What happened
Shares of Shopify (SHOP +3.32%) slipped 10% in March, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence . Concerns about the impact of the novel coronavirus prompted a steep sell-off for the broader market last month, but the e-commerce company's stock managed to hold up better than the S&P 500 index across the stretch.
^SPX data by YCharts.
While concerns about the novel coronavirus and the related COVID-19 respiratory illness have wreaked havoc on many businesses and stocks, Shopify's focus on online retail services and strong growth over the last year have made it relatively resilient. The e-commerce stock has slid roughly 10% year to date, while the S&P 500 index has fallen roughly 23% across the same stretch.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Shopify stock's relatively sturdy performance early in 2020 is a testament to the business's strong momentum and the market's belief in the growth potential of its e-commerce services. The company is valued at roughly 20 times this year's expected sales, even after recent sell-offs. The stock has held up pretty well this year, all things considered, but its share price has taken a dip in April after management canceled the company's full-year guidance and further sell-offs for the broader market occurred.
Now what
Shopify stock has significantly underperformed the S&P 500 index early in April. The company's share price is down roughly 14.2% in the month's trading so far.
Shopify published a press release on April 1, providing an update on guidance and outlining some initiatives to support its stakeholders and merchant customers amid the challenges created by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company said that it expects to either match or exceed the guidance that it laid out for the first quarter. However, Shopify suspended its full-year guidance.
The first quarter sales guidance that the company issued in February targeted revenue of between $440 million and $446 million, a GAAP operating loss to be between $101 million and $105 million, and a non-GAAP (adjusted) operating loss between $30 million and $34 million. Prior to suspending its full-year targets, management was guiding for full-year revenue between $2.13 billion and $2.16 billion, a GAAP operating loss $324 million and $344 million, and an adjusted operating loss between $0 to $20 million.
Shopify is scheduled to report first quarter results before the market opens on May 6.
