Pinterest's stock pops more than 12% after beating Wall Street's Q2 targets

Pinterest beat Wall Street's expectations for its second quarter of 2019 and its stock has jumped more than 12% in after-hours trading.

According to its CEO Ben Silbermann, the company reached 300 million monthly active users (or, MAUs) by the end of the second quarter as well.

Pinterest's $261 million in revenues for Q2 2019 was higher than analysts anticipated and up 62% from the same period the year prior.

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Pinterest raised its revenue forecast for the rest of the year on Thursday after reporting second quarter results that came in well above Wall Street targets, sending the social media company's stock soaring more than 12% in after-hours trading.

Pinterest's revenue in the second quarter increased 62% year-over-year, to roughly $236 million, as the number of consumers and advertisers using the platform grew. In his second earnings report since taking Pinterest public in in April, CEO Ben Silbermann said the company reached 300 million monthly active users (MAUs) by the end of the second quarter, up from the 231 million MAUs (or, 30%) it had during the same period the year prior.

Silbermann said in prepared remarks that the company made progress diversifying its roster of advertisers during the quarter and improved its tools for marketers to measure the effectiveness of their spending.

Here are the key numbers from Pinterest's Q2 financial report:

Revenue: $261.3 million, compared to $235.8 million expected by analysts, and up 62% year-over-year.

Adjusted loss per share: -$0.06, compared to -$0.08 expected by analysts.

Full year 2019 revenue outlook: $1.095 billion to $1.115 billion, versus its previous forecast of $1.055 billion to $1.080 billion.

Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 300 million, up from 231 million during the same period the year prior.

On the heels of strong earnings reports recently from some of Silicon Valley's top tech companies, Pinterest joined in the hot streak by posting $261 million in revenues for Q2, up 62% from the same period the year prior.

Although Pinterest is still relatively tiny compared to tech giants like Facebook and Google, some analysts have pointed to its positioning as an advantage — as the company will likely dodge the looming antitrust investigations facing the industry's largest companies. Analysts also see Pinterest's avoidance of any privacy-related issues, as well as its high-potential ad products as reasons the company could fare well in the near term.