Pinterest Shares Plummet on Disappointing 2019 Revenue Forecast

Pinterest on Thursday forecast 2019 revenue broadly in line with Wall Street targets, disappointing investors who had expected more from the freshly public, high flying stock, and sending its shares down 16 percent.

The online scrapbook company's shares have risen 62% from its initial public offering price of $19 last month.

"Clearly the after-hours pullback is a reflection of investor expectations being too high heading into the quarter," DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte said.

Pinterest's sales outlook was a disappointment said Forte, especially given the high expectations reflected in the run up in shares.

The company expects full-year revenue between $1.055 billion and $1.08 billion, the mid point of which is slightly above analysts' estimate of $1.06 billion, driven by average revenue per user (ARPU) in the United States.

Pinterest also said in a regulatory filing it would look to invest in its advertising products through the year.

The company, which calls its users "pinners", added 291 million monthly active users globally in the first quarter, above estimates of 289.3 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. ARPU globally rose 26% to 73 cents, the company said.

Net loss narrowed to $41.4 million in the quarter ended March 31 from $52.7 million a year earlier. Excluding certain items, the company lost 32 cents per share.

Total revenue rose about 54% to $201.9 million, beating estimates of $200.6 million.

Unlike Pinterest, other companies that made their stock market debut in 2019 such as Lyft and Uber Technologies have seen a steep drop. Uber shares have fallen nearly 18% since its IPO, while Lyft is down about 23%.

© Thomson Reuters 2019