Snap, Pinterest stocks soar after results dispel Facebook fears; iPhone data limit a worry

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Snap and Pinterest stocks came roaring back Thursday after upbeat results eased fears that a slowdown at rival Facebook reflected an industrywide social media slump. Both companies topped Wall Street predictions with sales and earnings, with Snap even posting a surprise profit -- its first as a publicly held business. That sent shares of Snap rocketing up as much as 54% in extended trading, with Pinterest climbing 32%. 

However, the new restrictions on iPhone data collection have been a cloud over Snap. Apple started requiring all apps to get users’ explicit permission to track their activity across the internet -- a request many customers deny. Snap executives previously said its users were opting into tracking more often than some of the industry’s reported averages, but the full effect of the changes was unknown.

Shares of both companies had plunged earlier after Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. reported disappointing earnings. Apple Inc.’s change to its data-collection rules has made it harder for social media networks to sell advertising -- their main source of revenue.

But the latest results suggest that Snap and Pinterest weren’t dealt as hard a blow. In Snap’s case, the company benefited from augmented-reality tools that are attractive to marketers. At Pinterest, Chief Financial Officer Todd Morgenfeld said there hasn’t been a material impact on revenue from Apple’s changes.

But it’s possible that Pinterest could be impacted at some point in the future, Morgenfeld said.

“The changes in the privacy and regulatory environment are generally unhelpful in our ability to deliver performance advertising results,” he said in an interview. “We’re not immune to these issues impacting our business over time.”

For now, the