May 8 (Reuters) - Pinterest ( PINS ) forecast

current-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Thursday,

a sign of growing advertising spend on the social media platform

despite uncertainty over marketing budgets.

The company's emphasis on direct response ads - designed to

prompt specific actions like shopping, app downloads or website

visits - continues to drive ad spend, even as brand awareness

advertising is weak.

Pinterest's ( PINS ) results follow the termination of a duty-free

import loophole in the U.S., which, combined with deepening

trade tensions, has constrained ad budgets for some social media

platforms.

But Facebook-parent Meta and Reddit ( RDDT ) topped

revenue expectations in the first quarter on strong ad sales. In

contrast, smaller rival Snap said that it would not

issue a quarterly forecast due to economic uncertainty, as

advertisers favor bigger platforms in tough times.

"As the macroeconomic and digital ad landscape evolves, our

strategy and consistent execution have made Pinterest ( PINS ) more

resilient than ever," CEO Bill Ready said in a statement.

Pinterest's ( PINS ) Gen Z users, who comprise over 40% of its user

base, along with its artificial intelligence tools for creating

personalized ad campaigns, make the social media platform

increasingly attractive to advertisers.

The company expects second-quarter revenue of $960 million

to $980 million, the midpoint of which was above the analysts'

average estimate of $966.3 million, according to data compiled

by LSEG.

It expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortization of $217 million to $237 million

for the second quarter, compared with estimates of $233.1

million.

Revenue grew 16% to $855 million for the first quarter ended

March 31, beating estimates of $846.6 million.

Global monthly active users on the platform rose 10% to 570

million, exceeding estimates of 564 million.