What happened
Shares of Shopify (SHOP 3.24%), a software-as-a-service e-commerce platform company, jumped on Thursday. The stock rose as much as much as 13.1%. But as of 3:19 p.m. EDT, the stock was up 11.8%.
The stock's gain came after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, including 58% year-over-year revenue growth and a surprise non-GAAP profit.
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So what
Shopify's revenue rose 58% year over year to $270.1 million. This easily beat a consensus average analyst estimate for revenue of $258 million. Non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.04, down from $0.05 in the year-ago quarter, but above an average forecast for a non-GAAP loss per share of $0.02.
"Solid execution and continued rapid growth drove our strong results in the third quarter," said Shopify CFO Amy Shapero about the period in the company's third-quarter earnings release. Shapero cited new product and feature releases to help merchants prepare for the holidays, merchants' gross merchandise volume expansion, healthy growth in Shopify's merchant count, and overall growth in the e-commerce market as key catalysts for the quarter.
Now what
On the heels of this strong momentum, Shopify increased its full-year outlook. Management now expects 2018 revenue of between $1.045 billion and $1.055 billion, up from a previous forecast for revenue between $1.015 billion and $1.025 billion.
For its fourth quarter, Shopify expects revenue between $315 million and $325 million; the midpoint of this guidance implies 44% year-over-year growth. On average, analysts were expecting Shopify's fourth-quarter revenue to rise 42% year over year.
"We're well positioned to close 2018 and enter 2019 with excellent momentum," Shapero said.
