Pandemic Pursuits: Pinboards, Peacock, and Podcasts

Pinterest User Numbers Soar

Third quarter earnings season continues this week. Several recent reports show interesting trends in how the pandemic impacted consumer behavior over the summer and early fall.

Pinterest (PINS), the social media platform specializing in DIY inspiration, beat Wall Street expectations with its Wednesday report. Pinterest’s revenue clocked in at $443 million compared to the $383.5 million expected by Refinitiv. Pinterest also saw its monthly active user numbers rise 46% last quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

Pinterest’s traffic is up because people around the world are doing more cooking, crafting, and other projects to fill time at home. Pinterest also saw an uptick in advertising business as companies boycotted Facebook (FB) because they disagreed with the way the platform monitored hate speech. Snapchat (SNAP) saw a similar jump in advertising business as companies shifted money away from Facebook. Heading toward colder weather and the holiday season, Pinterest anticipates 60% year-over-year Q4 revenue growth.

Comcast Businesses See Mixed Results

Comcast (CMCSA) also beat expectations with its earnings report yesterday. Its revenue hit $25.53 billion compared to Refinitiv estimates of $24.74 billion.

The media conglomerate saw mixed results from its array of businesses during the quarter. Quarterly revenue from the company’s theme parks tumbled 81% to $311 million as Universal Studios Hollywood remains closed. Universal parks in Florida and Japan have reopened with limited capacity.

In more positive news, Comcast reported that its streaming service Peacock now has nearly 22 million subscribers. Comcast also added over 633,000 high-speed internet customers over the course of last quarter.

Spotify Listenership Recovers from Early Pandemic Slump

Spotify (SPOT) also shared mixed results from the quarter ending on September 30. The audio streaming company missed expectations for Q3 sales and earnings, but gained more new subscribers than expected. Early in the pandemic, the company saw a user engagement slump because people listened to less content on the platform during commutes, but now consumers are collectively spending more time on Spotify than they were before the pandemic.

Some of this jump in listenership is a result of Spotify’s efforts to expand its podcast library. The company now offers 1.9 million podcasts, including The Michelle Obama Podcast, which was the most popular podcast on Spotify through August, and The Joe Rogan Experience, which is currently the platform’s number one show. Both podcasts are exclusive to Spotify.

Speaking of podcasts, if you like the SoFi Daily newsletter, be sure to check out our Daily podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you get your podcasts!

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