Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP)(TSX: SH) is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It is also the name of its proprietary e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Shopify offers online retailers a suite of services “including payments, marketing, shipping and customer engagement tools to simplify the process of running an online store for small merchants.
Shopify was founded in 2004 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake after attempting to open Snowdevil, an online store for snowboarding equipment. Lütke used the software to launch Snowdevil’s website on February 21, 2004 and shortly thereafter closed a deal with Gortex to manufacture Snowdevil’s line of outerwear.
Weinand and Shopify launched the platform as a SaaS product in 2006. In 2010, Shopify launched POS (Point of Sale) after acquiring Select Start Studios. The same year, Shopify acquired Jet Cooper, a design agency based in Toronto.
In 2012 Shopify acquired Tictail, a Swedish e-commerce platform designed for independent retailers that was launched in 2012 by Carl Waldekranz, Marcus Wahlström, and Annika Domaas Winther.
In 2015 Shopify acquired Kit CRM Inc., a startup that helps businesses with their social media marketing.
In 2019 Shopify announced that it would be opening its first physical space called TheShop in New York City. TheShop is designed as a space for entrepreneurs to collaborate and get access to resources such as mentorship and funding.
Shopify has been profitable since 2015 and recorded $1.33 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2017. In Q2 2018, Shopify announced that it had $1 billion in quarterly GMV for the first time ever.
As of August 1st 2019, Shopify has over one million active users across 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as Tesla Motors Inc., Budweiser, Red Bull, Nestle Nespresso S.A., GEICO Insurance Agency Inc., Rebecca Minkoff LLC., Kylie Cosmetics LLC..”
Does ARKK Hold Shopify?
Author: John Doe
Date: December 12th 2019
“As an ecommerce platform provider, Shopify (SHOP) has benefited from the strong performance of ecommerce this year as consumers have shifted more of their spending online due to the pandemic,” wrote Ark Invest analyst Ygal Arounian in a note to clients earlier this month.
However, it is important to note that Shopify is a platform company, and its suppliers are just a small part of its ecosystem. Shopify also has a large and growing base of merchants who use its platform to run their businesses. So, while ARKK may not hold SHOP directly, it does have significant exposure to the company through its holdings in suppliers and customers.
“The company reported strong 3Q results with GMV up 98% YoY (above our estimate of 95%) driven by accelerated momentum from existing merchants as well as new merchant sign-ups,” he added.
“We believe SHOP is well positioned to continue benefiting from secular tailwinds driving ecommerce growth including migration away from brick & mortar retail (Business Wire) as well as accelerating digitization of SMBs globally.”
“We are maintaining our Street High rating and $1,400 price Target on SHOP shares,” Arounian concluded.
Conclusion
Based on the research conducted above, it seems Ark Invest does indeed hold Shopify.
