Shopify’s revenue rose 32% to $3.74bn in the third quarter, the company said on Tuesday . Analysts had expected $3.75bn, making it Shopify’s first revenue miss since 2022, Ignacio Gonzalez reported for Bloomberg .
Shares fell as much as 17% during trading, according to Bloomberg. They closed down 8.7%, CNBC reported.
Gross merchandise volume, the value of all orders placed through Shopify, rose 29% to $119.15bn. Analysts had expected $120.03bn, according to StreetAccount figures cited by CNBC. Subscription revenue of $836mn also missed estimates.
Profit grew. Net income rose to $462mn from $264mn a year earlier, and operating income rose to $568mn from $343mn. Adjusted earnings of 49 cents a share beat forecasts. Free cash flow reached 22% of revenue, up from 18%.
The cost of running Shopify’s subscription business rose to $175mn from $128mn, the company’s accounts show. On the Shopify earnings call, chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister linked the lower margins to Sidekick, Shopify’s AI assistant for merchants, Adriano Marchese reported for the Wall Street Journal .
“Subscription solutions gross margins compressed primarily from incremental AI spend on Sidekick, partially offset by efficiencies in support,” Hoffmeister said.
Shopify expects revenue to grow at a low-thirties percentage rate in the fourth quarter. It expects gross profit to grow more slowly, at a high-twenties rate.
Shopify president Harley Finkelstein called the merchandise volume figures “consistent” and “durable” in an interview with CNBC. It was the 13th straight quarter of volume growth above 20%, he said.
“I do think this is the first holiday season where AI-assisted shopping capabilities will become mainstream, especially with the rise of personal agents,” Finkelstein told CNBC.
Shopify was an early partner for Meta’s Muse agent , which can buy items from Shopify stores, CNBC reported. Amazon is pushing its own Alexa for Shopping , and Walmart will let AI agents shop with their own spending limits.
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