PINTEREST, INC. (PINS)
SIC breadcrumb: Services > Business Services > SIC 7370 Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc.
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1506293. Latest filing source: 0001506293-26-000021.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read PINS's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read PINS's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 4,221,767,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-12 |
| Net income | 416,855,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-12 |
| Assets | 5,492,132,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-12 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-12. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001506293.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 472,852,000 | 755,932,000 | 1,142,761,000 | 1,692,658,000 | 2,578,027,000 | 2,802,574,000 | 3,055,071,000 | 3,646,166,000 | 4,221,767,000 | |
| Net income | -130,044,000 | -62,974,000 | -1,361,371,000 | -128,323,000 | 316,438,000 | -96,047,000 | -35,610,000 | 1,862,106,000 | 416,855,000 | |
| Operating income | -137,934,000 | -74,721,000 | -1,388,866,000 | -142,504,000 | 326,187,000 | -101,677,000 | -125,678,000 | 179,817,000 | 319,883,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | -3.24 | -0.22 | 0.46 | -0.14 | -0.05 | 2.67 | 0.61 | |||
| Operating cash flow | -102,913,000 | -60,369,000 | 657,000 | 28,826,000 | 752,907,000 | 469,202,000 | 612,961,000 | 964,594,000 | 1,284,264,000 | |
| Capital expenditures | 28,984,000 | 8,063,000 | 24,606,000 | 32,375,000 | ||||||
| Share buybacks | 0.00 | 0.00 | 500,000,000 | 600,198,000 | 927,013,000 | |||||
| Assets | 1,152,731,000 | 2,393,317,000 | 2,609,459,000 | 3,537,238,000 | 3,862,730,000 | 3,594,405,000 | 5,342,660,000 | 5,492,132,000 | ||
| Liabilities | 281,895,000 | 369,612,000 | 367,088,000 | 498,495,000 | 581,076,000 | 503,725,000 | 591,506,000 | 746,894,000 | ||
| Stockholders' equity | -448,286,000 | -546,464,000 | -594,563,000 | 2,023,705,000 | 2,242,371,000 | 3,038,743,000 | 3,281,654,000 | 3,090,680,000 | 4,751,154,000 | 4,745,238,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 71,468,000 | 122,509,000 | 649,666,000 | 669,230,000 | 1,419,630,000 | 1,611,063,000 | 1,361,936,000 | 1,136,460,000 | 969,342,000 | |
| Free cash flow | 440,218,000 | 604,898,000 | 939,988,000 | 1,251,889,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -27.50% | -8.33% | -119.13% | -7.58% | 12.27% | -3.43% | -1.17% | 51.07% | 9.87% | |
| Operating margin | -29.17% | -9.88% | -121.54% | -8.42% | 12.65% | -3.63% | -4.11% | 4.93% | 7.58% | |
| Return on equity | -67.27% | -5.72% | 10.41% | -2.93% | -1.15% | 39.19% | 8.78% | |||
| Return on assets | -5.46% | -56.88% | -4.92% | 8.95% | -2.49% | -0.99% | 34.85% | 7.59% | ||
| Liabilities / equity | 0.18 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.18 | 0.16 | 0.12 | 0.16 | |||
| Current ratio | 8.20 | 11.74 | 11.51 | 12.25 | 9.08 | 10.53 | 8.75 | 7.64 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001506293-26-000021; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001506293-26-000021; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001506293-26-000021; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001506293-26-000021; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-04. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001506293.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.07 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.10 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | -0.31 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 708,025,000 | -34,942,000 | -0.05 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 763,203,000 | 6,733,000 | 0.01 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 981,262,000 | 201,178,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 739,983,000 | -24,812,000 | -0.04 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 853,680,000 | 8,887,000 | 0.01 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 898,373,000 | 30,556,000 | 0.04 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 1,154,130,000 | 1,847,475,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 854,988,000 | 8,922,000 | 0.01 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 998,227,000 | 38,755,000 | 0.06 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 1,049,205,000 | 92,108,000 | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 1,319,347,000 | 277,070,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 1,007,514,000 | -73,587,000 | -0.12 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001506293-26-000068; filed 2026-05-04. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001506293-26-000068; filed 2026-05-04. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001506293-26-000068; filed 2026-05-04. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001506293-26-000068.
ITEM 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Overview of First Quarter Results
Our key financial and operating results as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2026, unless noted otherwise, are as follows:
•Revenue was $1,007.5 million, an increase of 18% on a reported and 15% on a constant currency basis compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025.
•Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 631 million, an increase of 11% compared to March 31, 2025.
•Share-based compensation expense was $231.4 million, an increase of $44.0 million compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025.
•Loss from operations was $80.3 million, an increase of $44.8 million compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025.
•Net loss was $73.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $206.5 million.
•Net cash provided by operating activities was $328.0 million and free cash flow was $311.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2026.
•Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities was $1,298.6 million.
•Headcount was 5,287.
Restructuring
In January 2026, we initiated a global restructuring plan (the “Restructuring Plan”) to support our transformation initiatives, including but not limited to (i) reallocating resources to AI-focused roles and teams that drive AI adoption and execution, (ii) prioritizing AI‑powered products and capabilities, and (iii) accelerating the transformation of our sales and go-to-market approach.
As part of the Restructuring Plan, we commenced a workforce reduction of less than 15% as well as office space reductions.
Restructuring charges during the three months ended March 31, 2026 were as follows (in thousands):
| Severance and Other Personnel Costs | Share Based Compensation | Office Space Reductions | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restructuring | $ | 36,172 | $ | 9,325 | $ | 1,600 | $ | 47,097 |
We expect to incur total charges of $59.6 million to $69.6 million under the Restructuring Plan, including additional charges of $12.5 million to $22.5 million, which we expect to incur through the end of the third quarter of 2026. We will record additional charges under the Restructuring Plan as incurred, and the timing and magnitude of such charges are subject to change. Liabilities under the Restructuring Plan are not material as of March 31, 2026.
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Trends in User Metrics
Monthly Active Users. We define an MAU as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. The number of MAUs does not include Shuffles users unless they would otherwise qualify as MAUs. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. MAUs are the primary metric by which we measure the scale of our active user base.
Quarterly Monthly Active Users
(in millions)
Note: U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global due to rounding. Europe includes Russia and Turkey for our reporting of Revenue, MAUs and ARPU by geographic region.
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As of March 31, 2026, global MAUs increased compared to March 31, 2025 primarily due to our ongoing investments in relevance and personalization.
Trends in Monetization Metrics
Revenue. We calculate revenue by user geography based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. The geography of our users affects our revenue and financial results because we currently only monetize certain countries and currencies and because we monetize different geographies at different average rates. Our revenue in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly Revenue
(in millions)
Note: Revenue by geography in the charts above is geographically apportioned based on our estimate of users' geographic location when they perform a revenue-generating activity. This allocation differs from our disclosure of revenue disaggregated by geography in the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements where revenue is geographically apportioned based on our customers’ billing addresses. U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global and quarterly amounts may not sum to annual due to rounding.
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Average Revenue per User. We measure monetization of our platform through our average revenue per user metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by average MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue-generating activities occur. We present ARPU on a U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World basis because we currently monetize users in different geographies at different average rates. Our ARPU in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly Average Revenue per User
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, global ARPU was $1.61, which represents an increase of 6% compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, U.S. and Canada ARPU was $7.12, an increase of 9%, Europe ARPU was $1.17, an increase of 17%, and Rest of World ARPU was $0.20, an increase of 38% compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025.
We use MAUs and ARPU to assess the growth and health of the overall business and believe that these metrics best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measure
To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), we consider certain non-GAAP financial measures, as described below.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and certain other non-recurring or non-cash items impacting net income (loss) that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing business performance. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses that it excludes.
We use constant currency revenue to evaluate our operating and financial results. We calculate constant currency revenue by translating our current period revenue using the corresponding prior period’s monthly exchange rates for currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We believe constant currency revenue provides useful information to investors because it excludes the effects of foreign currency volatility that are not indicative of our core operating results.
We present free cash flow because we believe it provides useful information to investors about the amount of cash generated from operations, after purchases of property and equipment, that can be used to strengthen our balance sheet or invest in our business among other things. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. Free cash flow is not intended to represent our residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures.
We present these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We present these non-GAAP financial measures to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management and because we believe that these measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry.
Adjusted EBITDA, constant currency revenue and free cash flow should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures rather than net income (loss), revenue and net cash provided by operations, the nearest GAAP equivalents. For example,
•Adjusted EBITDA excludes:
•certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future; and
•share-based compensation expense and related payroll tax expense, which have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring expenses and an important part of our compensation strategy.
•Constant currency revenue excludes the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which have an actual effect on our operating results; and
•Free cash flow does not reflect our future contractual commitments arising from purchases of property and equipment.
In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP, and may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies (if used at all), which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these limitations, you should consider these non-GAAP financial measures alongside other financial performance measures, and our other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP.
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Adjusted EBITDA
The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2025 | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (73,587) | $ | 8,922 | ||||||
| Depreciation and amortization (1) | 7,452 | 5,848 | ||||||||
| Share-based compensation (1) | 222,121 | 187,426 | ||||||||
| Payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation | 10,132 | 13,852 | ||||||||
| Interest (income) expense, net | (17,786) | (27,293) | ||||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | 994 | (4,519) | ||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 10,087 | (12,587) | ||||||||
| Restructuring charges (2) | 47,097 | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 206,510 | $ | 171,649 |
(1)Excludes share-based compensation expense of $9.3 million and amortization expense
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 is included under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Overview of 2025 results
Our key financial and operating results as of and for the year ended December 31, 2025 are as follows:
•Revenue was $4,221.8 million, an increase of 16% on a reported and 15% on a constant currency basis compared to 2024.
•MAUs were 619 million, an increase of 12% compared to December 31, 2024.
•Share-based compensation expense was $880.5 million, an increase of $114.7 million compared to 2024.
•Income from operations was $319.9 million, an increase of $140.1 million compared to 2024.
•Net income was $416.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $1,270.0 million.
•Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,284.3 million and free cash flow was $1,251.9 million.
•Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $2,467.2 million.
•Headcount was 5,265.
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Part II
Trends in user metrics
Monthly Active Users. We define an MAU as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. The number of MAUs does not include Shuffles users unless they would otherwise qualify as MAUs. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. MAUs are the primary metric by which we measure the scale of our active user base.
Quarterly monthly active users
(in millions)
Note: U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global due to rounding. Europe includes Russia and Turkey for our reporting of Revenue, MAUs and ARPU by geographic region.
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Part II
A portion of our MAUs visit Pinterest on a weekly basis. We define a weekly active user (“WAU”) as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the seven-day period ending on the date of measurement. As of December 31, 2025, the proportion of WAUs to MAUs, which has stayed relatively consistent over time, was 62%.
As of December 31, 2025, global MAUs increased compared to December 31, 2024, primarily due to our ongoing investments in relevance and personalization.
49
Part II
Trends in monetization metrics
Revenue. We calculate revenue by user geography based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. The geography of our users affects our revenue and financial results because we currently only monetize certain countries and currencies and because we monetize different geographies at different average rates. Our revenue in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly revenue
(in millions)
Note: Revenue by geography in the charts above is geographically apportioned based on our estimate of users' geographic location when they perform a revenue-generating activity. This allocation differs from our disclosure of revenue disaggregated by geography in the notes to our consolidated financial statements where revenue is geographically apportioned based on our customers’ billing addresses. U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global and quarterly amounts may not sum to annual due to rounding.
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Average Revenue per User. We measure monetization of our platform through our ARPU metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by average MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue‑ generating activities occur. We present ARPU on a U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World basis because we currently monetize users in different geographies at different average rates. Our ARPU in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly average revenue per user
For the year ended December 31, 2025, global ARPU was $7.21, which represents an increase of 4% compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. For the year ended December 31, 2025, U.S. and Canada ARPU was $30.84, an increase of 6%, Europe ARPU was $5.12, an increase of 21%, and Rest of World ARPU was $0.83, an increase of 40% compared to the year ended December 31, 2024.
We use MAUs and ARPU to assess the growth and health of the overall business and believe that these metrics best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue.
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Non-GAAP financial measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), we consider certain non-GAAP financial measures, as described below.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and certain other non-recurring or non-cash items impacting net income (loss) that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing business performance. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses that it excludes.
We use constant currency revenue to evaluate our operating and financial results. We calculate constant currency revenue by translating our current period revenue using the corresponding prior period’s monthly exchange rates for currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We believe constant currency revenue provides useful information to investors because it excludes the effects of foreign currency volatility that are not indicative of our core operating results.
We present free cash flow because we believe it provides useful information to investors about the amount of cash generated from operations, after purchases of property and equipment, that can be used to strengthen our balance sheet or invest in our business among other things. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. Free cash flow is not intended to represent our residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures.
We present these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We present these non-GAAP financial measures to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management and because we believe that these measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry.
Adjusted EBITDA, constant currency revenue and free cash flow should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures rather than net income (loss), revenue and net cash provided by operations, the nearest GAAP equivalents. For example,
•Adjusted EBITDA excludes:
•certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future; and
•share-based compensation expense and related payroll tax expense, which have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring expenses and an important part of our compensation strategy.
•Constant currency revenue excludes the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which have an actual effect on our operating results; and
•Free cash flow does not reflect our future contractual commitments arising from purchases of property and equipment.
In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP, and may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies (if used at all), which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these limitations, you should consider these non-GAAP financial measures alongside other financial performance measures, and our other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP.
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Adjusted EBITDA
The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 416,855 | $ | 1,862,106 | $ | (35,610) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 25,151 | 21,266 | 21,509 | ||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | 880,463 | 765,795 | 647,860 | ||||||||||||
| Payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation(1) | 30,984 | 30,787 | 24,131 | ||||||||||||
| Interest (income) expense, net | (110,493) | (127,003) | (105,439) | ||||||||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (15,514) | 19,215 | (3,799) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes(2) | 29,035 | (1,574,501) | 19,170 | ||||||||||||
| Legal settlement(3) | — | 34,650 | — | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | — | — | 126,882 | ||||||||||||
| Non-cash charitable contributions | 13,495 | — | 12,890 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 1,269,976 | $ | 1,032,315 | $ | 707,594 |
(1)We began excluding payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2024 because these taxes are variable due to our stock price and other factors outside our control and therefore are not reflective of our ongoing business operations or the underlying trends in our business. Accordingly, although payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation is a cash expense that we will continue to incur in the future, we believe excluding this expense provides investors with a better understanding of the performance of our core business and serves as a tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to this presentation.
(2)Provision for (benefit from) income taxes includes $1,597.0 million related to the release of our valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state, excluding California, deferred tax assets during the fourth quarter of 2024. Refer to Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
(3)On November 1, 2024, we reached a settlement to resolve pending litigation relating to allegations concerning the early development of Pinterest. We recorded legal settlement expense of $34.7 million, net of insurance proceeds, for the year ended December 31, 2024, which we have excluded from Adjusted EBITDA because it is non-recurring and not reflective of our ongoing business operations or the underlying trends in our business.
Constant currency revenue
The following table presents revenue and period-over-period changes on an as reported and constant currency basis (in thousands, except percentages):
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | As Reported | Constant Currency(1) | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 4,221,767 | $ | 3,646,166 | 16% | 15% |
(1)On a constant currency basis, revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $4,205.3 million due to a $16.5 million favorable impact of changes in foreign exchange rates.
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Free cash flow
The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash flows provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Reconciliation of free cash flow | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 1,284,264 | $ | 964,594 | $ | 612,961 | ||||
| Less: | ||||||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | (32,375) | (24,606) | (8,063) | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 1,251,889 | $ | 939,988 | $ | 604,898 |
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Components of results of operations
Revenue. We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. Advertisers purchase ads directly with us or through their relationships with advertising agencies. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") basis or cost per day ("CPD") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis. We recognize revenue over the service period for ads contracted on a CPD basis, which do not contain minimum impression guarantees.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue consists primarily of expenses associated with the delivery of our service, including the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. Cost of revenue also includes personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for employees on our operations teams, payments associated with partner arrangements, credit card and other transaction processing fees, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Research and development. Research and development consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our engineers and other employees engaged in the research and development of our products, and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, marketing, and customer service functions, advertising and promotional expenditures, services provided by third-party resellers, professional services, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. Our marketing efforts also include user- and advertiser-focused marketing expenditures.
General and administrative. General and administrative consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in finance, legal, human resources and other administrative functions, professional services, including outside legal and accounting services, charitable contributions and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Interest and other income (expense), net. Interest and other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities and foreign currency exchange gains and losses.
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes. Provision for (benefit from) income taxes consists primarily of income taxes in foreign jurisdictions and U.S. federal and state income taxes.
Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and certain other non-recurring or non-cash items impacting net income (loss) that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing business performance. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Results of operations
The following tables set forth our consolidated statements of operations data (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 4,221,767 | $ | 3,646,166 | $ | 3,055,071 | |||||||||
| Costs and expenses(1): | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 841,521 | 750,355 | 688,760 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 1,427,447 | 1,240,564 | 1,068,416 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 1,166,705 | 1,011,772 | 911,166 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 466,211 | 463,658 | 512,407 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 3,901,884 | 3,466,349 | 3,180,749 | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 319,883 | 179,817 | (125,678) | ||||||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | 110,493 | 127,003 | 105,439 | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 15,514 | (19,215) | 3,799 | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 445,890 | 287,605 | (16,440) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 29,035 | (1,574,501) | 19,170 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 416,855 | $ | 1,862,106 | $ | (35,610) | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(2) | $ | 1,269,976 | $ | 1,032,315 | $ | 707,594 |
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 19,541 | $ | 14,836 | $ | 11,117 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 567,571 | 497,442 | 422,964 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 149,565 | 122,149 | 96,798 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 143,786 | 131,368 | 116,981 | |||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation | $ | 880,463 | $ | 765,795 | $ | 647,860 |
(2)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data (as a percentage of revenue):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 20 | 21 | 23 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 34 | 34 | 35 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 28 | 28 | 30 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 11 | 13 | 17 | |||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 92 | 95 | 104 | |||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 8 | 5 | (4) | |||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | — | (1) | — | |||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 11 | 8 | (1) | |||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 1 | (43) | 1 | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | 10 | % | 51 | % | (1 | %) |
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Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 4,221,767 | $ | 3,646,166 | 16% |
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $575.6 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to growth in demand from our conversion and awareness objectives. Revenue increased 16% on a reported and 15% on a constant currency basis compared to 2024. Revenue growth was primarily driven by a 4% increase in ARPU supported by an 11% increase in average MAUs for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The number of advertisements served increased by 49% while the price of advertisements decreased by 22% compared to the year ended December 31, 2024.
Revenue based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users increased by 10% in the U.S. and Canada to $3,173.1 million, Europe revenue increased by 31% to $775.0 million and Rest of World revenue increased by 62% to $273.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024.
Cost of revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 841,521 | $ | 750,355 | 12% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 20 | % | 21 | % |
Cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $91.2 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to increased users and engagement.
Research and development
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 1,427,447 | $ | 1,240,564 | 15% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 34 | % | 34 | % |
Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $186.9 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to an 18% increase in personnel expenses due to higher headcount, a $70.1 million increase in share-based compensation expense and a $10.8 million increase in allocated facilities costs.
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Sales and marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 1,166,705 | $ | 1,011,772 | 15% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 28 | % | 28 | % |
Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $154.9 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to a 19% increase in personnel expenses due to higher headcount, a $27.4 million increase in share-based compensation expense, a $23.9 million increase in outsourced services costs, a $12.6 million increase in marketing expenses and a $9.7 million increase in allocated facilities costs.
General and administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 466,211 | $ | 463,658 | 1% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 11 | % | 13 | % |
General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $2.6 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to a 10% increase in personnel expenses due to higher headcount, $13.5 million in non-cash charitable contributions and a $12.4 million increase in share-based compensation expense, offset by a $34.7 million legal settlement, net of insurance proceeds, in 2024 and a decrease in outsourced services costs.
Interest and other income (expense), net
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | $ | 110,493 | $ | 127,003 | (13%) | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 15,514 | (19,215) | 181% | |||||||||||||
| Interest and other income (expense), net | $ | 126,007 | $ | 107,788 | 17% |
Interest and other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $18.2 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to higher foreign currency exchange gains offset by lower returns on our cash equivalents and marketable securities as a result of lower interest rates.
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | $ | 29,035 | $ | (1,574,501) | NM |
NM = Not meaningful
The provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $29.0 million, as compared to a benefit from income taxes of $1,574.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The tax benefit during the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to the release of our valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state, excluding California, deferred tax assets.
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On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was enacted into law. The legislation includes provisions that allow for the immediate expensing of domestic U.S. research and development expenses and other changes to the U.S. taxation of profits derived from foreign operations. The provisions of the OBBBA have multiple effective dates from 2025 through 2027. The changes effective in 2025 are included in our provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2025 and were not material. We are currently evaluating the impact of the legislation on our consolidated financial statements for future periods.
Given our current and anticipated future earnings, we believe that there is a reasonable possibility that sufficient positive evidence may become available to allow us to determine that the valuation allowance recorded against our Ireland deferred tax assets could be released within the next twelve months. The reversal would result in the recognition of Ireland deferred tax assets and a corresponding income tax benefit in the period the release is recorded. However, the exact timing and amount of the valuation allowance release are subject to change based on our actual operating results.
Net income and adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 416,855 | $ | 1,862,106 | (78%) | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 1,269,976 | $ | 1,032,315 | 23% |
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $416.9 million, as compared to $1,862.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $1,270.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to $1,032.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, due to the factors described above. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
Liquidity and capital resources
We finance our operations primarily through payments received from our customers. Our primary uses of cash are personnel-related costs and the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. As of December 31, 2025, we had $2,467.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Our cash equivalents and marketable securities are primarily invested in short-duration fixed income securities, including government and investment-grade corporate debt securities and money market funds. As of December 31, 2025, $216.2 million of our cash and cash equivalents was held by our foreign subsidiaries.
In October 2022, we replaced the $500.0 million revolving credit facility entered into in November 2018 with an amended and restated five-year $400.0 million revolving credit facility (the “2022 revolving credit facility”) that contained an accordion option which, if exercised, would allow us to increase the aggregate commitments by up to $405.0 million provided we are able to secure additional lender commitments and satisfy certain other conditions.
In October 2023, we amended the 2022 revolving credit facility to increase our aggregate commitment to $500.0 million and reduce our accordion option from $405.0 million to $305.0 million. Interest on any borrowings under the 2022 revolving credit facility accrues at either an adjusted term SOFR plus 0.10% and a margin of 1.50% or at an alternative base rate plus a margin of 0.50%, at our election, and we are required to pay an annual commitment fee that accrues at 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the aggregate commitments under the 2022 revolving credit facility.
The 2022 revolving credit facility also allows us to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount we can borrow. We are required to pay a fee that accrues at 0.125% per annum on the average aggregate daily maximum amount available to be drawn under any outstanding letters of credit.
The 2022 revolving credit facility contains customary conditions to borrowing, events of default and covenants, including covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, make distributions to holders of our stock or the stock of our subsidiaries, make investments or engage in transactions with our affiliates. The 2022 revolving credit facility also contains a financial maintenance covenant: a maximum net leverage ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated EBITDA no greater than 3.50 to 1.00, subject to an increase up to 4.00 to 1.00 for a certain period following an acquisition. The
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obligations under the 2022 revolving credit facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our domestic assets, including certain domestic intellectual property assets.
Our total borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility is $500.0 million as of December 31, 2025. We have not issued any letters of credit and are in compliance with all covenants under the 2022 revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2025.
We believe our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and amounts available under the 2022 revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months, though we may require additional capital resources in the future. We may elect to raise additional capital through the sale of additional equity to fund our future needs beyond the next 12 months.
Our material cash requirements as of December 31, 2025 include our $312.3 million commitment with Amazon Web Services, for which we are not subject to annual purchase commitments, and our $323.5 million of operating lease obligations, of which $50.0 million is due within the next 12 months. In December 2025, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire tvScientific, for $450.0 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, which is also due within the next 12 months.
In November 2024, our board of directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $2.0 billion of our Class A common stock. Under the stock repurchase program, we are authorized to repurchase, from time-to-time, shares of our Class A common stock through open market purchases, in privately negotiated transactions or in such other manner as permitted by securities law and as determined by management at such time and in such amounts as management may decide. The program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases are determined by management in its discretion and depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we repurchased and retired 30,108,015 shares of our Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $927.0 million at an average price per share of $30.79, including $3.3 million excise tax resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As of December 31, 2025, $972.8 million remained available for repurchases under the stock repurchase program.
For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, our net cash flows and free cash flow were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | ||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 1,284,264 | $ | 964,594 | ||
| Investing activities | $ | (134,482) | $ | (221,017) | ||
| Financing activities | $ | (1,317,942) | $ | (968,319) | ||
| Free cash flow(1) | $ | 1,251,889 | $ | 939,988 |
(1)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow.
Operating activities
Cash flows from operating activities consist of our net income (loss) adjusted for certain non-cash reconciling items, such as share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, net amortization of investment premium and discount, non-cash charitable contributions and changes in our operating assets and liabilities. Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $319.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to an increase in our net income as adjusted for certain non-cash items.
Investing activities
Cash flows from investing activities consist of capital expenditures for improvements to new and existing office spaces. We also actively manage our operating cash and cash equivalent balances and invest excess cash in short-duration marketable securities, the sales and maturities of which we use to fund our ongoing cash requirements. Net cash used in
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investing activities decreased by $86.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to an increase in maturities of marketable securities offset by an increase in purchases of marketable securities.
Financing activities
Cash flows from financing activities consist of tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs, repurchases of our Class A common stock and proceeds from the exercise of stock options. Net cash used in financing activities increased by $349.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to an increase in cash paid for repurchases of our Class A common stock.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow increased $311.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 and consists of net cash provided by operating activities and purchases of property and equipment. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net cash flows provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Preparing our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses as well as related disclosures. Because these estimates and judgments may change from period to period, actual results could differ materially, which may negatively affect our financial condition or results of operations. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other assumptions that we consider reasonable, and we evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We refer to such estimates and judgments, discussed further below, as critical accounting policies and estimates.
Refer to Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our other significant accounting policies.
Revenue recognition
We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a CPC basis, views an ad contracted on CPM or CPD basis or views a video ad contracted on CPV basis. We recognize revenue over the service period for ads contracted on a CPD basis, which do not contain minimum impression guarantees. We typically bill customers on a CPC, CPM, CPV, or CPD basis, and our payment terms vary by customer type and location. The term between billing and payment due dates is not significant.
We recognize revenue only after satisfying our contractual performance obligations.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using the enacted statutory tax rates in effect for the years in which we expect the differences to reverse. We establish valuation allowances to reduce the total deferred tax assets to the amount we believe is more likely than not to be realized. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, including past operating results and estimates of future taxable income. In the event that we change our determination as to the amount of deferred tax assets that can be realized, we will adjust our valuation allowance with a corresponding impact to the provision for (benefit from) income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
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We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions when we believe it is more likely than not that the tax position is sustainable on examination by tax authorities based on its technical merits. We recognize taxes on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income as incurred.
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MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001506293-25-000022.
Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 is included under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Overview of 2024 results
Our key financial and operating results as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024 are as follows:
•Revenue was $3,646.2 million, an increase of 19% on a reported and constant currency basis compared to 2023.
•Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 553 million, an increase of 11% compared to December 31, 2023.
•Share-based compensation expense was $765.8 million, an increase of $117.9 million compared to 2023.
•Income from operations was $179.8 million, an increase of $305.5 million compared to 2023.
•Net income was $1,862.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $1,032.3 million.
•Net cash provided by operating activities was $964.6 million and free cash flow was $940.0 million.
•Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $2,512.9 million.
•Headcount was 4,666.
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Trends in user metrics
Monthly Active Users. We define an MAU as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. The number of MAUs does not include Shuffles users unless they would otherwise qualify as MAUs. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. MAUs are the primary metric by which we measure the scale of our active user base.
Quarterly monthly active users
(in millions)
Note: U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global due to rounding. Europe includes Russia and Turkey for our reporting of Revenue, MAUs and ARPU by geographic region.
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A portion of our MAUs visit Pinterest on a weekly basis. We define a weekly active user (“WAU”) as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the seven-day period ending on the date of measurement. As of December 31, 2024, the proportion of WAUs to MAUs, which has stayed relatively consistent over time, was 62%.
As of December 31, 2024, global MAUs increased compared to December 31, 2023, primarily due to our ongoing investments in relevance and personalization.
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Trends in monetization metrics
Revenue. We calculate revenue by user geography based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. The geography of our users affects our revenue and financial results because we currently only monetize certain countries and currencies and because we monetize different geographies at different average rates. Our revenue in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly revenue
(in millions)
Note: Revenue by geography in the charts above is geographically apportioned based on our estimate of users' geographic location when they perform a revenue-generating activity. This allocation differs from our disclosure of revenue disaggregated by geography in the notes to our consolidated financial statements where revenue is geographically apportioned based on our customers’ billing addresses. U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global and quarterly amounts may not sum to annual due to rounding.
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Average Revenue per User. We measure monetization of our platform through our ARPU metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by average MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue‑ generating activities occur. We present ARPU on a U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World basis because we currently monetize users in different geographies at different average rates. Our ARPU in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly average revenue per user
For the year ended December 31, 2024, global ARPU was $6.94, which represents an increase of 8% compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2024, U.S. and Canada ARPU was $29.15, an increase of 14%, Europe ARPU was $4.24, an increase of 14%, and Rest of World ARPU was $0.59, an increase of 18% compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
We use MAUs and ARPU to assess the growth and health of the overall business and believe that these metrics best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue.
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Non-GAAP financial measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), we consider certain non-GAAP financial measures, as described below.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and certain other non-recurring or non-cash items impacting net income (loss) that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing business performance. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses that it excludes.
We use constant currency revenue to evaluate our operating and financial results. We calculate constant currency revenue by translating our current period revenue using the corresponding prior period’s monthly exchange rates for currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We believe constant currency revenue provides useful information to investors because it excludes the effects of foreign currency volatility that are not indicative of our core operating results.
We present free cash flow because we believe it provides useful information to investors about the amount of cash generated from operations, after purchases of property and equipment, that can be used to strengthen our balance sheet or invest in our business among other things. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. Free cash flow is not intended to represent our residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures.
We present these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We present these non-GAAP financial measures to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management and because we believe that these measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry.
Adjusted EBITDA, constant currency revenue and free cash flow should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures rather than net income (loss), revenue and net cash provided by operations, the nearest GAAP equivalents. For example,
•Adjusted EBITDA excludes:
•certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future; and
•share-based compensation expense and related payroll tax expense, which have been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring expenses and an important part of our compensation strategy.
•Constant currency revenue excludes the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which have an actual effect on our operating results; and
•Free cash flow does not reflect our future contractual commitments arising from purchases of property and equipment.
In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP, and may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies (if used at all), which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these limitations, you should consider these non-GAAP financial measures alongside other financial performance measures, and our other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP.
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Adjusted EBITDA
The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 1,862,106 | $ | (35,610) | $ | (96,047) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 21,266 | 21,509 | 46,489 | ||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | 765,795 | 647,860 | 497,123 | ||||||||||||
| Payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation(1) | 30,787 | 24,131 | 19,488 | ||||||||||||
| Interest (income) expense, net | (127,003) | (105,439) | (30,235) | ||||||||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | 19,215 | (3,799) | 14,502 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes (2) | (1,574,501) | 19,170 | 10,103 | ||||||||||||
| Legal settlement(3) | 34,650 | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | — | 126,882 | — | ||||||||||||
| Non-cash charitable contributions | — | 12,890 | — | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 1,032,315 | $ | 707,594 | $ | 461,423 |
(1)Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024, we are excluding payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA because these taxes are variable due to our stock price and other factors outside our control and therefore are not reflective of our ongoing business operations or the underlying trends in our business. Accordingly, although payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation is a cash expense that we will continue to incur in the future, we believe excluding this expense provides investors with a better understanding of the performance of our core business and serves as a tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to this presentation.
(2)Provision for (benefit from) income taxes includes $1,597.0 million related to the release of our valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state, excluding California, deferred tax assets during the fourth quarter of 2024. Refer to Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
(3)On November 1, 2024, we reached a settlement to resolve pending litigation relating to allegations concerning the early development of Pinterest. We recorded legal settlement expense of $34.7 million, net of insurance proceeds, for the year ended December 31, 2024, which we have excluded from Adjusted EBITDA because it is non-recurring and not reflective of our ongoing business operations or the underlying trends in our business.
Constant currency revenue
The following table presents revenue and period-over-period changes on an as reported and constant currency basis (in thousands, except percentages):
| Year Ended December 31, | % Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | As Reported | Constant Currency(1) | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,646,166 | $ | 3,055,071 | 19% | 19% |
(1)On a constant currency basis, revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $3,649.0 million due to a $2.8 million unfavorable impact of changes in foreign exchange rates.
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Free cash flow
The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash flows provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| Reconciliation of free cash flow | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 964,594 | $ | 612,961 | $ | 469,202 | ||||
| Less: | ||||||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | (24,606) | (8,063) | (28,984) | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 939,988 | $ | 604,898 | $ | 440,218 |
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Components of results of operations
Revenue. We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. Advertisers purchase ads directly with us or through their relationships with advertising agencies. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") basis or cost per day ("CPD") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis. We recognize revenue over the service period for ads contracted on a CPD basis, which do not contain minimum impression guarantees.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue consists primarily of expenses associated with the delivery of our service, including the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. Cost of revenue also includes personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for employees on our operations teams, payments associated with partner arrangements, credit card and other transaction processing fees, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Research and development. Research and development consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our engineers and other employees engaged in the research and development of our products, and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, marketing, and customer service functions, advertising and promotional expenditures, professional services, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. Our marketing efforts also include user- and advertiser-focused marketing expenditures.
General and administrative. General and administrative consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in finance, legal, human resources and other administrative functions, professional services, including outside legal and accounting services, charitable contributions and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Interest and other income (expense), net. Interest and other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities and foreign currency exchange gains and losses.
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes. Provision for (benefit from) income taxes consists primarily of income taxes in foreign jurisdictions and U.S. federal and state income taxes.
Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for (benefit from) income taxes and certain other non-recurring or non-cash items impacting net income (loss) that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing business performance. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Results of operations
The following tables set forth our consolidated statements of operations data (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,646,166 | $ | 3,055,071 | $ | 2,802,574 | |||||||||
| Costs and expenses (1): | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 750,355 | 688,760 | 678,597 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 1,240,564 | 1,068,416 | 948,980 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 1,011,772 | 911,166 | 933,133 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 463,658 | 512,407 | 343,541 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 3,466,349 | 3,180,749 | 2,904,251 | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 179,817 | (125,678) | (101,677) | ||||||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | 127,003 | 105,439 | 30,235 | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | (19,215) | 3,799 | (14,502) | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 287,605 | (16,440) | (85,944) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | (1,574,501) | 19,170 | 10,103 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 1,862,106 | $ | (35,610) | $ | (96,047) | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (2) | $ | 1,032,315 | $ | 707,594 | $ | 461,423 |
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 14,836 | $ | 11,117 | $ | 7,629 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 497,442 | 422,964 | 324,161 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 122,149 | 96,798 | 99,467 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 131,368 | 116,981 | 65,866 | |||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation | $ | 765,795 | $ | 647,860 | $ | 497,123 |
(2)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data (as a percentage of revenue):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 21 | 23 | 24 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 34 | 35 | 34 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 28 | 30 | 33 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 13 | 17 | 12 | |||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 95 | 104 | 104 | |||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 5 | (4) | (4) | |||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | 3 | 3 | 1 | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | (1) | — | (1) | |||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 8 | (1) | (3) | |||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | (43) | 1 | — | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | 51 | % | (1 | %) | (3 | %) |
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Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,646,166 | $ | 3,055,071 | 19% |
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $591.1 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to growth in demand from our consideration and conversion objectives. Revenue on a constant currency basis increased by 19% compared to 2023. Revenue growth was primarily driven by an 8% increase in ARPU supported by an 11% increase in average MAUs for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The number of advertisements served increased by 39% while the price of advertisements decreased by 14% compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
For the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, revenue based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users increased by 18% in the U.S. and Canada to $2,884.0 million, Europe revenue increased by 23% to $593.2 million and Rest of World revenue increased by 36% to $168.9 million.
Cost of revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 750,355 | $ | 688,760 | 9% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 21 | % | 23 | % |
Cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $61.6 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to increased users and engagement offset by infrastructure efficiency initiatives.
Research and development
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 1,240,564 | $ | 1,068,416 | 16% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 34 | % | 35 | % |
Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $172.1 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to a 19% increase in personnel expenses due to higher headcount and a $74.5 million increase in share-based compensation expense.
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Sales and marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 1,011,772 | $ | 911,166 | 11% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 28 | % | 30 | % |
Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $100.6 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to an 8% increase in personnel expenses due to higher headcount, a $28.4 million increase in marketing expenses, a $25.4 million increase in share-based compensation expense and a $16.8 million increase in outsourced services costs.
General and Administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 463,658 | $ | 512,407 | (10%) | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 13 | % | 17 | % |
General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $48.7 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to $119.4 million of restructuring charges in 2023, offset by a $34.7 million legal settlement, net of insurance proceeds, a $14.9 million increase in non income-based taxes and a $14.4 million increase in share-based compensation.
Other income (expense), net
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | $ | 127,003 | $ | 105,439 | 20% | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | (19,215) | 3,799 | 606% | |||||||||||||
| Interest and other income (expense), net | $ | 107,788 | $ | 109,238 | (1%) |
Interest and other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $1.5 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to higher foreign currency exchange losses offset by returns on our cash equivalents and marketable securities as a result of higher interest rates and higher invested balances.
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | $ | (1,574,501) | $ | 19,170 | NM |
NM = Not meaningful
The benefit from income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,574.5 million, as compared to a provision for income taxes of $19.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in tax benefit during the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to the release of our valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state, excluding California, deferred tax assets. Refer to Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements for further information.
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Net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 1,862,106 | $ | (35,610) | NM | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 1,032,315 | $ | 707,594 | 46% |
NM = Not meaningful
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,862.1 million, compared to a net loss of $35.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was $1,032.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $707.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, due to the factors described above. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
Liquidity and capital resources
We finance our operations primarily through payments received from our customers. Our primary uses of cash are personnel-related costs and the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. As of December 31, 2024, we had $2,512.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Our cash equivalents and marketable securities are primarily invested in short-duration fixed income securities, including government and investment-grade corporate debt securities and money market funds. As of December 31, 2024, $156.6 million of our cash and cash equivalents was held by our foreign subsidiaries.
In October 2022, we replaced the $500.0 million revolving credit facility entered into in November 2018 with an amended and restated five-year $400.0 million revolving credit facility (the “2022 revolving credit facility”) that contained an accordion option which, if exercised, would allow us to increase the aggregate commitments by up to $405.0 million provided we are able to secure additional lender commitments and satisfy certain other conditions.
In October 2023, we amended the 2022 revolving credit facility to increase our aggregate commitment to $500.0 million and reduce our accordion option from $405.0 million to $305.0 million. Interest on any borrowings under the 2022 revolving credit facility accrues at either an adjusted term SOFR plus 0.10% and a margin of 1.50% or at an alternative base rate plus a margin of 0.50%, at our election, and we are required to pay an annual commitment fee that accrues at 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the aggregate commitments under the 2022 revolving credit facility.
The 2022 revolving credit facility also allows us to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount we can borrow. We are required to pay a fee that accrues at 0.125% per annum on the average aggregate daily maximum amount available to be drawn under any outstanding letters of credit.
The 2022 revolving credit facility contains customary conditions to borrowing, events of default and covenants, including covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, make distributions to holders of our stock or the stock of our subsidiaries, make investments or engage in transactions with our affiliates. The 2022 revolving credit facility also contains a financial maintenance covenant: a maximum net leverage ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated EBITDA no greater than 3.50 to 1.00, subject to an increase up to 4.00 to 1.00 for a certain period following an acquisition. The obligations under the 2022 revolving credit facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our domestic assets, including certain domestic intellectual property assets.
Our total borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility is $500.0 million as of December 31, 2024. We have not issued any letters of credit and are in compliance with all covenants under the 2022 revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2024.
We believe our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and amounts available under the 2022 revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months, though we may require additional capital resources in the future. We may elect to raise additional capital through the sale of additional equity to fund our future needs beyond the next 12 months.
Our material cash requirements include our $1,110.2 million commitment with Amazon Web Services, for which we are not subject to annual purchase commitments, and our $225.8 million of operating lease obligations, of which $41.3 million is due within the next 12 months.
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On February 2, 2023, our board of directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $500.0 million of our Class A common stock, which we completed in the second quarter of 2023. Under the program, we repurchased and retired 21,215,663 shares of our Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $500.0 million at an average price per share of $23.57.
On September 16, 2023, our board of directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $1.0 billion of our Class A common stock (the "September 2023 program"). In November 2024, our board of directors authorized a new stock repurchase program of up to $2.0 billion of our Class A common stock (the "November 2024 program") and canceled the September 2023 program under which $500.0 million had remained available for repurchase. Under the November 2024 program, we are authorized to repurchase, from time-to-time, shares of our Class A common stock through open market purchases, in privately negotiated transactions or in such other manner as permitted by securities law and as determined by management at such time and in such amounts as management may decide. The November 2024 program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases are determined by management in its discretion and depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we repurchased and retired 19,125,363 shares of our Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $600.2 million at an average price per share of $31.38 under the September 2023 and November 2024 programs. As of December 31, 2024, $1,899.8 million remained available for repurchases under the November 2024 program.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, our net cash flows and free cash flow were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | ||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 964,594 | $ | 612,961 | ||
| Investing activities | $ | (221,017) | $ | (36,993) | ||
| Financing activities | $ | (968,319) | $ | (826,763) | ||
| Free cash flow | $ | 939,988 | $ | 604,898 |
Operating activities
Cash flows from operating activities consist of our net income (loss) adjusted for certain non-cash reconciling items, such as share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, non-cash charitable contributions, net amortization of investment premium and discount, non-cash restructuring charges and changes in our operating assets and liabilities. Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $351.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to an increase in our net income as adjusted for certain non-cash items, including the release of our valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state, excluding California, deferred tax assets; and an increase in our accrued expenses and other liabilities due to timing of payments to vendors; offset by an increase in accounts receivable.
Investing activities
Cash flows from investing activities consist of capital expenditures for improvements to new and existing office spaces. We also actively manage our operating cash and cash equivalent balances and invest excess cash in short-duration marketable securities, the sales and maturities of which we use to fund our ongoing cash requirements. Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $184.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to an increase in net purchases of marketable securities.
Financing activities
Cash flows from financing activities consist of tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs, repurchases of our Class A common stock and proceeds from the exercise of stock options. Net cash used in financing activities increased by $141.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to an
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increase in cash paid for repurchases of our Class A common stock and an increase in tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs due to an increase in our stock price.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow increased $335.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 and consists of net cash provided by operating activities and purchases of property and equipment. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information and for a reconciliation of net cash flows provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Preparing our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses as well as related disclosures. Because these estimates and judgments may change from period to period, actual results could differ materially, which may negatively affect our financial condition or results of operations. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other assumptions that we consider reasonable, and we evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We refer to such estimates and judgments, discussed further below, as critical accounting policies and estimates.
Refer to Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our other significant accounting policies.
Revenue recognition
We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") or cost per day ("CPD") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis. We recognize revenue over the service period for ads contracted on a CPD basis, which do not contain minimum impression guarantees. We typically bill customers on a CPC, CPM, CPV, or CPD basis, and our payment terms vary by customer type and location. The term between billing and payment due dates is not significant.
We recognize revenue only after satisfying our contractual performance obligations.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using the enacted statutory tax rates in effect for the years in which we expect the differences to reverse. We establish valuation allowances to reduce the total deferred tax assets to the amount we believe is more likely than not to be realized. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, including past operating results and estimates of future taxable income. In the event that we change our determination as to the amount of deferred tax assets that can be realized, we will adjust our valuation allowance with a corresponding impact to the provision for (benefit from) income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions when we believe it is more likely than not that the tax position is sustainable on examination by tax authorities based on its technical merits. We recognize taxes on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income as incurred.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001506293-24-000018.
Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 is included under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Overview of 2023 results
Our key financial and operating results as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 are as follows:
•Revenue was $3,055.1 million, an increase of 9% compared to 2022.
•Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 498 million, an increase of 11% compared to December 31, 2022.
•Share-based compensation expense was $647.9 million, an increase of $150.7 million compared to 2022.
•Total costs and expenses were $3,180.7 million, including $126.9 million of restructuring charges .
•Loss from operations was $125.7 million.
•Net loss was $35.6 million.
•Adjusted EBITDA was $683.5 million.
•Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $2,511.1 million.
•Headcount was 4,014.
Macroeconomic conditions, such as inflation, supply chain issues, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, competition from other platforms and other risks and uncertainties have impacted, and all or some of these factors may continue to impact, advertiser demand, user growth, user engagement, and our business, operations and financial results. See "Risk Factors" and "Note About Forward-Looking Statements” for additional details.
Restructuring
In March 2023, we initiated a restructuring plan (the "Plan") intended to support our corporate strategy, improve efficiency and position our business in light of the ongoing macroeconomic environment. This included a workforce reduction of approximately 4% and a plan to sublease or abandon certain leased office spaces. The Plan was completed in the third quarter of 2023.
Refer to Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our restructuring charges.
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Trends in user metrics
Monthly Active Users. We define a MAU as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. The number of MAUs does not include Shuffles users unless they would otherwise qualify as MAUs. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. MAUs are the primary metric by which we measure the scale of our active user base.
Quarterly monthly active users
(in millions)
Note: U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global due to rounding. Europe includes Russia and Turkey for our reporting of Revenue, MAUs and ARPU by geographic region.
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A portion of our MAUs visit Pinterest on a weekly basis. We define a weekly active user (“WAU”) as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the seven-day period ending on the date of measurement. As of December 31, 2023, the proportion of WAUs to MAUs, which has stayed relatively consistent over time, was 61%.
As of December 31, 2023, global MAUs increased compared to December 31, 2022 primarily due to our investments in relevance and personalization beginning in the second quarter of 2022.
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Trends in monetization metrics
Revenue. We calculate revenue by user geography based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. The geography of our users affects our revenue and financial results because we currently only monetize certain countries and currencies and because we monetize different geographies at different average rates. Our revenue in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly revenue
(in millions)
Note: Revenue by geography in the charts above is geographically apportioned based on our estimate of users' geographic location when they perform a revenue-generating activity. This allocation differs from our disclosure of revenue disaggregated by geography in the notes to our consolidated financial statements where revenue is geographically apportioned based on our customers’ billing addresses. U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global and quarterly amounts may not sum to annual due to rounding.
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Average Revenue per User (“ARPU”). We measure monetization of our platform through our ARPU metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by average MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue‑ generating activities occur. We present ARPU on a U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World basis because we currently monetize users in different geographies at different average rates. Our ARPU in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly average revenue per user
For the year ended December 31, 2023, global ARPU was $6.44, which represents an increase of 1% compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2023, U.S. and Canada ARPU was $25.52, an increase of 5%, Europe ARPU was $3.73, an increase of 15%, and Rest of World ARPU was $0.50, an increase of 17% compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.
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We use MAUs and ARPU to assess the growth and health of the overall business and believe that these metrics best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue.
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Non-GAAP financial measure
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, we consider Adjusted EBITDA, a financial measure which is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, restructuring charges and non-cash charitable contributions.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses that it excludes. We also believe Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allows for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We are presenting Adjusted EBITDA to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management and because we believe that this measure provides an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry. However, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of Adjusted EBITDA rather than net income (loss), the nearest GAAP equivalent. For example, Adjusted EBITDA excludes:
•certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future; and
•share-based compensation expense, which has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense and an important part of our compensation strategy.
Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net income (loss) and our other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (35,610) | $ | (96,047) | $ | 316,438 | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 21,509 | 46,489 | 27,500 | ||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | 647,860 | 497,123 | 415,382 | ||||||||||||
| Interest (income) expense, net | (105,439) | (30,235) | (3,075) | ||||||||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (3,799) | 14,502 | 8,291 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 19,170 | 10,103 | 4,533 | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 126,882 | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Non-cash charitable contributions | 12,890 | — | 45,300 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 683,463 | $ | 441,935 | $ | 814,369 |
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Components of results of operations
Revenue. We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. Advertisers purchase ads directly with us or through their relationships with advertising agencies. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") basis or cost per day ("CPD") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis. We recognize revenue over the service period for ads contracted on a CPD basis, which do not contain minimum impression guarantees.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue consists primarily of expenses associated with the delivery of our service, including the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. Cost of revenue also includes personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for employees on our operations teams, payments associated with partner arrangements, credit card and other transaction processing fees, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Research and development. Research and development consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our engineers and other employees engaged in the research and development of our products, and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, marketing, and customer service functions, advertising and promotional expenditures, professional services, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. Our marketing efforts also include user- and advertiser-focused marketing expenditures.
General and administrative. General and administrative consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in finance, legal, human resources and other administrative functions, professional services, including outside legal and accounting services, charitable contributions and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Interest and other income (expense), net. Interest and other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities and foreign currency exchange gains and losses.
Provision for income taxes. Provision for income taxes consists primarily of income taxes in foreign jurisdictions and U.S. federal and state income taxes.
Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income (expense), net, other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, restructuring charges and non-cash charitable contributions. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Results of operations
The following tables set forth our consolidated statements of operations data (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,055,071 | $ | 2,802,574 | $ | 2,578,027 | |||||||||
| Costs and expenses (1): | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 688,760 | 678,597 | 529,320 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 1,068,416 | 948,980 | 780,264 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 911,166 | 933,133 | 641,279 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 512,407 | 343,541 | 300,977 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 3,180,749 | 2,904,251 | 2,251,840 | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | (125,678) | (101,677) | 326,187 | ||||||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | 105,439 | 30,235 | 3,075 | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 3,799 | (14,502) | (8,291) | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | (16,440) | (85,944) | 320,971 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 19,170 | 10,103 | 4,533 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (35,610) | $ | (96,047) | $ | 316,438 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (2) | $ | 683,463 | $ | 441,935 | $ | 814,369 |
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 11,117 | $ | 7,629 | $ | 7,438 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 422,964 | 324,161 | 309,715 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 96,798 | 99,467 | 52,691 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 116,981 | 65,866 | 45,538 | |||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation | $ | 647,860 | $ | 497,123 | $ | 415,382 |
(2)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data (as a percentage of revenue):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 23 | 24 | 21 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 35 | 34 | 30 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 30 | 33 | 25 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 17 | 12 | 12 | |||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 104 | 104 | 87 | |||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | (4) | (4) | 13 | |||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | 3 | 1 | — | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | — | (1) | — | |||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | (1) | (3) | 12 | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 1 | — | — | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | (1 | %) | (3 | %) | 12 | % |
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Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 3,055,071 | $ | 2,802,574 | 9% |
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $252.5 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to growth in demand from our awareness and conversion objectives. Revenue growth was driven by an 8% increase in average MAUs and a 1% increase in ARPU for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The number of advertisements served increased by 31% while the price of advertisements decreased by 17% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.
For the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, revenue based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users increased by 6% in the U.S. and Canada to $2,447.3 million, Europe revenue increased by 21% to $483.4 million and Rest of World revenue increased by 31% to $124.4 million.
Cost of revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 688,760 | $ | 678,597 | 1% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 23 | % | 24 | % |
Cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $10.2 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to higher absolute hosting costs due to higher compute utilization offset by infrastructure efficiency initiatives.
Research and development
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 1,068,416 | $ | 948,980 | 13% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 35 | % | 34 | % |
Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $119.4 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to a $98.8 million increase in share-based compensation expense and a 13% increase in personnel expenses, partially offset by a $17.1 million decrease in allocated facilities costs and lower outsourced services costs.
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Sales and marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 911,166 | $ | 933,133 | (2%) | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 30 | % | 33 | % |
Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $22.0 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to a $21.4 million decrease in marketing expenses, a $15.0 million decrease in amortization of acquired intangible assets, and an $11.1 million decrease due to severance and related payments resulting from the departure of certain key employee of The Yes Platform, Inc. (“The Yes”) in 2022, offset by a $17.0 million increase in outsourced services costs and a 1% increase in personnel expenses.
General and administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 512,407 | $ | 343,541 | 49% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 17 | % | 12 | % |
General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $168.9 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to $119.4 million of restructuring charges, a $51.1 million increase in share-based compensation expense, $12.9 million in non-cash charitable contributions and a 8% increase in personnel expenses, offset by lower allocated facilities costs.
Other income (expense), net
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income (expense), net | $ | 105,439 | $ | 30,235 | 249% | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 3,799 | (14,502) | 126% | |||||||||||||
| Interest and other income (expense), net | $ | 109,238 | $ | 15,733 | 594% |
Interest and other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $93.5 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to higher returns on our marketable securities as a result of higher interest rates and foreign currency exchange gains.
Provision for income taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 19,170 | $ | 10,103 | 90% |
Provision for income taxes was primarily due to income generated in U.S. federal, state and certain foreign jurisdictions, and includes the effects of the capitalization and amortization of research and development expenses as required by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for each of the periods presented.
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Net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (35,610) | $ | (96,047) | 63% | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 683,463 | $ | 441,935 | 55% |
Net income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $(35.6) million, as compared to $(96.0) million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Adjusted EBITDA was $683.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $441.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, due to the factors described above. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
Liquidity and capital resources
We finance our operations primarily through payments received from our customers. Our primary uses of cash are personnel-related costs and the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. As of December 31, 2023, we had $2,511.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Our cash equivalents and marketable securities are primarily invested in short-duration fixed income securities, including government and investment-grade corporate debt securities and money market funds. As of December 31, 2023, $130.1 million of our cash and cash equivalents was held by our foreign subsidiaries.
In October 2022, we replaced the $500.0 million revolving credit facility entered into in November 2018 with an amended and restated five-year $400.0 million revolving credit facility (the “2022 revolving credit facility”) that contained an accordion option which, if exercised, would allow us to increase the aggregate commitments by up to $405.0 million provided we are able to secure additional lender commitments and satisfy certain other conditions.
In October 2023, we amended the 2022 revolving credit facility to increase our aggregate commitment to $500.0 million and reduce our accordion option from $405.0 million to $305.0 million. Interest on any borrowings under the 2022 revolving credit facility accrues at either an adjusted term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") plus 0.10% and a margin of 1.50% or at an alternative base rate plus a margin of 0.50%, at our election, and we are required to pay an annual commitment fee that accrues at 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the aggregate commitments under the 2022 revolving credit facility.
The 2022 revolving credit facility also allows us to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount we can borrow. We are required to pay a fee that accrues at 0.125% per annum on the average aggregate daily maximum amount available to be drawn under any outstanding letters of credit.
The 2022 revolving credit facility contains customary conditions to borrowing, events of default and covenants, including covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, make distributions to holders of our stock or the stock of our subsidiaries, make investments or engage in transactions with our affiliates. The 2022 revolving credit facility also contains a financial maintenance covenant: a maximum net leverage ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated EBITDA no greater than 3.50 to 1.00, subject to an increase up to 4.00 to 1.00 for a certain period following an acquisition. The obligations under the 2022 revolving credit facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our domestic assets, including certain domestic intellectual property assets.
Our total borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility is $500.0 million as of December 31, 2023. We have not issued any letters of credit and are in compliance with all covenants under the 2022 revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2023.
We believe our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and amounts available under the 2022 revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months, though we may require additional capital resources in the future. We may elect to raise additional capital through the sale of additional equity to fund our future needs beyond the next 12 months.
Our material cash requirements include our $1,754.6 million commitment with Amazon Web Services, for which we are not subject to annual purchase commitments, and our $241.0 million of operating lease obligations, of which $42.9 million is due within the next 12 months.
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On September 16, 2023, our board of directors authorized a new stock repurchase program of up to $1.0 billion of our Class A common stock. Under the stock repurchase program, we are authorized to repurchase, from time-to-time, shares of our Class A common stock through open market purchases, in privately negotiated transactions or in such other manner as permitted by securities law and as determined by management at such time and in such amounts as management may decide. The program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases are determined by management in its discretion and depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions. As of December 31, 2023, $1.0 billion remains available for repurchases under the stock repurchase program.
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our net cash flows were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | ||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 612,961 | $ | 469,202 | ||
| Investing activities | $ | (36,993) | $ | (128,245) | ||
| Financing activities | $ | (826,763) | $ | (148,927) |
Operating activities
Cash flows from operating activities consist of our net income (loss) adjusted for certain non-cash reconciling items, such as share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, non-cash charitable contributions and changes in our operating assets and liabilities. Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $143.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to decrease in our net income (loss) after adjusting reconciling items offset by an increase in collections of accounts receivable.
Investing activities
Cash flows from investing activities consist of capital expenditures for improvements to new and existing office spaces and acquisitions of businesses. We also actively manage our operating cash and cash equivalent balances and invest excess cash in short-duration marketable securities, the sales and maturities of which we use to fund our ongoing working capital requirements. Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $91.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 due to the acquisition of The Yes in the second quarter of 2022, and a decrease in purchases of property and equipment and intangible assets, offset by an increase in net purchases of marketable securities.
Financing activities
Cash flows from financing activities consist of tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs, repurchases of our Class A common stock and proceeds from the exercise of stock options. Net cash used in financing activities increased by $677.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to the $500.0 million repurchase of Class A common stock during the year ended December 31, 2023, as well as our transition to net settling the tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs in the second quarter of 2022.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Preparing our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses as well as related disclosures. Because these estimates and judgments may change from period to period, actual results could differ materially, which may negatively affect our financial condition or results of operations. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other assumptions that we consider reasonable, and we evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We refer to such estimates and judgments, discussed further below, as critical accounting policies and estimates.
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Refer to Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our other significant accounting policies.
Revenue recognition
We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") or cost per day ("CPD") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis. We recognize revenue over the service period for ads contracted on a CPD basis, which do not contain minimum impression guarantees. We typically bill customers on a CPC, CPM, CPV, or CPD basis, and our payment terms vary by customer type and location. The term between billing and payment due dates is not significant.
We recognize revenue only after satisfying our contractual performance obligations. We occasionally offer customers free ad inventory. When contracts with our customers contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the overall transaction price, which is the amount of consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for promised goods or services, to each of the distinct performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices. We generally determine standalone selling prices based on the effective price charged per contracted click, impression or view, and we do not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations because the original expected duration of our contracts is generally less than one year.
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FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001506293-23-000023.
Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 is included under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Overview of 2022 results
Our key financial and operating results as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 are as follows:
•Revenue was $2,802.6 million, an increase of 9% compared to 2021.
•Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 450 million, an increase of 4% compared to December 31, 2021.
•Share-based compensation expense was $497.1 million, an increase of $81.7 million compared to 2021.
•Total costs and expenses were $2,904.3 million.
•Loss from operations was $101.7 million.
•Net loss was $96.0 million.
•Adjusted EBITDA was $441.9 million.
•Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $2,698.2 million.
•Headcount was 3,987.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2022, we updated the presentation of our key metrics by presenting U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World separately. We believe our revised presentation provides additional details on the relative maturity of these regions we previously included within International. Specifically, we wanted to provide additional disclosure on Europe given the relative maturity of the region. As a result, we presented Canada with the U.S. given the relative maturity of our business in Canada and the similarity of the U.S. and Canada advertising markets. For comparability, we provided revenue, MAUs and ARPU data from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021 on the same basis.
Macroeconomic conditions, such as inflation, supply chain issues, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, competition from other platforms and other risks and uncertainties have impacted, and all or some of these factors may continue to impact, advertiser demand, user growth, user engagement, and our business, operations and financial results. See "Risk Factors" and "Note About Forward-Looking Statements” for additional details.
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Trends in user metrics
Monthly Active Users. We define a monthly active user as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. The number of MAUs does not include Shuffles users unless they would otherwise qualify as MAUs. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. MAUs are the primary metric by which we measure the scale of our active user base.
Quarterly monthly active users
(in millions)
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Note: U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global due to rounding. Europe includes Russia and Turkey for our reporting of Revenue, MAUs and ARPU by geographic region.
A portion of our MAUs visit Pinterest on a weekly basis. We define a weekly active user (“WAU”) as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the seven-day period ending on the date of measurement. We actively monitor the relationship of WAUs to MAUs, which has stayed relatively consistent over time. As of December 31, 2022, the proportion of WAUs to MAUs was 61%.
As of December 31, 2022, global MAUs increased compared to December 31, 2021 as the negative impacts on user growth from the COVID-19 pandemic unwind and the November 2021 changes in search engine algorithms have subsided.
Trends in monetization metrics
Revenue. We calculate revenue by user geography based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. The geography of our users affects our revenue and financial results because we currently only monetize certain countries and currencies and because we monetize different geographies at different average rates. Our revenue in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly revenue
(in millions)
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Note: Revenue by geography in the charts above is geographically apportioned based on our estimate of users' geographic location when they perform a revenue-generating activity. This allocation differs from our disclosure of revenue disaggregated by geography in the notes to our consolidated financial statements where revenue is geographically apportioned based on our customers’ billing addresses. U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World may not sum to Global and quarterly amounts may not sum to annual due to rounding.
Average Revenue per User (“ARPU”). We measure monetization of our platform through our average revenue per user metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by average MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue‑generating activities occur. We present ARPU on a U.S. and Canada, Europe and Rest of World basis because we currently monetize users in different geographies at different average rates. Our ARPU in U.S. and Canada and, to a lesser extent, Europe is higher primarily due to the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising markets in these geographies.
Quarterly average revenue per user
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For the year ended December 31, 2022, global ARPU was $6.36, which represents an increase of 10% compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, U.S. and Canada ARPU was $24.38, an increase of 16%, Europe ARPU was $3.23, an increase of 7%, and Rest of World ARPU was $0.43, an increase of 49% compared to the year ended December 31, 2021.
We use MAUs and ARPU to assess the growth and health of the overall business and believe that these metrics best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue.
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Non-GAAP financial measure
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, we consider Adjusted EBITDA, a financial measure which is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense and other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, non-cash charitable contributions, and for the third quarter of 2020, a one-time payment for the termination of a future lease contract.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses that it excludes. We also believe Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allows for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We are presenting Adjusted EBITDA to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management and because we believe that this measure provides an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry. However, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of Adjusted EBITDA rather than net income (loss), the nearest GAAP equivalent. For example, Adjusted EBITDA excludes:
•certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future; and
•share-based compensation expense, which has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense and an important part of our compensation strategy.
Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net income (loss) and our other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (96,047) | $ | 316,438 | $ | (128,323) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 46,489 | 27,500 | 36,988 | ||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | 497,123 | 415,382 | 321,020 | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | (30,943) | (4,204) | (16,119) | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense and other (income) expense, net | 15,210 | 9,420 | 635 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 10,103 | 4,533 | 1,303 | ||||||||||||
| Non-cash charitable contributions | — | 45,300 | — | ||||||||||||
| Termination of future lease contract | — | — | 89,500 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(1) | $ | 441,935 | $ | 814,369 | $ | 305,004 |
(1)Non-cash charitable contributions of $2.7 million were not excluded from Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2020 as these were not material.
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Components of results of operations
Revenue. We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. Advertisers purchase ads directly with us or through their relationships with advertising agencies. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue consists primarily of expenses associated with the delivery of our service, including the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. Cost of revenue also includes personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for employees on our operations teams, payments associated with partner arrangements, credit card and other transaction processing fees, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Research and development. Research and development consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our engineers and other employees engaged in the research and development of our products, and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, marketing, and customer service functions, advertising and promotional expenditures, professional services, amortization of acquired intangible assets and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. Our marketing efforts also include user- and advertiser-focused marketing expenditures.
General and administrative. General and administrative consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in finance, legal, human resources and other administrative functions, professional services, including outside legal and accounting services, charitable contributions and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Other income (expense), net. Other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities and foreign currency exchange gains and losses.
Provision for Income Taxes. Provision for income taxes consists primarily of income taxes in foreign jurisdictions and U.S. federal and state income taxes.
Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense and other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, non-cash charitable contributions, and for the third quarter of 2020, a one-time payment for the termination of a future lease contract. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Results of operations
The following tables set forth our consolidated statements of operations data (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,802,574 | $ | 2,578,027 | $ | 1,692,658 | |||||||||
| Costs and expenses (1): | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 678,597 | 529,320 | 449,358 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 948,980 | 780,264 | 606,194 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 933,133 | 641,279 | 442,807 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 343,541 | 300,977 | 336,803 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 2,904,251 | 2,251,840 | 1,835,162 | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | (101,677) | 326,187 | (142,504) | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | 30,943 | 4,204 | 16,119 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense and other income (expense), net | (15,210) | (9,420) | (635) | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | (85,944) | 320,971 | (127,020) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 10,103 | 4,533 | 1,303 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (96,047) | $ | 316,438 | $ | (128,323) | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (2) | $ | 441,935 | $ | 814,369 | $ | 305,004 |
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 7,629 | $ | 7,438 | $ | 7,865 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 324,161 | 309,715 | 218,718 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 99,467 | 52,691 | 35,645 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 65,866 | 45,538 | 58,792 | |||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation | $ | 497,123 | $ | 415,382 | $ | 321,020 |
(2)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data (as a percentage of revenue):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 24 | 21 | 27 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 34 | 30 | 36 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 33 | 25 | 26 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 12 | 12 | 20 | |||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 104 | 87 | 108 | |||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | (4) | 13 | (8) | |||||||||
| Interest income | 1 | — | 1 | |||||||||
| Interest expense and other income (expense), net | (1) | — | — | |||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | (3) | 12 | (8) | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | (3) | % | 12 | % | (8) | % |
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Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,802,574 | $ | 2,578,027 | 9% |
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $224.5 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. Revenue growth was driven by a 10% increase in ARPU and offset by a 1% decrease in average MAUs for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The number of advertisements served increased by 17% while the price of advertisements decreased 7% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021.
For the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, revenue based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users increased by 8% in the U.S. and Canada to $2,309.3 million driven by a 16% increase in U.S. and Canada ARPU offset by a 6% decrease in average U.S. and Canada MAUs. Europe revenue increased by 4% to $397.9 million primarily due to an increase in the number of advertisements served offset by foreign exchange and macroeconomic headwinds, and Rest of World revenue increased by 52% to $95.3 million driven by an 49% increase in Rest of World ARPU.
Cost of revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 678,597 | $ | 529,320 | 28% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 24 | % | 21 | % |
Cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $149.3 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher absolute hosting costs due to higher compute utilization and an $8.0 million increase in amortization of acquired intangible assets.
Research and development
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 948,980 | $ | 780,264 | 22% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 34 | % | 30 | % |
Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $168.7 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to a 20% increase in average headcount, which drove higher personnel expenses, a $14.4 million increase in share-based compensation expense, as well as higher allocated facilities costs and outsourced services.
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Sales and marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 933,133 | $ | 641,279 | 46% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 33 | % | 25 | % |
Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $291.9 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to an $82.0 million increase in marketing expenses; higher personnel expenses due to a 24% increase in average headcount and $11.1 million of severance and related payments resulting from the departure of certain key employees of The Yes; $46.8 million of share-based compensation expense, which includes $22.9 million of share-based compensation expense resulting from the departure of certain key employees of The Yes; higher outsourced services costs; and a $15.5 million increase in amortization of acquired intangible assets.
General and administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 343,541 | $ | 300,977 | 14% | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 12 | % | 12 | % |
General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $42.6 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to a 20% increase in average headcount, which drove higher personnel expenses, as well as a $20.3 million increase in share-based compensation expense primarily due to options and restricted stock awards granted to our new Chief Executive Officer, as well as higher allocated facilities, taxes and bad debt expenses offset by $45.3 million of non-cash charitable contributions made in 2021.
Other income (expense), net
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 30,943 | $ | 4,204 | 636% | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense and other income (expense) | (15,210) | (9,420) | 61% | ||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 15,733 | $ | (5,216) | (402) | % |
Other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased by $20.9 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher returns on our cash equivalents and marketable securities offset by foreign currency exchange losses.
Provision for income taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 10,103 | $ | 4,533 | 123% |
Provision for income taxes was primarily due to income generated in U.S. federal, state and certain foreign jurisdictions for each of the periods presented and for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes the effects of the capitalization and amortization of research and development expenses as required by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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Net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | % change | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | (96,047) | $ | 316,438 | (130) | % | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 441,935 | $ | 814,369 | (46) | % |
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $96.0 million, as compared to net income of $316.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Adjusted EBITDA was $441.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $814.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due to the factors described above. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
Liquidity and capital resources
We finance our operations primarily through payments received from our customers. Our primary uses of cash are personnel-related costs and the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. As of December 31, 2022, we had $2,698.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Our cash equivalents and marketable securities are primarily invested in short-duration fixed income securities, including government and investment-grade corporate debt securities and money market funds. As of December 31, 2022, $110.5 million of our cash and cash equivalents was held by our foreign subsidiaries.
In October 2022, we entered into an amended and restated five-year $400.0 million revolving credit facility (the “2022 revolving credit facility”), which replaced our previous $500.0 million revolving credit facility entered into in November 2018. The 2022 revolving credit facility also contains an accordion option which, if exercised, would allow us to increase the aggregate commitments by up to $405.0 million provided we are able to secure additional lender commitments and satisfy certain other conditions. Interest on any borrowings under the 2022 revolving credit facility accrues at either an adjusted term SOFR plus 0.10% and a margin of 1.50% or at an alternative base rate plus a margin of 0.50%, at our election, and we are required to pay an annual commitment fee that accrues at 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the aggregate commitments under the 2022 revolving credit facility.
The 2022 revolving credit facility also allows us to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount we can borrow. We are required to pay a fee that accrues at 0.125% per annum on the average aggregate daily maximum amount available to be drawn under any outstanding letters of credit.
The 2022 revolving credit facility contains customary conditions to borrowing, events of default and covenants, including covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, make distributions to holders of our stock or the stock of our subsidiaries, make investments or engage in transactions with our affiliates. The 2022 revolving credit facility also contains a financial maintenance covenant: a maximum net leverage ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated EBITDA no greater than 3.50 to 1.00, subject to an increase up to 4.00 to 1.00 for a certain period following an acquisition. The obligations under the 2022 revolving credit facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our domestic assets, including certain domestic intellectual property assets. There are no amounts outstanding under this facility as of December 31, 2022.
We believe our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and amounts available under the 2022 revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months, though we may require additional capital resources in the future. We may elect to raise additional capital through the sale of additional equity to fund our future needs beyond the next 12 months.
Our material cash requirements include our $2,357.1 million commitment with Amazon Web Services, for which we are not subject to annual purchase commitments, and our $270.6 million of operating lease obligations, of which $59.0 million is due within the next 12 months.
On February 2, 2023, our board of directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $500 million of our Class A common stock over the next 12 months. Under the stock repurchase program, we are authorized to repurchase, from time-to-time, shares of our Class A common stock through open market purchases, in privately negotiated transactions or
54
Part II
in other such manner as permitted by securities law and as determined by management at such time and in such amounts as management may decide. The program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time.
For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, our net cash flows were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 469,202 | $ | 752,907 | $ | 28,826 | ||||
| Investing activities | $ | (128,245) | $ | (25,858) | $ | (47,623) | ||||
| Financing activities | $ | (148,927) | $ | 22,162 | $ | 19,638 |
Operating activities
Cash flows from operating activities consist of our net income (loss) adjusted for certain non-cash reconciling items, such as share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, non-cash charitable contributions and changes in our operating assets and liabilities. Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $283.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily due to decrease in our net income (loss) offset by an increase in collections of accounts receivable.
Investing activities
Cash flows from investing activities consist of capital expenditures for improvements to new and existing office spaces and acquisitions of businesses. We also actively manage our operating cash and cash equivalent balances and invest excess cash in short-duration marketable securities, the sales and maturities of which we use to fund our ongoing working capital requirements. Net cash used in investing activities increased by $102.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 due to the acquisition of The Yes Platform, Inc., increased purchases of property and equipment and intangible assets, and a net increase in marketable securities.
Financing activities
Cash flows from financing activities consist of tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs and proceeds from the exercise of stock options. Net cash used in financing activities increased by $171.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily due to our transition to net settling the tax remittances on release of RSUs and RSAs in the second quarter of 2022.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Preparing our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses as well as related disclosures. Because these estimates and judgments may change from period to period, actual results could differ materially, which may negatively affect our financial condition or results of operations. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other assumptions that we consider reasonable, and we evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We refer to such estimates and judgments, discussed further below, as critical accounting policies and estimates.
Refer to Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our other significant accounting policies.
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Part II
Revenue recognition
We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a CPC basis, views an ad contracted on a CPM basis or views a video ad contracted on a CPV basis. We typically bill customers on a CPC, CPM or CPV basis, and our payment terms vary by customer type and location. The term between billing and payment due dates is not significant.
We recognize revenue only after satisfying our contractual performance obligations. We occasionally offer customers free ad inventory. When contracts with our customers contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the overall transaction price, which is the amount of consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for promised goods or services, to each of the distinct performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices. We generally determine standalone selling prices based on the effective price charged per contracted click, impression or view, and we do not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations because the original expected duration of our contracts is generally less than one year.
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001506293-22-000016.
ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including risks and uncertainties regarding the duration, scope and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 is presented below. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 is included under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Overview of 2021 Results
Our key financial and operating results as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 are as follows:
•Revenue was $2,578.0 million, an increase of 52% compared to 2020.
•Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 431 million, a decrease of 6% compared to December 31, 2020.
•Share-based compensation expense was $415.4 million, an increase of $94.4 million compared to 2020.
•Total costs and expenses were $2,251.8 million.
•Income from operations was $326.2 million.
•Net income was $316.4 million.
•Adjusted EBITDA was $814.4 million.
•Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $2,480.1 million.
•Headcount was 3,225.
Update on the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in authorities implementing numerous preventative measures to contain or mitigate the outbreak of the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, limitations on business activity, quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, continues to have an impact globally. These measures have caused, and are continuing to cause, business slowdowns or shutdowns in affected areas, both regionally and worldwide. These measures initially positively impacted Pinner engagement and user growth in both the U.S. and international geographies as people spent more time at home and sought online inspiration for some of our core use cases. Starting in mid-March 2021, the easing of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic began to slow our global MAU growth and lowered Pinner engagement as compared to 2020 as Pinners began spending less time at home. This behavior reversed some of the MAU gains we saw during 2020, and, as a result, we saw a decline in global MAUs in the fourth quarter as compared to the same period in 2020.
Since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations and overall financial performance remains unprecedented and unpredictable, our past results may not be indicative of our future performance. Given the uncertainty, we are unable to predict the extent and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on advertiser demand, Pinner engagement, and our business, operations and financial results. See "Risk Factors" and "Note About Forward-Looking Statements” for additional details.
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Trends in User Metrics
Monthly Active Users. We define a monthly active user as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. We present MAUs based on the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period. We calculate average MAUs based on the average of the number of MAUs measured on the last day of the current period and the last day prior to the beginning of the current period. MAUs are the primary metric by which we measure the scale of our active user base.
Quarterly Monthly Active Users
(in millions)
Note: United States and International may not sum to Global due to rounding.
A portion of our MAUs visit Pinterest on a weekly basis. We define a weekly active user (“WAU”) as an authenticated Pinterest user who visits our website, opens our mobile application or interacts with Pinterest through one of our browser or site extensions, such as the Save button, at least once during the seven-day period ending on the date of measurement. We actively monitor the relationship of WAUs to MAUs, which has stayed relatively consistent over time. As of December 31, 2021, the proportion of WAUs to MAUs was 58%.
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As of December 31, 2021, we have experienced a decline in our global MAUs as compared to December 31, 2020 due to the easing of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and lower search traffic driven by changes in search engine algorithms. As a result, we are unable to predict the extent to which we will be able to attract new Pinners, retain existing Pinners, recover past Pinners or maintain or increase the frequency and duration of Pinners' engagement as uncertainties around restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continue.
Trends in Monetization Metrics
Revenue. We calculate revenue by user geography based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. The geography of our users affects our revenue and financial results because we currently only monetize certain countries and currencies and because we monetize different geographies at different average rates. Our revenue in the United States is higher primarily due to our decision to focus our earliest monetization efforts there and also due to the relative size and maturity of the U.S. digital advertising market.
Quarterly Revenue
(in millions)
50
Note: Revenue by geography in the charts above is geographically apportioned based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users when they perform a revenue-generating activity. This allocation differs from our disclosure of revenue disaggregated by geography in the notes to our consolidated financial statements where revenue is geographically apportioned based on our customers’ billing addresses. United States and International may not sum to Global and quarterly amounts may not sum to annual due to rounding.
Average Revenue per User (“ARPU”). We measure monetization of our platform through our average revenue per user metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in a given geography during a period divided by average MAUs in that geography during the period. We calculate ARPU by geography based on our estimate of the geography in which revenue-generating activities occur. We present ARPU on a U.S. and international basis because we currently monetize users in different geographies at different average rates. U.S. ARPU is higher primarily due to our decision to focus our earliest monetization efforts there and also due to the relative size and maturity of the U.S. digital advertising market.
Quarterly Average Revenue per User
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For the year ended December 31, 2021, global ARPU was $5.79, which represents an increase of 36% compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2021, U.S. ARPU was $21.98 and international ARPU was $1.59, which represent increases of 43% and 80%, respectively, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.
We use MAUs and ARPU to assess the growth and health of our overall business and believe that these metrics best reflect our ability to attract, retain, engage and monetize our users, and thereby drive revenue.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measure
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, we consider Adjusted EBITDA, a financial measure which is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense and other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, non-cash charitable contributions and, for the third quarter of 2020, a one-time payment for the termination of a future lease contract.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income and expenses that it excludes. We also believe Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allows for greater transparency with respect to key metrics we use for financial and operational decision-making. We are presenting Adjusted EBITDA to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of management, and because we believe that this measure provides an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry. However, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of Adjusted EBITDA rather than net income (loss), the nearest GAAP equivalent. For example, Adjusted EBITDA excludes:
•certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of acquired intangible assets, although these assets may have to be replaced in the future; and
•share-based compensation expense, which has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense and an important part of our compensation strategy.
Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net income (loss) and our other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 316,438 | $ | (128,323) | $ | (1,361,371) | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 27,500 | 36,988 | 27,791 | |||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | 415,382 | 321,020 | 1,377,781 | |||||||||||
| Interest income | (4,204) | (16,119) | (30,164) | |||||||||||
| Interest expense and other (income) expense, net | 9,420 | 635 | 2,137 | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 4,533 | 1,303 | 532 | |||||||||||
| Non-cash charitable contributions | 45,300 | — | — | |||||||||||
| Termination of future lease contract | — | 89,500 | — | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (1) | $ | 814,369 | $ | 305,004 | $ | 16,706 |
(1)Non-cash charitable contributions of $2.7 million were not excluded from Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2020 as these were not material.
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Components of Results of Operations
Revenue. We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. Advertisers purchase ads directly with us or through their relationships with advertising agencies. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a cost per click ("CPC") basis, views an ad contracted on a cost per thousand impressions ("CPM") basis or views a video ad contracted on a cost per view ("CPV") basis.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue consists primarily of expenses associated with the delivery of our service, including the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. Cost of revenue also includes personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for employees on our operations teams, payments associated with partner arrangements, credit card and other transaction processing fees, and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Research and Development. Research and development consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our engineers and other employees engaged in the research and development of our products, and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, commissions, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, marketing, and customer service functions, advertising and promotional expenditures, professional services and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. Our marketing efforts also include user- and advertiser-focused marketing expenditures.
General and Administrative. General and administrative consists primarily of personnel-related expense, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation for our employees engaged in finance, legal, human resources and other administrative functions, professional services, including outside legal and accounting services, charitable contributions and allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.
Other Income (Expense), Net. Other income (expense), net consists primarily of foreign currency exchange gains and losses and interest earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities.
Provision for Income Taxes. Provision for income taxes consists primarily of income taxes in foreign jurisdictions and U.S. federal and state income taxes adjusted for discrete items.
Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense and other income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, non-cash charitable contributions and, for the third quarter of 2020, a one-time payment for the termination of a future lease contract. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Results of Operations
The following tables set forth our consolidated statements of operations data (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,578,027 | $ | 1,692,658 | $ | 1,142,761 | |||||||||
| Costs and expenses (1): | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 529,320 | 449,358 | 358,903 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 780,264 | 606,194 | 1,207,059 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 641,279 | 442,807 | 611,590 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 300,977 | 336,803 | 354,075 | ||||||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 2,251,840 | 1,835,162 | 2,531,627 | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 326,187 | (142,504) | (1,388,866) | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | 4,204 | 16,119 | 30,164 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense and other income (expense), net | (9,420) | (635) | (2,137) | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | 320,971 | (127,020) | (1,360,839) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 4,533 | 1,303 | 532 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 316,438 | $ | (128,323) | $ | (1,361,371) | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (2) | $ | 814,369 | $ | 305,004 | $ | 16,706 |
(1)Includes share-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 7,438 | $ | 7,865 | $ | 31,758 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 309,715 | 218,718 | 867,191 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 52,691 | 35,645 | 239,315 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 45,538 | 58,792 | 239,517 | |||||||||||
| Total share-based compensation | $ | 415,382 | $ | 321,020 | $ | 1,377,781 |
(2)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data (as a percentage of revenue):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 21 | 27 | 31 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 30 | 36 | 106 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 25 | 26 | 54 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 12 | 20 | 31 | |||||||||
| Total costs and expenses | 87 | 108 | 222 | |||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 13 | (8) | (122) | |||||||||
| Interest income | — | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Interest expense and other income (expense), net | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | 12 | (8) | (119) | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) | 12 | % | (8) | % | (119) | % |
Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 2,578,027 | $ | 1,692,658 | 52 | % |
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $885.4 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. Revenue growth was driven by a 36% increase in ARPU supported by a 12% increase in average MAUs for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. These resulted in a 13% increase in the number of advertisements served and a 35% increase in the price of advertisements.
For the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, revenue based on our estimate of the geographic location of our users increased by 42% in the United States to $2,015.9 million driven by a 43% increase in U.S. ARPU offset by a 1% decrease in average U.S. MAUs. International revenue increased by 110% to $562.1 million driven by an 80% increase in international ARPU supported by a 16% increase in average international MAUs.
Cost of Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 529,320 | $ | 449,358 | 18 | % | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 21 | % | 27 | % |
Cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $80.0 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher absolute hosting costs due to user growth.
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Research and Development
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 780,264 | $ | 606,194 | 29 | % | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 30 | % | 36 | % |
Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $174.1 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $91.0 million increase in share-based compensation expense, including $48.6 million relating to our Co-founder and Chief Design and Creative Officer's transition into a consulting role, a 14% increase in average headcount, which drove higher personnel expenses, as well as higher consulting expenses.
Sales and Marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 641,279 | $ | 442,807 | 45 | % | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 25 | % | 26 | % |
Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by $198.5 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $85.9 million increase in marketing expenses, a 26% increase in average headcount, which drove higher personnel expenses, higher consulting expenses and a $17.0 million increase in share-based compensation expense.
General and Administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 300,977 | $ | 336,803 | (11) | % | ||||||||||
| Percentage of revenue | 12 | % | 20 | % |
General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased by $35.8 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a one-time payment of $89.5 million for the termination of a future lease contract in August 2020 and a $13.3 million decrease in share-based compensation, offset by a $42.6 million increase in non-cash charitable contributions and a 30% increase in average headcount, which drove higher personnel expenses.
Other Income (Expense, Net)
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 4,204 | $ | 16,119 | (74) | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense and other income (expense) | (9,420) | (635) | 1,383 | % | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | (5,216) | $ | 15,484 | (134) | % |
Other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased by $20.7 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to lower returns on our marketable securities as a result of lower interest rates and foreign currency exchange losses.
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Provision for Income Taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 4,533 | $ | 1,303 | 248 | % |
Provision for income taxes was primarily due to income generated in our foreign jurisdictions and U.S. states for each of the periods presented.
Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | % change | ||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 316,438 | $ | (128,323) | 347 | % | ||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 814,369 | $ | 305,004 | 167 | % |
Net income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $316.4 million, as compared to $(128.3) million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was $814.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $305.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, due to the factors described above. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measure” for more information and for a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have historically financed our operations primarily through sales of our stock and payments received from our customers. Our primary uses of cash are personnel-related costs and the cost of hosting our website and mobile application. As of December 31, 2021, we had $2,480.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Our cash equivalents and marketable securities are primarily invested in short-duration fixed income securities, including government and investment-grade corporate debt securities and money market funds. As of December 31, 2021, $95.9 million of our cash and cash equivalents was held by our foreign subsidiaries.
In November 2018, we entered into a five-year $500.0 million revolving credit facility with an accordion option which, if exercised, would allow us to increase the aggregate commitments by the greater of $100.0 million and 10% of our consolidated total assets, provided we are able to secure additional lender commitments and satisfy certain other conditions. Interest on any borrowings under the revolving credit facility accrues at either LIBOR plus 1.50% or at an alternative base rate plus 0.50%, at our election, and we are required to pay an annual commitment fee that accrues at 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the aggregate commitments under the revolving credit facility.
The revolving credit facility also allows us to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount we can borrow. We are required to pay a fee that accrues at 1.50% per annum on the average aggregate daily maximum amount available to be drawn under any outstanding letters of credit.
The revolving credit facility contains customary conditions to borrowing, events of default and covenants, including covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, make distributions to holders of our stock or the stock of our subsidiaries, make investments or engage in transactions with our affiliates. The revolving credit facility also contains two financial maintenance covenants: a consolidated total assets covenant and a minimum liquidity balance of $350.0 million, which includes any available borrowing capacity. The obligations under the revolving credit facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our domestic assets, including certain domestic intellectual property assets. We are in compliance with all covenants and there were no amounts outstanding under this facility as of December 31, 2021.
We believe our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and amounts available under our revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months, though we may require additional capital resources in the future. We may elect to raise additional capital through the sale of additional equity to fund our future needs beyond the next 12 months.
Our material cash requirements include our $2,949.1 million commitment with Amazon Web Services, for which we are not subject to annual purchase commitments, and our $323.6 million of operating lease obligations, of which $57.9 million is due within the next 12 months.
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, our net cash flows were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | ||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 752,907 | $ | 28,826 | $ | 657 | ||||
| Investing activities | $ | (25,858) | $ | (47,623) | $ | (586,501) | ||||
| Financing activities | $ | 22,162 | $ | 19,638 | $ | 1,128,198 |
Operating Activities
Cash flows from operating activities consist of our net income (loss) adjusted for certain non-cash reconciling items, such as share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, non-cash charitable contributions and changes in our operating assets and liabilities. Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $724.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily due to an increase in our net income (loss) after adjusting for non-cash reconciling items and an increase in collections of accounts receivable.
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Investing Activities
Cash flows from investing activities consist of capital expenditures for improvements to new and existing office spaces and acquisitions of businesses. We also actively manage our operating cash and cash equivalent balances and invest excess cash in short-duration marketable securities, sales and maturities of which we use to fund our ongoing working capital requirements. Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $21.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily due to decreased purchases of marketable securities, offset by a decrease in proceeds from maturities of marketable securities.
Financing Activities
Cash flows from financing activities consist of net proceeds from our IPO, tax withholdings on release of RSUs and proceeds from the exercise of stock options. Net cash provided by financing activities increased by $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily due to the absence of tax remittances on release of RSUs offset by a decrease in proceeds from the exercise of stock options.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Preparing our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses as well as related disclosures. Because these estimates and judgments may change from period to period, actual results could differ materially, which may negatively affect our financial condition or results of operations. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other assumptions that we consider reasonable, and we evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We refer to such estimates and judgments, discussed further below, as critical accounting policies and estimates.
Refer to Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on our other significant accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application. We recognize revenue only after transferring control of promised goods or services to customers, which occurs when a user clicks on an ad contracted on a CPC basis, views an ad contracted on a CPM basis or views a video ad contracted on a CPV basis. We typically bill customers on a CPC, CPM or CPV basis, and our payment terms vary by customer type and location. The term between billing and payment due dates is not significant.
We occasionally offer customers free ad inventory, and revenue is recognized only after satisfying our contractual performance obligations. When contracts with our customers contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the overall transaction price, which is the amount of consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for promised goods or services, to each of the distinct performance obligations based on their relative standalone selling prices. We generally determine standalone selling prices based on the effective price charged per contracted click, impression or view, and we do not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations because the original expected duration of our contracts is generally less than one year.
Leases and Operating Lease Incremental Borrowing Rate
We lease office space under operating leases with expiration dates through 2033. We determine whether an arrangement constitutes a lease at inception and record lease liabilities and right-of-use assets on our consolidated balance sheets at lease commencement. We measure lease liabilities based on the present value of the total lease payments not yet paid discounted based on the more readily determinable of the rate implicit in the lease or our incremental borrowing rate, which is the estimated rate we would be required to pay for a collateralized borrowing equal to the total lease payments over the term of the lease. We estimate our incremental borrowing rate based on an analysis of publicly traded debt securities of companies with credit and financial profiles similar to our own. We measure right-of-use assets based on the corresponding lease liability adjusted for (i) payments made to the lessor at or before the commencement date, (ii) initial direct costs we incur and (iii) tenant incentives under the lease. We begin recognizing rent expense when the lessor makes the underlying asset available to us, we do not assume renewals or early terminations unless we are reasonably certain to exercise these options at commencement, and we do not allocate consideration between lease and non-lease components.
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