All three just reported earnings recently. The gap between SNAP, PYPL, and PINS is getting massive.
u/ValueEquities ·
Reddit — r/ValueInvesting
· May 07, 2026 at 13:44
· ⬆ 20 pts
· 💬 24 comments
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Summary
The post compares three former growth darlings (SNAP, PYPL, PINS) after their recent earnings, arguing their fundamentals have diverged sharply.
Author views Pinterest (PINS) as a quietly strong business with high margins, near-zero debt, and real cash flow, yet undervalued. PayPal (PYPL) is cheap but faces structural competition, while Snap (SNAP) remains unprofitable and highly volatile.
Quality assessment: Moderate research with cited earnings data and margin/valuation metrics, but leans on opinion rather than deep quantitative analysis – solid speculation, not thorough DD.
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These three still get grouped together as “busted 2021 growth stocks,” but after this week’s earnings they barely look comparable anymore.
Pinterest is quietly becoming a very real business.
Just crossed $1B quarterly revenue for the first time. Revenue up 18% YoY. Nearly debt-free. \~80% gross margins. Generates real cash flow. Yet the stock is still down \~20% YTD and nobody seems to care.
PayPal is the strange one.
Beat Q1 estimates, then dropped anyway because guidance disappointed and the new CEO is restructuring aggressively. But the stock trades around 8.4x earnings while still producing billions in profit and FCF annually.
The bear case is obvious: branded checkout growth is weak and Apple Pay/Shop Pay competition is real.
But at what point is the pessimism already fully priced in?
Then there’s Snap.
Revenue growth was actually decent at 12%, but they still lost money this quarter and are now pushing another major cost restructuring to reach profitability. Balance sheet isn’t disastrous, but with high debt and a beta above 2, this thing gets destroyed anytime markets turn risk-off.
Feels more like a trading vehicle than a long-term compounder.
What surprised me most is that the only one analysts currently rate a Buy is PINS.
Honestly… probably deserved.
PayPal beat Q1 estimates but dropped on weak guidance and restructuring; trades at ~8.4x earnings with billions in profit and FCF. Pessimism may be mostly priced in at current valuation, but competition from Apple Pay/Shop Pay and weak branded checkout growth are real headwinds. The stock is cheap for a reason. Not a clear long or short – the low multiple offers a margin of safety, but the structural risk keeps it from being a conviction buy. Best to watch for evidence that restructuring or new CEO strategy can stabilize growth. Continued loss of checkout share, margin compression, failed restructuring, or further guidance cuts.
Snap revenue grew 12% but still lost money; pushing another restructuring; high debt, beta >2, and gets crushed in risk-off periods. The author explicitly says Snap “feels more like a trading vehicle than a long-term compounder” – lacking profitability and balance sheet strength needed for a value investment. Avoid SNAP for long-term value; it is too speculative and volatile. Not suitable for a value-oriented portfolio. Could rally on ad recovery or short squeeze, but fundamental case is weak.
Pinterest crossed $1B quarterly revenue for the first time, revenue up 18% YoY, ~80% gross margins, nearly debt-free, generates real cash flow, and is down ~20% YTD. Analysts rate PINS a Buy, yet the stock has been punished as part of the “busted 2021 growth” basket. This disconnect between improving fundamentals and depressed price creates a compelling re-rating opportunity. Long PINS as a high-quality, cash-flow-positive business trading at a discount due to sector stigma; catalyst is continued earnings growth and eventual recognition by the market. Ad spending slowdown, competition from Meta/ByteDance, failure to monetize international users, or macro recession hitting digital advertising.
This Reddit post, published May 07, 2026,
features u/ValueEquities
discussing PYPL, SNAP, PINS.
3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.