Shopify Q1 2021 - Strength To Strength

SaaS
Written By Rick Watson

Just got off the Shopify Q1 earnings call. Moving from strength to strength. SFN scale still very far off. No coverage of leadership team changes.

1 - Growth Highlights

  • GMV grew 114% y/y - crazy numbers!

  • MRR accelerated 62% y/y

  • R&D increased 50% y/y. Difficult for competition to keep up with this pace.

  • Up to 1.7M merchants

In 2021 expect that Merchant Solutions revenue to slow down relative to Subscription Revenue as GMV starts to taper relative to 2020. Shopify native outpacing the growth rate of Shopify Plus, which I view as healthy for the platform overall. It means they aren’t losing their focus on the core.

2 - Operating Leverage Highlights - revenue doubled y/y but sales & Marketing expenses only increased 20% - Subscription solutions gross margin steady at ~80%. Merchant solutions revenue increase gross margin 15% y/y (from 38% - 44%) .

Subscription solutions remain a critical model advantage over competitive platforms.

3 - Shopify Fulfillment Network Still a long-term bet. Nothing to see here. Move along.

4 - No mention of management turnover in prepared remarks, What doesn’t get mentioned speaks volumes sometimes. Many will continue to watch. Can't manage growth well without half your management team. It will not HINDER growth likely.

Rick Watson

Rick Watson founded RMW Commerce Consulting after spending 20+ years as a technology entrepreneur and operator exclusively in the eCommerce industry with companies like ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, Merchantry, and Pitney Bowes.

Watson’s work today is centered on supporting investors and management teams incubating and growing direct-to-consumer businesses. Most recently, in partnership with WHP Global, Rick was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a new turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform that powers AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com.

Watson also hosts a weekly podcast, Watson Weekly, where he shares an unbiased, unfiltered expert take on the retail sector’s biggest players.

In the past year alone, Rick has spoken at many in-person and virtual events as well as podcasts on topics ranging from retail/ecom to supply chain/logistics and even digital grocery including CommerceNext IRL, ASCM Connect, and Retail Innovation Conference.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/
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