Pinterest's Solid Q1 2026 Performance: Growth in Both Users and Revenue
Pinterest released its Q1 2026 financial results, with global monthly active users rising to 631 million, adding 12 million sequentially, and revenue growing 18% year-over-year. Despite limited user growth in the US and EU, international expansion continues, and the company emphasizes AI-driven discovery graphs and improved advertising products.
Pinterest delivered a solid performance in the first quarter of 2026: global monthly active users increased by 12 million quarter-over-quarter, and revenue grew 18% year-over-year, further consolidating its core position as a product discovery platform.
User Growth: Global Expansion, Regional Divergence
As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, Pinterest's global monthly active users reached 631 million, a significant increase from 570 million in the first quarter of 2025. The company stated that user data has been rounded, so regional figures may not add up exactly to the global total.
Looking at the growth structure, the vast majority of new global users came from the "Rest of World" category. In contrast, the United States and Europe markets added only about 1 million users each in the first quarter, with relatively limited growth. Although the absolute growth figures are substantial, Pinterest's user penetration in high-value markets such as the US and Europe has become more mature, while the user base in emerging markets continues to expand rapidly.
It should be noted that growth itself is positive, and the addition of 12 million users is significant from any perspective. However, Pinterest's revenue is highly dependent on the United States and Europe, its two core markets, where revenue per user is much higher than in developing regions. Therefore, the regional distribution of user growth deserves attention for its impact on financial performance.
Revenue and Monetization: Up Year-over-Year, Under Pressure Quarter-over-Quarter
Data shows that Pinterest's average revenue per user (ARPU) continued to improve on a year-over-year basis, but in the first quarter of 2026, ARPU declined quarter-over-quarter across all regions. Additionally, overall company revenue decreased compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 (which typically performs stronger due to the holiday season), but first-quarter revenue remained above $1 billion.
Pinterest stated that on a constant currency basis, first-quarter revenue grew approximately 15% year-over-year. Company CEO Bill Ready noted during the analyst call that first-quarter results exceeded expectations.
AI-Driven Growth: Taste Graph and Performance+
Ready specifically highlighted the role of the company's AI-powered "discovery graph," which is enhancing user engagement. He explained: "Ten consecutive quarters of double-digit user growth is a direct result of years of sustained investment in AI, personalization recommendations, and optimization of visual search and discovery. At its core is our Taste Graph, which captures visual intent and curation signals based on tens of billions of user interactions over the past decade."
Additionally, Ready stated that the performance of the AI-driven advertising product Performance+ is improving. Advertisers using Performance+ achieve higher return on ad spend (ROAS), while cost per action (CPA) and cost per click (CPC) are both optimized compared to standard campaigns.
Advertising Business and International Strategy
Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly revealed during the earnings call that first-quarter ad impressions increased 24% year-over-year, but ad prices decreased 5% year-over-year. She explained that this "mainly stems from the base effect of the prior-year period—initial commercialization was launched in under-monetized markets (including reseller channels and Rest of World), leading to exceptional impression growth in the previous year."
Donnelly emphasized that expanding revenue beyond the United States and Europe remains a strategic priority for the company. She stated that the company plans to broaden its global revenue base by appointing an as-yet-unnamed head of international growth, who will be responsible for uncovering new growth opportunities.
Discussing the current state of the international business, Donnelly said: "Compared to the level of engagement and commercial intent we see in international markets, our monetization remains significantly underdeveloped. Our confidence in the long-term opportunity internationally is unchanged, and we believe the adjustments currently underway will enable us to fully capture this opportunity in the future."
Outlook
Overall, if Pinterest can achieve breakthroughs in advertising monetization, its user growth across more regions will gradually translate into greater revenue potential. The company is leveraging AI technology to optimize user experience and advertising efficiency, while adjusting its international management structure to address challenges in different markets.