Pinterest (PINS) shares are up 15% on reports that activist investor Elliott Management has
accumulated a 9% stake in the social media company.
Elliott Management has now become the largest shareholder in Pinterest and is discussing
various business matters with the company, according to media reports.
Before today’s increase, Pinterest’s stock had fallen 75% over the past 12-months as the social
media company struggles to retain users coming out of the global pandemic.
Pinterest’s revenue grew 52% in 2021 to $2.5 billion U.S. However, its number of monthly active
users fell 6% to 431 million, raising concerns that the app, which enables people to share
photos, videos, and images, is declining in popularity.
Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann resigned as the company’s chief executive officer (CEO)
in June of this year. His replacement, Bill Ready, is a former Google e-commerce executive.
Elliott Management has a track record of getting involved with struggling online firms. In 2020,
Twitter (TWTR) reached a deal with Elliott Management, providing the investment firm with
board seats and initiating a $2 billion U.S. stock buyback program at its request.
Prior to the agreement, Elliott Management waged a public campaign to oust then Twitter CEO
Jack Dorsey. Although Dorsey survived Elliot’s attack, he left Twitter at the end of last year.
Elliott Management still owns 10 million Twitter shares it acquired in 2020, according to data
from FactSet.