Why is Pinterest losing advertisers?

"We are not satisfied with our Q4 revenue performance and believe it does not reflect what Pinterest can deliver over time. Ready added that the Pinterest advertiser base, which leans heavily on large retailers, slashed ad spending in response to tariff pressures."

"Pinterest's largest retail advertisers created a more meaningful headwind than we expected as they sought to protect their margins in this dynamic environment and pulled back on ad spend. The social media platform expects growth in Q1 to further slow down with estimated revenue to come in between $951 million and $971 million."

"When it comes to Pinterest, it's been tough, because [while] they entered the AI space almost two years ago with some of the launches they announced, but they were still very late to the game. It takes time for those products to mature, and because the space changed so fast, their tools-when it comes to this AI infrastructure"

Pinterest reported disappointing Q4 2025 results with $1.32 billion in revenue, representing 14% year-over-year growth, and issued weak Q1 guidance. CEO Bill Ready attributed weak performance to tariffs pressuring large retail advertisers who reduced ad spending to protect margins. Despite Gen Z comprising over half of Pinterest's user base and the platform improving ad tools, advertisers are prioritizing Meta and Google instead. Pinterest entered the AI space nearly two years ago but lagged behind competitors in innovation pace. The company recently cut 15% of its workforce, and industry experts note that Pinterest's AI tools have not matured quickly enough to compete effectively in the rapidly evolving advertising technology landscape.

Read at Retail Brew