Franklin Templeton Charges Ahead in XRP ETF Race With November Launch Target

Wall Street's crypto gold rush accelerates as Franklin Templeton positions itself to beat competitors to the XRP ETF finish line.

The November Countdown Begins

Franklin Templeton's institutional machinery shifts into high gear, aiming to launch the first XRP ETF by November 2025. The asset management giant leverages its established ETF infrastructure and regulatory experience to potentially outpace BlackRock, Fidelity, and other contenders still navigating SEC complexities.

Regulatory Hurdles and Market Positioning

The firm navigates the SEC's cautious stance on crypto ETFs while building institutional-grade custody solutions and liquidity partnerships. Their existing digital asset experience provides crucial advantages in meeting regulatory requirements that have stalled competitors.

Institutional adoption meets regulatory reality—another financial firm chasing crypto fees while pretending it's about innovation.

TLDR

• Pinterest shares dropped 20% after reporting Q3 earnings of $0.38 per share, missing Wall Street’s estimate of $0.42 per share.
• Fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $1.31-$1.34 billion fell short of analyst expectations of $1.34 billion.
• Global monthly active users reached 600 million, exceeding the 590 million projected by analysts.
• Pinterest CFO cited “pockets of moderating ad spend” from larger U.S. retailers dealing with tariff-related margin pressure.
• The stock decline erased Pinterest’s gains for the year, while competitors Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon reported strong digital advertising sales last week.

Pinterest reported third-quarter results on Tuesday that sent shares tumbling nearly 20% in extended trading. The image-sharing platform earned $0.38 per share, falling short of the $0.42 consensus estimate.

$PINS (Pinterest) #earnings are out: pic.twitter.com/zAsf04ytvy

— The Earnings Correspondent (@earnings_guy) November 4, 2025

Revenue hit $1.05 billion, matching analyst expectations. That represented 17% growth compared to the same period last year.

Net income came in at $92.11 million, up 201% from $30.56 million a year earlier. The company’s adjusted EBITDA reached $306 million, beating StreetAccount’s projection of $295 million.

Pinterest, Inc., PINS

The stock drop erased Pinterest’s gains for the entire year. Investors reacted negatively to both the earnings miss and the company’s forward-looking guidance.

For the fourth quarter, Pinterest projected revenue between $1.31 billion and $1.34 billion. The midpoint of $1.325 billion came in below Wall Street’s $1.34 billion estimate.

Free cash FLOW totaled $318 million for the quarter. The company continues to generate strong cash despite the revenue concerns.

User Growth Remains Strong

Pinterest added 600 million global monthly active users in the third quarter. That number exceeded StreetAccount’s estimate of 590 million users.

The platform reported 578 million monthly active users in the second quarter. User growth accelerated from international markets and product improvements.

Global average revenue per user was $1.78, slightly below the projected $1.79. U.S. and Canada sales reached $786 million, missing estimates of $799 million.

CEO Bill Ready highlighted the company’s progress with artificial intelligence. “We’ve become a leader in visual search and have effectively turned our platform into an AI-powered shopping assistant for 600 million consumers,” Ready said in a statement.

Tariff Concerns Weigh on Outlook

Pinterest CFO Julia Donnelly pointed to challenges in the U.S. and Canada markets during the earnings call. She noted “pockets of moderating ad spend” from larger U.S. retailers.

Donnelly attributed the slowdown to tariff-related issues pressuring retailer margins. President Donald TRUMP announced in September that the White House would impose 10% tariffs on imported timber and lumber.

The administration also plans 25% duties on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and related furniture. These tariffs have created uncertainty for retailers in the home furnishing category.

Donnelly said the company expects “these broader trends and market uncertainty continuing with the addition of a new tariff in Q4 impacting the home furnishing category.” The guidance reflects these headwinds affecting advertiser spending.

The results contrasted sharply with other tech platforms. Meta reported third-quarter revenue growth of 26% year-over-year to $51.24 billion last week.

Amazon’s advertising unit posted 24% growth to $17.7 billion. Alphabet’s total advertising sales climbed nearly 13% to $74.18 billion.

Reddit reported even stronger growth with sales up 68% year-over-year to $585 million. Global daily active users increased 19% to 116 million, topping analyst estimates.

Morgan Stanley analysts Brian Nowak and Matt Bombassei admitted they “were wrong about Pinterest’s ability to drive durable, faster than expected revenue growth from its platform and engagement/monetization improvements.” The analyst note reflected broader market disappointment with Pinterest’s performance relative to peers.