Pinterest prices IPO at $19, valuing social media company at $10 billion

CNBC ^ | April 17, 2019 | Salvador Rodriguez

[C19fan]

Pinterest raised $1.43 billion in its IPO after pricing the offering at $19 a share on Wednesday, valuing the company at $10 billion.

Pinterest, which is expected to start trading on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, had originally given a pricing range of $15 to $17. But investors appear to be showing an appetite for the social media company despite the challenges Lyft has faced since becoming the first consumer tech IPO of the year last month

[butlerweave]

What’s a Pinterest ?

[C19fan]

The only think I know about it is when I do an image search and end up on a Pinterest page.

[petitfour]

Pinterest listens to your every word.

[aynrandfreak]

Never spent a dime with them.

[Dilbert San Diego]

I don’t understand certain things. And maybe that’s why I’m not a billionaire investor.

But how do these companies such as Google, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. make money? What’s their business model? Aren’t all these free to the consumer on his computer or cell phone? In that case, what is the revenue source, and what is the profitability of these companies as going concerns, as profitable business entities?

And what of the future? I’ve heard that a significant number of people have abandoned Facebook, as people seem to be moving on from that platform. Certainly with fewer customers, there’s no way, from a business standpoint, that they can forecast future growth.

Sorry if these questions are very basic or elementary, but I’ve never understood how these companies have value or get paid for services rendered.

[butlerweave]

The only think I know about it is when I do an image search and end up on a Pinterest page.

Oh ya , and you can’t see it unless you sign up or sign in so I close it and move on

[Rebelbase]

Access to millions of cyber scrapbooks.

[fwdude]

I tried Pinterest, but couldn’t see the point. I couldn’t figure out what its purpose is. I can get much more information from websites.

[VanDeKoik]

One of the best sites out there. Find lots of great woodworking ideas and stuff from Family Handyman posted.

Not shocked about all of the usual overly paranoid posts about it here. FR seems to find 99.9% of anything online to be some sort of plot or scam.

[C19fan]

I am not sure about Pinterest but Google and Facebook use all the data they collect about you to send you targeted ads.

[Frapster]

The value of Pinterest is its ability to monetize on its user base. While it doesn’t do that effectively at the moment, funding through an IPO will open the doors to doing that going forward. It’s essentially a bet that they will make money off of their substantial user base in the future.

[fwdude]

You have surely noticed the “banner ads” which pop up at the fringes of each web page? Well, those advertisers, who are selling product or services, pay the website big bucks for certain activities. If someone actually clicks on these banners, the revenue skyrockets.

[fwdude]

Can’t you get all of that from YouTube or a general web search? Why limit yourself to just one social media site?

[irishjuggler]

Same. I run into Pinterest occasionally when doing image search... and it’s a pretty freakin’ annoying site, as it’s always pestering you to create an account or log in with your Google account, etc. Hate sites like that as I have no desire to join every site I visit.

[VanDeKoik]

I get stuff from all over.

But Pinterest is actually organized by people into the same stuff. Far better than a search engine.

And the posts are links to relevant websites, so I skip the middleman there.

[Paine in the Neck]

But how do these companies such as Google, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. make money? What’s their business model? Aren’t all these free to the consumer on his computer or cell phone? In that case, what is the revenue source, and what is the profitability of these companies as going concerns, as profitable business entities?

Their business model is to collect as much information as possible on the users of their 'free' product/service and to re-sell the collected data to as many other companies as possible.

[pepsi_junkie]

What’s a Pinterest ?

I think it's a place where women in their 30s go to post pictures of "cute outfits" they saw somewhere. Obviously appropriately valuated in the billions.

[goodnesswins]

I use Pinterest to organize recipes, garden ideas, art and craft ideas, that kind of stuff. And I block a lot of stuff/posters, follow no one, and block anyone who tries to follow me. It’s merely an organizational tool for me...used to file articles in file folders......now it’s on Pinterest.

[HamiltonJay]

Its like Instagram for soccer moms.