Why Global-E Stock Jumped 29% in May

What happened

Shares of Global-E Online (GLBE -2.15%) Stock gained 29% in May, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Investors drove the price up based on an excellent first-quarter report.

So what

Global-E is a young growth company with a niche platform. It services business and enterprise clients with cross-border e-commerce solutions, such as localized checkouts and customs calculations. These are services that add a lot of value and can generate significant sales for clients. For many e-commerce retailers, these are no-brainer services they want to offer, and they're even more important in the inflationary environment as businesses look through every nook and cranny for ways to generate sales.

In the 2023 first quarter, sales increased 54% over last year to $118 million, and gross merchandise volume increased 55% to $704 million. Those are impressive growth metrics, especially given the pressured retail climate.

Profitability hasn't fared as well, at least yet, for this fairly new, growth-oriented tech company. But it demonstrated progress in the first quarter, which is what many investors need to see to make it a buy for them, even if it's still a way off from net profit. Adjusted gross profit increased 63% in the first quarter to $49 million, and adjusted gross margin increased by 2.3 percentage points to 41.4%. Adjusted EBITDA rose from $3.3 million last year to $14.5 million this year.

Global-e partners with a long list of high-profile clients, including Disney and LVMH, but it also works with business clients of all sizes that see its value. It consistently adds new clients and expands its partnerships with existing clients. In the first quarter, both Disney and LVMH added services and markets to their plans.

It also has a relationship with Shopify. It provides its solutions for Shopify's millions of merchant clients, and Shopify has an investment in Global-E.

Now what

Global-E stock is up 68% so far this year, as investors see the incredible performance and opportunity here. Performance should only get better when the economy improves, but it's robust even now. It should also demonstrate improving profitability as it scales, and it looks as if there's a viable path toward net income and positive cash flow.

Shares aren't cheap, trading at a price-to-sales ratio of 12. But that's because it's a high-growth stock with massive long-term potential, and it looks like a solid buy right now.