Engagement patterns across major internet platforms shifted during September heading into third quarter earnings reports, according to an analysis by Wedbush analysts.
The analysts noted stronger-than-expected trends for Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) and DoorDash Inc (NYSE:DASH), while Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, ETR:UT8)'s metrics were more subdued.
Pinterest saw a notable uptick in user activity during the third quarter, the firm noted. Web traffic to Pinterest grew 11% year-over-year in 3Q, improving from 3% growth in the previous quarter, with “growth accelerating in each successive month through the quarter.”
App engagement remained strong as well, with monthly active users (MAUs) rising 14% year-over-year, steady compared with the prior quarter’s 15% increase.
Daily active user (DAU) growth also “continued to persist in the mid-teens year-over-year,” which the analysts noted signals consistent platform engagement.
Wedbush believes these figures are outperforming current consensus expectations, which project Pinterest’s MAU growth to decelerate to 9.7% year-over-year in the third quarter, down from 10.7% in the second quarter.
DoorDash
DoorDash’s engagement metrics also strengthened in the third quarter, with Wedbush reporting that web traffic rose 9% year-over-year, an acceleration from 2% in the prior quarter.
App MAUs increased 19% year-over-year, up from 17% growth in the second quarter.
“We think results are encouraging relative to Street estimates,” the firm said.
They expect relatively stable marketplace gross order value (GOV) growth in the third quarter, following 23% in the second, and total order growth of roughly 19.1%, a slight sequential deceleration.
Wedbush also pointed to strategic execution as a key driver for the company. “DoorDash continues to execute on key growth initiatives, and management anticipates the platform will be a volume share leader across new verticals within the next year,” they wrote.
Uber
In contrast, Uber’s web and app engagement trends were described as “modest” in the third quarter.
Web traffic to Uber Eats grew 12% year-over-year, consistent with the second quarter, but consolidated app MAU growth slowed to 5%, a deceleration of roughly 200 basis points from the prior quarter.
Wedbush noted that “results in the quarter are tracking below expectations,” which call for sequential acceleration in gross bookings growth, both on a reported and FX-neutral basis.