Shopify Stock Sinks 16% on Weak Forecast
Shares of Shopify (SHOP:US) fell by nearly 16% on Thursday after the e-commerce business offered a weaker-than-expected forecast for the first quarter.
Shopify surprised investors by reporting a profit for the fourth quarter with the adjusted EPS coming in at $0.07, better than the analyst consensus for a loss per share of $0.02. Revenue increased by 26% year-over-year to $1.73 billion, beating the $1.65 billion. Revenue from the company’s Merchant Solutions business unit surged by 30% to $1.33 billion.
Shopify also reported a gross payment volume of $34.2 billion, an increase of 23% YoY.
“The strength of our Q4 and full year performance in 2022 is a testament to the resilience of our merchants. Despite persistent macroeconomic challenges, they continued to succeed on Shopify, growing sales and using more of our mission-critical tools to run their businesses,” said Harley Finkelstein, Shopify President.
Despite solid Q4 results, shares were hit after the company said it expects this quarter’s revenue growth to be in “high-teen percentages,” while analysts were looking for a 20% growth.
Congressman Michael San Nicolas, the former Delegate from Guam, was both buying and selling SHOP stock in the summer of 2022, including several $250,000 - $500,000 transactions.
Aside from San Nicolas, Congressman Ro Khanna was mostly selling the stock after it slumped last year in a worsening environment for high-growth stocks. Shopify shares fell about 85% from their all-time high in November 2021 before staging a relief rally in recent months. Overall, SHOP stock now trades about 26% higher year-to-date (YTD).
