Shares of Shopify (SHOP 5.42%) jumped on Wednesday, rising to a new all-time high. The stock's big gain was fueled by second quarter results that blew past analyst estimates. "The ongoing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to accelerate the shift of purchase habits to e-commerce," Shopify said in its second quarter update.
Highlighting how incredible the quarter was, Shopify's $714.3 million in revenue was more than $200 million ahead of analysts' average forecast for the period. "The strength of Shopify's value proposition was on full display in our second quarter," said Shopify CFO Amy Shapero in the company's second quarter earnings release.
Here's a closer look at the e-commerce platform provider's stellar quarter -- and why the growth stock is soaring.
Image source: Shopify.
Accelerating growth
The big takeaway from Shopify's second quarter was a sharp acceleration in growth, fueled by a bump to e-commerce as online sales suddenly became critical for many businesses.
Second quarter revenue rose 97% year over year, driven by a 119% year-over-year increase in gross merchandise volume (GMV). This impressively put total revenue for the period $200.5 million ahead of analysts' consensus estimate.
Shopify benefited in the second quarter from a surge in demand for e-commerce solutions amid lockdowns and social distancing measures. New online stores created on the Shopify platform during the period, for instance, increased 71% year over year. Capturing the acceleration in Shopify's business, its 97% second quarter revenue growth compared to a 47% year-over-year jump in first quarter revenue.
Looking ahead
Despite the strong quarter, management admitted that uncertainty still looms.
Image source: Getty Images.
"While COVID-19 has significantly influenced online store creation and consumer spending behavior, the magnitude and duration of its future impact remain uncertain in view of the greater likelihood of an extended global recession," management said in Shopify's second quarter update. "As a result, Shopify is not providing a financial outlook for Q3 2020 or for the full year 2020."
But the tech company remains largely optimistic about its growth opportunity, noting that it expects the accelerated shift to e-commerce that has been brought on by COVID-19 to persist.
Further, Shopify provided a look at some recent trends in its business. Its total GMV growth, for instance, has decelerated since peaking in May. However, in-person GMV through the company's point-of-sale (POS) channel has started to recover in June as lockdowns eased. Indeed, by the end of June, POS GMV approached February levels -- and POS GMV has continued to grow into July. "Whether this trend will continue is unknown given the reintroduction of lockdown measures in certain geographies as well as the uncertain macroeconomic environment," management said.
While uncertainty is certainly still taking center stage, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: lockdowns have led to a significant acceleration in organizations' digital transformations.
