Shopify: Stock of the Week

Has the firm really turned the corner already?

Andrew Willis 14 November, 2022 | 4:38AM
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Andrew Willis: Solid, expectation-beating third-quarter results from Shopify SHOP were a relief for investors, especially amidst this rough year the tech sector has been having so far. We see some upside for Shopify stock, but its high uncertainty rating doesn’t help raise our conviction level. After recent layoffs and fears of stagnating growth in e-commerce, this quarter's earnings were a welcome surprise, but a lack of guidance from management doesn’t tell us whether the company’s turned the corner.

Perhaps Shopify is achieving its dream of becoming a one-stop shop for small and midsize businesses, with its robust e-commerce platform becoming a core to a variety of related add-ons – including shipping. And as customers continue to integrate with add-ons, switching costs are likely to go up, which make up the company’s narrow moat.

Senior equity analyst Dan Romanoff says that after establishing itself as a leader in the small and medium-sized business space, Shopify has been pushing more into the enterprise market with Shopify Plus – which could bring some success – but also competition from the likes of Salesforce and Adobe. Great aspirations come with great risk!

Adding to the uncertainty, we think the fact that the incoming CFO has been a prominent investment banker suggests Shopify will step up its acquisition efforts. At least one thing’s for certain: the rout in tech stocks this year has lowered prices to help make those ambitions a reality.

For Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.

 

Editor's Note: All images are courtesy of Unsplash.com and AP Images. 

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar Rating
Shopify Inc Registered Shs -A- Subord Vtg148.95 CAD2.48Rating

About Author

Andrew Willis

Andrew Willis  is Senior Editor at Morningstar Canada. He previously produced content for Fidelity Investments and finance industry events for Euromoney Institutional Investor and has written in the past for Thomson Reuters and CNN. Follow him on Twitter @Andrew_M_Willis.

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