Shopify shares drop as CEO addresses short-seller’s allegations
VANCOUVER — Shopify Inc. reported a solid revenue increase, reached a crucial milestone a quarter earlier than anticipated and mounted a defence against “preposterous claims” by a “short-selling troll”, but failed to ease investor concerns Thursday as shares fell more than eight per cent.
The Ottawa-based online store platform (TSX:SHOP) posted its first adjusted operating profit as a public company in its third quarter ended Sept. 30 as its revenue grew 72 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Revenue for the company, which keeps its books in US dollars, totalled $171.5 million, up from $99.6 million. Shopify said it lost $9.4 million in its third quarter, amounting to nine cents per share. That compared with a loss of $9.1 million or 11 cents per share a year ago when it had fewer shares outstanding.
In a call, CEO Tobias Lutke publicly addressed allegations by high-profile short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research published earlier this month.