Shopify Inc. shares suffered one of their worst days on record Thursday, after financial results failed to provide much clarity about the road ahead in 2023. Shopify
SHOP,
-15.88%,
which acts as the bones of many e-commerce websites and operations, disappointed with first-quarter guidance in an earnings report Wednesday afternoon and executives declined to provide any forecast beyond the current period. The stock fell 15.9% Thursday, its third-worst session on record and worst in exactly a year — shares fell 16% on Feb, 16, 2022, after executives admitted that growth would slow down last year.
The global pandemic accelerated Shopify’s business through 2020 and 2021, leading the stock to more than quintuple from its March 2020 lows to its peak in late 2021. Those gains were wiped out in 2022, however, and year-to-date gains of more than 50% were sliced roughly in half Thursday, with the stock now up 29.4% on the year. While Shopify easily cleared expectations for the holiday quarter in Wednesday’s report, the forecast left a lot to be desired. Specifically, analysts were concerned about the lack of clear guidance on first-quarter operating profit, though the information executives did provide suggested an operating loss even on an adjusted basis despite recently announced price increases. Full earnings coverage: Shopify stock falls nearly 7% as forecast disappoints amid escalating Amazon rivalry, price increases Fir …