Pinterest reported a mixed earnings report, which sent its stock up 11.6% yesterday.

• Monthly active users declined 5% — less than expected.
• Sales grew 9% — showing ad dollars spent on Pinterest to be more resilient than other social media platforms.

But its future is much more uncertain.

What’s the big deal? Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) is going through a major transformation — further pushing into shopping and e-commerce, a market many other social media platforms have tried with little success.

Social media influences buying decisions, but getting users to buy directly on the platforms is difficult. Unlike others, Pinterest says its users come with a shopping intent.

• Pinterest is early in its efforts — reporting shopping revenue growing at double the rate of its total sales. The exact amount isn’t disclosed, so it could be a small base.
• In June, Pinterest brought in a new CEO Bill Ready — who was the President of Commerce, Payments & Next Billion Users at Google and the COO of PayPal.

Still, Pinterest has some problems:

1/ Money: It makes significantly less revenue per user ($1.33 vs. Meta’s $48 in the U.S. and Canada).

2/ Niche: Pinterest’s platform appeals primarily to women (77% of users, 2022) and 80% of all U.S. mothers who use the internet are on Pinterest.

3/ User decline — which they blamed on changes to Google’s algorithm lowering traffic and competition from other platforms.

Late last year — PayPal showed interest in buying Pinterest— before PayPal shareholders killed the idea. Activist shareholder Elliott Management has a sizeable stake in both PayPal and Pinterest — and some think Elliott could push for an acquisition. But that’s pure speculation.