Pinterest announced on August 28 that Chief Financial Officer Julia Donnelly will leave the company effective October 30 to join a private early-stage venture. Vice President of Finance and Business Operations Vikram Naidu will assume the interim principal financial officer role while the company conducts an external search for a permanent replacement. Donnelly’s tenure spanned roughly three years, during which CEO Bill Ready noted the company achieved 11 consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth.
The financial performance during Donnelly’s leadership demonstrated consistent expansion. In the second quarter of 2026, Pinterest recorded $1.18 billion in revenue, representing 18% year-over-year growth and marking the fourth consecutive quarter surpassing $1 billion in quarterly revenue. Global monthly active users reached 640 million, up 11% annually, with Gen Z users comprising more than half the platform’s user base. The United States and Canada region, the company’s most profitable market, showed particularly strong momentum with 18% revenue growth, a five-percentage-point acceleration from the previous quarter. Average revenue per user in that region increased 14% to $8.30.
Profitability metrics expanded in tandem with growth. Adjusted EBITDA reached $311 million, representing a 26% margin that improved 130 basis points year-over-year, while trailing twelve-month free cash flow totaled $1.3 billion. The company deployed portion of that cash toward share repurchases, retiring nearly 111 million shares and spending more than $2 billion on buybacks throughout the year. Management emphasized artificial intelligence initiatives, noting the rollout of its conversational Pinterest Assistant to most US users by late July and highlighting cost advantages of open-source AI models operating at less than 8% of comparable closed-system expenses.
Donnelly’s departure introduces uncertainty given recent guidance indicating deceleration. The company forecasted third-quarter revenue growth of 13% to 15%, a decline from the 18% growth recorded in the second quarter. Management attributed the slowdown to Prime Day timing shifts, reduced currency tailwinds, and regulatory pressures affecting Asia-based cross-border retailers in Europe, compounded by competition from Meta’s Instagram for advertising budgets. Operating expenses also accelerated, with cost of revenue rising 25% due to additional GPU capacity and full-period impact from the tvScientific acquisition, while non-GAAP operating expense climbed 13% on brand campaign spending and AI-related recruitment.
Concerns extend to shareholder activity and market valuation dynamics. Director Benjamin Silbermann sold 93,750 shares between August 18 and August 19, 2026, for approximately $2.2 million, reducing his direct stake by 87% to 13,996 shares under a February trading plan. The stock posted a negative 34% one-year return through August 19, 2026. Short interest remained elevated at 11.81% of the float, while hedge fund holdings held steady at 49 funds. Shares traded at 11.98 times forward earnings as of August 28, suggesting limited growth expectations embedded in valuation despite management’s historical delivery of double-digit expansion.
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