• by Fern Siegel , November 1, 2023

Pinterest had a good Q3, beating expectations for earnings and revenue. There was also positive news on the ad front.

The social network reported $763 million in revenue. And whatever Mideast issues caused a pause in spending, CEO Bill Ready said advertisers had returned.

Another boon for advertisers: a significant increase in global monthly active users, nearly 500 million, could aid reach. Gen Z now accounts for 42% of monthly active users, per Citi analysts.

In addition, Barclays raised its price target for Pinterest from $27 to $29.

"It's rare to see a company in the digital ad space (especially graphical ads) in a position to increase ad load and engagement at the same time, which is driving revenue acceleration (and before the Amazon ad selection enters the fray)," Barclays analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Pinterest's mobile deep linking ad product reported a 200%+ increase in conversion rates, while monthly active user growth of 8% year-over-year.

"As we enter 2024, we believe there are multiple catalysts ahead around engagement growth, ads innovation, the scaling of its Amazon partnership, and consistent margin expansion," Citi analysts wrote in a note to investors.

Pinterest is predicting growth of 11% to 13% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

"Our users are engaging deeply and we're delivering better results for advertisers through improved measurement and innovation across the full funnel," said Ready.