Shopify Shines

Shopify (SHOP 1.60%) reported second-quarter financial results on Aug. 1, and results show the commerce platform is enjoying robust demand for its steadily expanding suite of services.

Shopify results: The raw numbers

Data source: Shopify Q2 2019 earnings press release.

What happened with Shopify this quarter?

Shopify is becoming a more powerful force in the global retail arena. The company's gross merchandise volume (GMV) -- essentially, the total amount of sales made by all the merchants on its platform, climbed 51% year over year to $13.8 billion. Within its core U.S. market, Shopify now facilitates approximately 5% of all retail e-commerce sales, placing it third behind only Amazon and eBay. 

"Our strong performance in the second quarter reflects the success of our ongoing activities and investments to help merchants start selling, sell more, and sell globally," CFO Amy Shapero said in a press release. "The appeal of entrepreneurship is universal, which is why more entrepreneurs everywhere are attracted to Shopify."

With more entrepreneurs joining its platform every day, Shopify's subscription sales are booming. The company's subscription revenue leapt 38% to $153 million in the second quarter.

Shopify is benefiting from the growth of entrepreneurship around the world. Image Source: Getty Images.

Shopify is also expanding its service offerings. It recently launched a promising new fulfillment network, an upgraded point-of-sale system, augmented reality tools for product listings, and multicurrency checkout options. These services are proving popular with its customers. In turn, they're helping to fuel growth in Shopify's merchant solutions revenue, which jumped 56% to $208.9 million in the second quarter.

"Our powerful yet easy-to-use retail operating system helps level the playing field, providing expansive opportunities for our merchants and Shopify around the world," Shapero said.

Still, Shopify remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis. The company produced an operating loss of $39.6 million, compared to a loss of $30.8 million in the prior-year quarter, as it continues to spend heavily to expand its operations.

Looking forward

These strong results prompted Shopify to boost its full-year revenue guidance to between $1.51 billion and $1.53 billion, up from a prior forecast of $1.48 billion to $1.50 billion. 

However, Shopify also increased its GAAP operating loss projection to $145 million-$155 million, compared to a loss of $130 million to $140 million, as the company ramps up its growth investments. 

"We expect to spend $1 billion over the next five years to democratize fulfillment, making it accessible and affordable for merchants of any size to offer what used to be reserved for only the largest companies in the world," Chief Operating Officer Harley Finkelstein said during a conference call with analysts.