Amid disappointing earnings, Pinterest claims it sees more searches than ChatGPT

Core Insights - Pinterest's CEO Bill Ready highlighted the platform's search volume, claiming it surpasses that of ChatGPT, with 80 billion searches per month compared to ChatGPT's 75 billion [1][2] - The company reported a revenue of $1.32 billion for Q4, slightly below the expected $1.33 billion, and earnings per share of 67 cents, missing the projected 69 cents [3] - Pinterest's first-quarter 2026 sales forecast is between $951 million to $971 million, which is below the expected $980 million [3] Financial Performance - Pinterest's Q4 revenue fell short of expectations, attributed to larger advertisers reducing spending, particularly in Europe, and a new furniture tariff affecting the home category [4] - Despite a 12% year-over-year increase in monthly active users to 619 million, exceeding Wall Street's forecast of 613 million, the company still missed earnings expectations [4] Market Position and Challenges - Pinterest is positioned as one of the largest search destinations globally, with over half of its searches being commercial in nature, compared to approximately 2% for ChatGPT [2] - The platform faces challenges in converting high user engagement into advertising revenue, as users typically visit Pinterest for planning rather than immediate purchasing [7] Strategic Initiatives - To adapt to the shift towards AI-powered shopping, Pinterest is focusing on enhancing its visual search, discovery, and personalization features to guide users to relevant products [8] - The company has partnered with Amazon to streamline the checkout process, indicating readiness to adapt to future AI-driven purchasing behaviors [9]