Press release

 Pinterest Announces First Quarter 2021 Results

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Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE: PINS) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

  • Q1 revenue grew 78% year over year to $485 million.
  • Global Monthly Active Users (MAUs) grew 30% year over year to 478 million.
  • GAAP net loss was $(22) million for Q1. Adjusted EBITDA was $84 million for Q1.

“Whether it’s recipe ideas during the pandemic or dream vacation planning for the future, I’m proud that we now help 478 million people every month find inspiration to create a life they love,” said Ben Silbermann, CEO and co-founder, Pinterest. “This quarter, we continued strong growth internationally, including our recent launch of advertising in Brazil, and made significant progress with shopping, making it easier for people to discover and buy products they find on Pinterest.”

“Q1 results were strong, building off the momentum of 2020. Continued rapid growth of our international business and increased adoption from medium and small advertisers drove 78% year-over-year revenue growth,” said Todd Morgenfeld, CFO and Head of Business Operations, Pinterest. “While we continue to navigate COVID-19 uncertainty, we plan to stay focused on driving investments that deliver an inspirational Pinner experience and measurable advertiser value.”

Q1 2021 Financial Highlights

The following table summarizes our consolidated financial results (in thousands, except percentages, unaudited):

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

% Change

 

2021

 

2020

 

Revenue

$

485,230

 

 

 

$

271,940

 

 

 

78

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(21,674

)

 

 

$

(141,196

)

 

 

85

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-GAAP net income (loss)*

$

78,527

 

 

 

$

(59,916

)

 

 

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA*

$

83,824

 

 

 

$

(53,320

)

 

 

NM

Adjusted EBITDA margin*

17

 

%

 

(20

)

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM – not meaningful

* Non-cash charitable contributions of $1.5 million were not excluded for non-GAAP purposes for the three months ended March 31, 2020 as these were not material. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see “―About non-GAAP financial measures” and the tables under “―Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial results” included at the end of this release.

Q1 2021 Other Highlights

The following table sets forth our revenue, MAUs and average revenue per user (“ARPU”) based on the geographic location of our users (in millions, except ARPU and percentages, unaudited):

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

% Change

 

2021

 

2020

 

Revenue – Global

$

485

 

 

$

272

 

 

78

%

Revenue – United States

$

390

 

 

$

237

 

 

65

%

Revenue – International

$

95

 

 

$

35

 

 

170

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

MAUs – Global

478

 

 

367

 

 

30

%

MAUs – United States

98

 

 

90

 

 

9

%

MAUs – International

380

 

 

277

 

 

37

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARPU – Global

$

1.04

 

 

$

0.77

 

 

34

%

ARPU – United States

$

3.99

 

 

$

2.66

 

 

50

%

ARPU – International

$

0.26

 

 

$

0.13

 

 

91

%

Guidance

We continue to navigate uncertainty given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. Our current expectation is that Q2 revenue will grow around 105% year over year. In Q2, we expect global MAUs to grow in the mid-teens and US MAUs to be around flat on a year-over-year percentage basis. Finally, we expect sequential operating expense growth to accelerate in Q2 as we continue to ramp investments in our long-term initiatives and growth drivers.

We intend to provide further detail on our outlook during the conference call.

Our strategic priorities for 2021 remain anchored in content, the Pinner experience, advertiser success and shopping. We plan to continue investing in these this year. We expect R&D efforts to continue to focus on Pinner product, ad product and measurement investments. We intend to grow our headcount further, in particular to support our international expansion efforts. We also intend to scale our comprehension and brand marketing efforts in 2021. We think these investments will support long-term growth and continue to build the foundations for a scaled business over time.

Webcast and conference call information

A live audio webcast of our first quarter 2021 earnings release call will be available at investor.pinterestinc.com. The call begins today at 3:00 PM (PT) / 6:00 PM (ET). We have also posted to our investor relations website a letter to shareholders. This press release, including the reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, letter to shareholders and slide presentation are also available. A recording of the webcast will be available at investor.pinterestinc.com for 90 days.

We have used, and intend to continue to use, our investor relations website at investor.pinterestinc.com as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, statements about our future operational and financial performance. Words such as “believe,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “plan” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including: uncertainty regarding the duration and scope of the coronavirus referred to as COVID-19 pandemic; actions governments and businesses take in response to the pandemic, including actions that could affect levels of advertising activity; the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response to the pandemic on global and regional economies and economic activity; the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; the scope and impact of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 on our planned investments, operations, expenses, revenue, cash flow, liquidity and users; our ability to attract and retain Pinners and engagement levels; our ability to provide useful and relevant content; risks associated with new products and changes to existing products as well as other new business initiatives; our ability to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation; compromises in security; our financial performance and fluctuations in operating results; our dependency on internet search engines’ methodologies and policies; discontinuation, disruptions or outages in authentication by third-party login providers; changes by third-party login providers that restrict our access or ability to identify users; competition; our ability to scale our business and revenue model; our reliance on advertising revenue and our ability to attract and retain advertisers and effectively measure advertising campaigns; our ability to effectively manage growth and expand and monetize our platform internationally; our lack of operating history and ability to attain and sustain profitability; decisions that reduce short-term revenue or profitability or do not produce expected long-term benefits; risks associated with government actions, laws and regulations that could restrict access to our products or impair our business; litigation and government inquiries; privacy, data and other regulatory concerns; our ability to protect our intellectual property; real or perceived inaccuracies in metrics related to our business; disruption, degradation or interference with the hosting services we use and infrastructure; our ability to attract and retain personnel; and the dual class structure of our common stock and its effect of concentrating voting control with stockholders who held our capital stock prior to the completion of our initial public offering. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2021, which is available on our investor relations website at investor.pinterestinc.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will be made available in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other future reports that we may file with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. All information provided in this release and in the earnings materials is as of April 27, 2021. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which are based on information available to us on the date hereof. We undertake no duty to update this information unless required by law.

About non-GAAP financial measures

To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP costs and expenses (including non-GAAP cost of revenue, research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative), non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation, as a substitute for or superior to the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In addition, these measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparative purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding GAAP amounts excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense and other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and non-cash charitable contributions. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by revenue. Non-GAAP costs and expenses (including non-GAAP cost of revenue, research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative) and non-GAAP net income (loss) exclude amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based compensation expense and non-cash charitable contributions. Non-GAAP income (loss) from operations is calculated by subtracting non-GAAP costs and expenses from revenue. Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share is calculated by dividing non-GAAP net income (loss) by diluted weighted-average shares outstanding. We use Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP costs and expenses, non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses they exclude. We also believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We present these non-GAAP financial measures to assist potential investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management and because we believe these measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry. There are a number of limitations related to the use of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP costs and expenses, non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share rather than net income (loss), net margin, total costs and expenses, income (loss) from operations, net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share, respectively, the nearest GAAP equivalents. For example, Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future, and share-based compensation expense, which has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense and an important part of our compensation strategy.

For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the tables under “―Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial results” included at the end of this release.

Limitation of key metrics and other data

The numbers for our key metrics, which include our MAUs and ARPU, are calculated using internal company data based on the activity of user accounts. We define a monthly active user as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by the average of the number of MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue-generating activities occur. We use these metrics to assess the growth and health of the overall business and believe that MAUs and ARPU best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage of our products across large online and mobile populations around the world. In addition, we are continually seeking to improve our estimates of our user base, and such estimates may change due to improvements or changes in technology or our methodology.

 

PINTEREST, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except par value)

(unaudited)

 

 

March 31,

 

December 31,

 

2021

 

2020

ASSETS

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

913,740

 

 

 

$

669,230

 

 

Marketable securities

1,119,962

 

 

 

1,091,076

 

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $6,842 and $8,811 as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively

389,206

 

 

 

563,733

 

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

34,267

 

 

 

33,502

 

 

Total current assets

2,457,175

 

 

 

2,357,541

 

 

Property and equipment, net

63,337

 

 

 

69,375

 

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

146,150

 

 

 

155,916

 

 

Goodwill and intangible assets, net

13,310

 

 

 

13,562

 

 

Other assets

12,320

 

 

 

13,065

 

 

Total assets

$

2,692,292

 

 

 

$

2,609,459

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts payable

$

48,585

 

 

 

$

49,491

 

 

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

160,415

 

 

 

155,340

 

 

Total current liabilities

209,000

 

 

 

204,831

 

 

Operating lease liabilities

129,559

 

 

 

139,321

 

 

Other liabilities

24,910

 

 

 

22,936

 

 

Total liabilities

363,469

 

 

 

367,088

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

Class A common stock, $0.00001 par value, 6,666,667 shares authorized, 545,794 and 530,140 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively; Class B common stock, $0.00001 par value, 1,333,333 shares authorized, 89,535 and 96,232 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively

6

 

 

 

6

 

 

Additional paid-in capital

4,684,227

 

 

 

4,574,934

 

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income

1,313

 

 

 

2,480

 

 

Accumulated deficit

(2,356,723

)

 

 

(2,335,049

)

 

Total stockholders’ equity

2,328,823

 

 

 

2,242,371

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

2,692,292

 

 

 

$

2,609,459

 

 

 

PINTEREST, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

2021

 

2020

Revenue

$

485,230

 

 

 

$

271,940

 

 

Costs and expenses:

 

 

 

Cost of revenue

133,470

 

 

 

99,232

 

 

Research and development

171,728

 

 

 

145,704

 

 

Sales and marketing

130,322

 

 

 

117,027

 

 

General and administrative

72,618

 

 

 

56,067

 

 

Total costs and expenses

508,138

 

 

 

418,030

 

 

Loss from operations

(22,908

)

 

 

(146,090

)

 

Interest income

1,492

 

 

 

7,151

 

 

Interest expense and other income (expense), net

(1,563

)

 

 

(2,077

)

 

Loss before provision for (benefit from) income taxes

(22,979

)

 

 

(141,016

)

 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

(1,305

)

 

 

180

 

 

Net loss

$

(21,674

)

 

 

$

(141,196

)

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

$

(0.03

)

 

 

$

(0.25

)

 

Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

628,593

 

 

 

576,302

 

 

 

PINTEREST, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

2021

 

 

 

2020

 

Operating activities

 

 

 

Net loss

$

(21,674

)

 

$

(141,196

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

6,783

 

 

 

11,746

 

Share-based compensation

 

79,459

 

 

 

81,024

 

Non-cash charitable contributions

 

20,490

 

 

 

1,544

 

Other

 

2,029

 

 

 

1,175

 

Changes in assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

176,564

 

 

 

100,991

 

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

(91

)

 

 

6,624

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

10,288

 

 

 

10,879

 

Accounts payable

 

(717

)

 

 

2,613

 

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

8,298

 

 

 

(4,905

)

Operating lease liabilities

 

(10,850

)

 

 

(13,205

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

270,579

 

 

 

57,290

 

Investing activities

 

 

 

Purchases of property and equipment and intangible assets

 

(1,251

)

 

 

(7,005

)

Purchases of marketable securities

 

(263,170

)

 

 

(257,593

)

Sales of marketable securities

 

79,831

 

 

 

72,043

 

Maturities of marketable securities

 

149,532

 

 

 

250,074

 

Other investing activities

 

 

 

 

316

 

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities

 

(35,058

)

 

 

57,835

 

Financing activities

 

 

 

Proceeds from exercise of stock options, net

 

9,344

 

 

 

20,347

 

Shares repurchased for tax withholdings on release of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

(44,090

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

9,344

 

 

 

(23,743

)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

(355

)

 

 

(214

)

Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

244,510

 

 

 

91,168

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period

 

678,911

 

 

 

677,743

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period

$

923,421

 

 

$

768,911

 

Supplemental cash flow information

 

 

 

Accrued property and equipment

$

125

 

 

$

7,831

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities

$

630

 

 

$

1,242

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to condensed consolidated balance sheets

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

913,740

 

 

$

740,833

 

Restricted cash included in prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

571

 

 

 

4,287

 

Restricted cash included in other assets

 

9,110

 

 

 

23,791

 

Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

$

923,421

 

 

$

768,911

 

 

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RESULTS

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

2021

 

2020

Share-based compensation by function:

 

 

 

Cost of revenue

$

1,312

 

 

 

$

1,426

 

 

Research and development

56,475

 

 

 

48,906

 

 

Sales and marketing

11,891

 

 

 

13,919

 

 

General and administrative

9,781

 

 

 

16,773

 

 

Total share-based compensation

$

79,459

 

 

 

$

81,024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amortization of acquired intangible assets by function:

 

 

 

Cost of revenue

$

94

 

 

 

$

94

 

 

General and administrative

158

 

 

 

162

 

 

Total amortization of acquired intangible assets

$

252

 

 

 

$

256

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of total costs and expenses to non-GAAP costs and expenses:

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

$

508,138

 

 

 

$

418,030

 

 

Share-based compensation

(79,459

)

 

 

(81,024

)

 

Amortization of acquired intangible assets

(252

)

 

 

(256

)

 

Non-cash charitable contributions

(20,490

)

 

 

 

 

Total non-GAAP costs and expenses (1)

$

407,937

 

 

 

$

336,750

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA:

Net loss

 

$

(21,674

)

 

 

$

(141,196

)

 

Depreciation and amortization

6,783

 

 

 

11,746

 

 

Share-based compensation

79,459

 

 

 

81,024

 

 

Interest income

(1,492

)

 

 

(7,151

)

 

Interest expense and other (income) expense, net

1,563

 

 

 

2,077

 

 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

(1,305

)

 

 

180

 

 

Non-cash charitable contributions

20,490

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA (1)

$

83,824

 

 

 

$

(53,320

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

Non-cash charitable contributions of $1.5 million were not excluded for non-GAAP purposes for the three months ended March 31, 2020 as these were not material.

 

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL RESULTS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

2021

 

2020

Reconciliation of net loss to non-GAAP net income (loss):

Net loss

$

(21,674

)

 

 

$

(141,196

)

 

Share-based compensation

79,459

 

 

 

81,024

 

 

Amortization of acquired intangible assets

252

 

 

 

256

 

 

Non-cash charitable contributions

20,490

 

 

 

 

 

Non-GAAP net income (loss) (1)

$

78,527

 

 

 

$

(59,916

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders

628,593

 

 

 

576,302

 

 

Weighted-average dilutive securities (2)

63,770

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted weighted-average shares used in computing non-GAAP net income (loss) per share

692,363

 

 

 

576,302

 

 

Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share

$

0.11

 

 

 

$

(0.10

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

Non-cash charitable contributions of $1.5 million were not excluded for non-GAAP purposes for the three months ended March 31, 2020 as these were not material.

(2)

Gives effect to potential common stock instruments such as stock options, unvested restricted stock units and unvested restricted stock awards.