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Description of business and summary of significant accounting policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Description of business and summary of significant accounting policies Description of business and summary of significant accounting policies
Description of business
Pinterest was incorporated in Delaware in 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Pinterest is a visual search and discovery platform, positioned at the intersection of search, social, and commerce. We generate revenue by delivering ads on our website and mobile application.
Basis of presentation and consolidation
We prepared the accompanying consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Pinterest, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. We have eliminated all intercompany balances and transactions.
Reclassifications
We have reclassified certain amounts in prior periods to conform with current presentation.
Use of estimates
Preparing our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base these estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other assumptions that we consider reasonable. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions in several areas, including the fair values of financial instruments, assets acquired and liabilities assumed through business combinations, share-based awards, and contingencies as well as the collectability of our accounts receivable, the useful lives of our intangible assets and property and equipment, the incremental borrowing rate we use to determine our operating lease liabilities, and revenue recognition, among others. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates and judgments.
Segments
We operate as a single operating segment. Our chief operating decision maker is our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), who reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by disaggregated information about our revenue, for purposes of making operating decisions, assessing financial performance and allocating resources.
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.
We record sales commissions in sales and marketing as incurred because we would amortize these over a period of less than one year.
Deferred revenue was $15.3 million and $13.2 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
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.
Share-based compensation
Restricted stock units ("RSUs") granted under our 2009 Stock Plan (the "2009 Plan") are subject to both a service condition, which is typically satisfied over four years, and a performance condition, which was deemed satisfied upon the pricing of our initial public offering ("IPO"). We did not record any share-based compensation expense for our RSUs prior to our IPO because the performance condition had not yet been satisfied. Upon pricing our IPO, we recorded cumulative share-based compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method for those RSUs granted under our 2009 Plan for which the service condition had been satisfied at that date. We record the remaining unrecognized share-based compensation expense over the remainder of the requisite service period.
RSUs, restricted stock awards ("RSAs"), and stock options granted under our 2019 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the "2019 Plan") are generally subject only to a service condition, which is typically satisfied over two to four years. We record share-based compensation expense for these RSUs, RSAs and stock options on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.
We measure RSUs and RSAs based on the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date and stock options based on their estimated grant date fair values, which we determine using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. We record the resulting expense in our consolidated statements of operations over the requisite service period, which is generally four years, and we account for forfeitures as they occur.
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 deferred tax assets to the amounts we believe it is more likely than not we will be able to realize. 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.
Advertising expenses
We record advertising expenses as incurred and include these in sales and marketing in the consolidated statements of operations. Advertising expenses were $145.6 million, $139.7 million and $94.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Marketable securities
We invest in highly liquid corporate debt securities, U.S. treasury securities, asset-backed securities, U.S. government agency securities, municipal securities, non-U.S. government and supranational bonds and certificates of deposit. We classify marketable investments with stated maturities of ninety days or less from the date of purchase as cash equivalents and those with stated maturities greater than ninety days from the date of purchase as marketable securities.
We classify our marketable securities as available-for-sale investments in our current assets because they are available for use to support current operations. We carry our marketable investments at fair value and record unrealized gains or losses, net of taxes, in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity. We determine realized gains and losses on the sale of marketable investments using a specific identification method and record these and any expected credit losses in other income (expense), net.
Fair value measurements
We account for certain assets and liabilities at fair value, which is the amount we believe market participants would be willing to receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction. We categorize these assets and liabilities into the three levels below based on the degree to which the inputs we use to measure their fair values are observable in active markets. We use the most observable inputs available to us when measuring fair value.
Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets
Level 2: Observable inputs such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in inactive markets, or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data or other means
Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities
Accounts receivable, net of allowances
We record accounts receivable at the original invoiced amount. We maintain an allowance for credit losses for any receivables we may be unable to collect. We estimate uncollectible receivables based on our receivables’ age, our customers’ credit quality and current economic conditions, among other factors that may affect our customers’ ability to pay. We also maintain an allowance for sales credits, which we determine based on historical credits issued to customers. We include the allowances for credit losses and sales credits in accounts receivable, net in the consolidated balance sheets.
Property and equipment
We carry property and equipment at cost less accumulated depreciation and calculate depreciation using the straight-line method over our assets’ estimated useful lives, which are generally:
Property and EquipmentUseful Life
Computer and network equipment3 years
Furniture and fixtures4 years
Leasehold improvementsLesser of estimated useful life or remaining lease term
Leases and operating lease incremental borrowing rate
We lease office space under operating leases with expiration dates through 2035. 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.
For short-term leases, we record rent expense in our consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the lease term and record variable lease payments as incurred.
Business combinations
We include the results of operations of businesses that we acquire in our consolidated financial statements beginning on their respective acquisition dates. We allocate the fair value of the purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. When the fair value of the purchase consideration exceeds the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired, we record the excess as goodwill. Our estimates of fair value are based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable but which are inherently uncertain and unpredictable, and as a result, actual results may differ from estimates. During the measurement period, which is one year from the acquisition date, we may record adjustments to the assets and liabilities acquired with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Any adjustments after the measurement period are reflected in our consolidated statements of operations.
Long-lived assets, including goodwill and intangible assets
We record definite-lived intangible assets at fair value less accumulated amortization. We calculate amortization using the straight-line method over the assets’ estimated useful lives of up to ten years.
We review our property and equipment, operating lease right-of-use assets and intangible assets for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that an asset’s carrying value may not be recoverable. We measure recoverability by comparing an asset’s carrying value to the future undiscounted cash flows that we expect it to generate. If this test indicates that the asset’s carrying value is not recoverable, we record an impairment charge to reduce the asset’s carrying value to its fair value.
We recorded $117.3 million of impairment and abandonment charges for operating lease right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements for the year ended December 31, 2023. Refer to Note 13, "Restructuring" for further information. In the fourth quarter of 2022, we recorded $9.4 million of impairment charges for acquired intangible assets. We did not record any other material property and equipment or intangible asset impairments during the periods presented.
We review goodwill for impairment at least annually or more frequently if current circumstances or events indicate that the fair value of our single reporting unit may be less than its carrying value. We did not record any goodwill impairment during the periods presented.
Website development costs
We capitalize costs to develop our website and mobile application when preliminary development efforts are successfully completed, management has authorized and committed project funding, and it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used as intended. Due to the iterative process by which we perform upgrades and the relatively short duration of our development projects, development costs meeting our capitalization criteria were not material during the periods presented.
Loss contingencies
We are involved in various lawsuits, claims and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. We record a liability for these when we believe it is probable that we have incurred a loss and can reasonably estimate the loss. We regularly evaluate current information to determine whether we should adjust a recorded liability or record a new one.
Foreign currency
The functional currency of our international subsidiaries is generally their local currency. We translate these subsidiaries’ financial statements into U.S. dollars using month-end exchange rates for assets and liabilities and rates that approximate those in effect during the period for revenue and costs and expenses. We record translation gains and losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. We record foreign exchange gains and losses in other income (expense), net. Our net foreign exchange gains and losses were not material for the periods presented.
Concentration of business risk
We have an agreement with Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) to provide the cloud computing infrastructure we use to host our website, mobile application and many of the internal tools we use to operate our business. We are currently required to maintain a substantial majority of our monthly usage of certain compute, storage, data transfer and other services on AWS. Any transition of the cloud services currently provided by AWS to another cloud services provider would be difficult to implement and would cause us to incur significant time and expense.
Concentration of credit risk
Financial instruments that may potentially expose us to concentrations of credit risk primarily consist of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash. Our investment policy is meant to preserve capital and maintain liquidity. The policy limits our marketable investments to investment-grade securities and limits our credit exposure by limiting our concentration in any one corporate issuer or sector and by establishing a minimum credit rating for marketable investments we purchase. Although we deposit cash and marketable investments with multiple financial institutions, our deposits may exceed insurable limits.
No customer accounted for more than 10% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Our accounts receivable are generally unsecured. We monitor our customers’ credit quality on an ongoing basis and maintain reserves for estimated credit losses. Bad debt expense was not material for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires disclosure of incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis. ASU 2023-07 will be effective for our annual periods beginning January 1, 2024, and interim periods beginning January 1, 2025. The amendments must be applied retrospectively, and early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the effects of adoption on our consolidated financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires disaggregation of rate reconciliation categories and income taxes paid by jurisdiction. ASU 2023-09 will be effective for us beginning January 1, 2025. The amendments may be applied prospectively or retrospectively, and early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the effects of adoption on our consolidated financial statements.