Shopify stock jumps 14% after it boosts revenue in Q2

Ottawa tech startup Shopify saw its stock jump by 14 per cent on Thursday after it announced second quarter revenues increased by 90 per cent.

The company, which listed in May on Nasdaq and in Toronto, was trading at $50.73 Cdn in Toronto at mid-afternoon.

The number of merchants using its software has grown to 175,000 and the volume of business moved through its platform doubled.

The company reported a net loss of $3.3 million or six cents per share for the quarter ended June 30 compared with a loss of $6.9 million or 18 cents per share a year ago.

Revenue improved to $44.9 million from $23.7 million.

Shopify Inc. expects to increase spending in the final half of the year as the e-commerce software maker prepares for a surge of business leading up to Christmas shopping season.

Chief financial officer Russ Jones told analysts on the company's financial results conference call that more investments would be made during the third quarter as it builds sales and support resources.

"As growth accelerates our plan is to keep reinvesting," he said. "The opportunity in front of us is so large that it clearly makes sense."

It is preparing for a surge of business going into the Christmas shopping season and has hired new workers to handle demand.

And it is launching new features that help merchants link their e-commerce stores to blogs and websites. It is also rolling out ShopifyPlus, a premium service for high volume merchants, as a way to attract larger clients

Shopify projects revenue in the $181 million to $183 million range for the entire year with an operating loss in the range of $21 million to $23 million.