Shopify third-quarter revenue beats expectations, but losses continue

OTTAWA – Shopify (TSX:SH) says its revenue is growing by leaps and bounds but it’s not yet profitable.

The Ottawa-based company made its debut as a publicly traded company in May and has continued to expand through partnerships with other e-commerce firms and conventional retailers.

Revenue for the third quarter, reported in U.S. currency, was $52.8 million — up 93 per cent from $27.3 million a year earlier and above the estimate of $47.6 million.

Its net loss was $4.6 million, up nine per cent from $4.2 million in the third quarter of 2014, but on a per-share basis it fell to six cents from 11 cents because of a larger number of shares outstanding following the IPO.

Shopify’s adjusted net loss was $2.4 million or three cents per share, which was less than the estimate of six cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Its operating loss was $4.3 million, up from $4.1 million a year earlier.

The company says it expects revenue and operating losses in the current fourth quarter will be higher than in the third quarter. It’s also adjusting its full-year guidance to reflect the third-quarter results and fourth-quarter estimates.

For the three months ending Dec. 31, Shopify estimates revenue will be from $59 million to $61 million. Its operating loss under U.S. accounting rules is estimated to be between $7 million and $8 million for the current quarter, up from $4.3 million in the third quarter of this year and $4.1 million in last year’s third quarter.

For the full year ending Dec. 31, Shopify has raised its revenue estimate to between $194 million and $196 million and its operating loss to between $18.5 million and $19.5 million.

The previous estimate was for between $181 million and $183 million of revenue and an operating loss of between $21 million and $23 million.