What happened
Shares of Shopify (SHOP 0.30%) climbed on Monday after the e-commerce infrastructure provider announced record-setting holiday sales. As of 3:15 p.m. ET, Shopify's stock price was up more than 3% after rising as much as 9% earlier in the day.
So what
Merchants on Shopify's platform generated a record $3.36 billion in Black Friday sales. That's a 17% year-over-year jump, and a 19% increase when excluding foreign exchange fluctuations.
"Black Friday Cyber Monday has grown into a full-on shopping season," Shopify president Harley Finkelstein said in a press release. "The weekend that started it all is still one of the biggest commerce events of the year, and our merchants have broken Black Friday sales records again."
NASDAQ: SHOP
Key Data Points
Shopify noted that its merchants enjoyed peak sales of $3.5 million per minute on Black Friday. The e-commerce company also highlighted its increasingly international presence, with worldwide cross-border orders accounting for 15% of its total sales.
"Our merchants have built beloved brands with loyal communities that support them," Finkelstein said. "This weekend, we're celebrating the incredible power of entrepreneurship on a global stage."
Now what
Shopify's gross merchandise volume -- essentially, the total dollar value of merchant transactions facilitated by its platform -- grew by 11% in the third quarter compared to the prior-year period. So, the 17% rise in its merchants' holiday sales could be reflective of a broader reacceleration in Shopify's revenue growth.
That would be welcome news for investors, who have endured the sharp downturn in Shopify's share price that's coincided with a pullback in online spending, following torrid e-commerce growth earlier in the pandemic.
