Shopify Carts Past $100B in Quarterly GMV but Margin Worries Bruise the Stock
ShopifySHOP bagged the internet, then fumbled the exit. The company hit a major Q1 2026 milestone, with merchants driving $100.7B in gross merchandise volume. Even with strong growth across merchant and subscription revenue, cautious guidance dented sentiment and pushed shares down 15.6% yesterday.
- Citi’s Tyler Radke said higher-than-expected costs are dragging the Q2 profitability outlook, even as net loss narrowed to $581M from $682M YoY and revenue rose 34%.
- Management sees Q2 operating expenses at 35%–36% of revenue, pressuring margins even as revenue is expected to grow in the high-20s.
ShopifySHOP bagged the internet, then fumbled the exit. The company hit a major Q1 2026 milestone, with merchants driving $100.7B in gross merchandise volume. Even with strong growth across merchant and subscription revenue, cautious guidance dented sentiment and pushed shares down 15.6% yesterday.
- Citi’s Tyler Radke said higher-than-expected costs are dragging the Q2 profitability outlook, even as net loss narrowed to $581M from $682M YoY and revenue rose 34%.
- Management sees Q2 operating expenses at 35%–36% of revenue, pressuring margins even as revenue is expected to grow in the high-20s.
Payoff watch: To widen margins, Shopify is working to secure money transmitter licenses across the US. This would give it more control over payments, reduce reliance on Stripe, lift take rates, and support merchant-services margins that have stayed under pressure even after offloading logistics to Flexport in 2023. President Harley Finkelstein said the company has “entered the AI era with a clear edge,” but investors are still waiting for margins to keep pace with the platform’s growth. To widen margins, Shopify is working to secure money transmitter licenses across the US. This would give it more control over payments, reduce reliance on Stripe, lift take rates, and support merchant-services margins that have stayed under pressure even after offloading logistics to Flexport in 2023. President Harley Finkelstein said the company has “entered the AI era with a clear edge,” but investors are still waiting for margins to keep pace with the platform’s growth.