .
Optical GAAP noise: Q4 GAAP profit inflated by a $1.6B tax valuation allowance release; focus on non-GAAP and cash metrics for underlying trajectory .
Watch list: adoption and performance of ROAS bidding and Performance+ features, Food & Beverage category stabilization, ROW monetization cadence, and the balance between first-party and third-party demand as auctions tighten .

Appendix: Additional Disclosures and Non-GAAP Notes

Beginning Q4 2024, Pinterest excludes payroll taxes related to SBC from Adjusted EBITDA; prior periods restated to conform .
Q3 2024 included a $34.7M legal settlement (net of insurance) excluded from non-GAAP results .

PINTEREST, INC. (PINS)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary