Shopify Earnings Show Revenue Still Growing 32% and More of It Turning Into Cash
Shopify earnings show revenue up 32% in the third quarter of 2026, to $3.74 billion, with free cash flow at 22% of revenue, its highest since the end of 2024. The shares were down about 15% in pre-market trading at 7:12 a.m. ET, from Monday's close. Growth was slower than the 34% of the quarter before.
The short answer. Shopify, the company whose software runs millions of online and in-store shops, still grew sales by about a third. Shoppers placed $119 billion of orders with its merchants in three months. A bigger part of Shopify's sales turned into spare cash than in any quarter since late 2024. The company expects that share, its free cash flow margin, to drop back to about 19% over the holidays. The shares traded about 15% below Monday's close before the market opened.
Shopify third quarter 2026 at a glance
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 19% |
| Q4 2024 | 22% |
| Q1 2025 | 15% |
| Q2 2025 | 16% |
| Q3 2025 | 18% |
| Q4 2025 | 19% |
| Q1 2026 | 15% |
| Q2 2026 | 18% |
| Q3 2026 | 22% |
Every company reporting the same week, with its date and time, is in StockTitan's Earnings Calendar for the Week of November 2, 2026.
On this page
- Shopify earnings for the third quarter of 2026
- Shopify stock after the earnings report
- Shopify growth and cash, quarter by quarter
- Where Shopify revenue growth came from
- Shopify free cash flow and profit
- Shopify guidance for the holiday quarter
- Shopify buybacks, dividend and cash
- Frequently asked questions
Shopify earnings for the third quarter of 2026
Shopify grew sales by about a third in the three months to September 30. Revenue rose 32%, and profit from running the business rose 66%.
Shopify reported its results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, before the market opened on November 3. Revenue rose 32% to $3,742 million, from $2,844 million a year earlier. Growth was also 32% when currency swings are taken out.
The result landed where Shopify said it would. In August, it had forecast growth at a low thirties percentage rate for this quarter.
Profit grew faster than sales. Operating income, the profit from running the business before interest and taxes, rose 66% to $568 million. Net income rose to $462 million, from $264 million.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3,742 million | $2,844 million | 32% |
| Gross merchandise volume (GMV) | $119,145 million | $92,013 million | 29% |
| Gross profit | $1,781 million | $1,391 million | 28% |
| Operating income | $568 million | $343 million | 66% |
| Net income | $462 million | $264 million | |
| Diluted earnings per share, GAAP | $0.36 | $0.20 | |
| Diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP | $0.49 | $0.34 | |
| Free cash flow (non-GAAP) | $816 million | $507 million | |
| Free cash flow margin (non-GAAP) | 22% | 18% |
Source: Shopify third quarter 2026 results release, November 3, 2026. Percentage changes as reported by Shopify.
Shopify stock after the earnings report
Shopify shares traded about 15% below Monday's close in pre-market trading at 7:12 a.m. ET, according to StockTitan's Nasdaq quote data.
The last trade at 7:12 a.m. ET was $132.00, against Monday's close of $156.22. The drop came in the first pre-market minutes after the 7:00 a.m. ET release. Shares had traded near $154 at 6:59 a.m. ET. In the 7:01 a.m. ET minute they touched $125, about 20% below Monday's close.
The release does not mention the share price or give a reason for the move.
Shopify growth and cash, quarter by quarter
Over the last nine quarters, Shopify's growth has stayed near 30%. Its free cash flow margin has climbed through each year, and 22% this quarter is its highest since late 2024.
Shopify's own past releases show a clear pattern. Growth has been 31% or more in each of the last six quarters. It peaked at 34% in the first half of 2026 and eased to 32% now.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 26% |
| Q4 2024 | 31% |
| Q1 2025 | 27% |
| Q2 2025 | 31% |
| Q3 2025 | 32% |
| Q4 2025 | 31% |
| Q1 2026 | 34% |
| Q2 2026 | 34% |
| Q3 2026 | 32% |
The free cash flow margin, the share of revenue left as spare cash, rose each quarter through 2025. It went from 15% in the first quarter to 19% in the fourth.
This year it went from 15% to 18% and then jumped to 22%. That is already above the 19% of the fourth quarter of 2025.
The outlook breaks that pattern. In 2024 and 2025, the fourth quarter brought the best margin of the year. This time, Shopify expects a fourth quarter margin near 19%, below the third quarter's 22%.
Where Shopify revenue growth came from
Most of the growth came from merchant solutions, the services that grow as merchants sell more. Shoppers placed $119 billion of orders through Shopify in the quarter.
Shopify earns money in two ways. Merchant solutions are services whose revenue rises with what merchants sell, such as payments. Subscription solutions are the plans merchants pay for to run their stores.
Merchant solutions revenue rose 35% to $2,906 million, and it now makes up most of the company's sales. Subscription revenue rose 20% to $836 million.
The value of all orders placed through Shopify rose 29% to $119,145 million. The company calls this gross merchandise volume, or GMV. Monthly recurring revenue, the value of all subscription plans in force at the end of the quarter, rose to $230 million from $193 million.
| Revenue line | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change | Change at constant currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant solutions | $2,906 million | $2,145 million | 35% | 36% |
| Subscription solutions | $836 million | $699 million | 20% | 20% |
| Total revenue | $3,742 million | $2,844 million | 32% | 32% |
| GMV | $119,145 million | $92,013 million | 29% | 30% |
Source: Shopify third quarter 2026 results release, statements of operations and constant currency table.
Shopify free cash flow and profit
Free cash flow is the cash a business has left after running itself and paying for equipment. Shopify had $816 million of it this quarter, up from $507 million a year earlier.
Free cash flow was 22% of revenue in the third quarter, up from 18% a year earlier. Shopify calls this its free cash flow margin. It is the company's own measure, outside standard accounting rules. It equals the cash from operations, $818 million, minus $2 million spent on equipment.
One change in how Shopify counts cash matters here. Since April 2026, cash it advances to merchants is counted under investing, like its loans, and no longer under operations. This quarter, that moved a net $30 million of spending out of operations.
Without the change, free cash flow would have been about $786 million, or 21% of revenue. That is still well above the 18% of a year earlier.
On the profit side, costs rose more slowly than sales. Total operating expenses grew to $1,213 million from $1,048 million, even as gross profit grew a little slower than sales, 28% against 32%. Operating expenses were about 32% of revenue, below the 33% to 34% Shopify had forecast in August. Non-GAAP earnings, which leave out stock-based pay and investment swings, came to $0.49 a share, up from $0.34.
Shopify guidance for the holiday quarter
For October to December, Shopify expects sales to grow at a low thirties percentage rate. That points to revenue of about $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion, with a free cash flow margin near 19%.
Shopify's outlook for the fourth quarter of 2026 calls for revenue growth at a low thirties percentage rate from a year earlier. Fourth quarter 2025 revenue was $3,672 million, so that growth would put revenue at about $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion.
It expects gross profit dollars to grow at a high twenties percentage rate. Operating expenses should equal 29% to 30% of revenue, and stock-based pay should total $155 million.
Shopify expects its free cash flow margin to be consistent with the fourth quarter of 2025. That margin was 19%, on $715 million of free cash flow. The fourth quarter includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Shopify buybacks, dividend and cash
Shopify used $562 million of its cash to buy back its own shares. It paid no dividend in the quarter.
Shopify spent $562 million buying back its own shares in the third quarter, against none in the same quarter of 2025. The diluted share count used for earnings per share fell to about 1.29 billion from 1.31 billion a year earlier. Fewer shares means each one holds a slightly larger part of the company. The cash flow statement shows no dividend payment.
At September 30, Shopify held $1,868 million in cash and cash equivalents and $2,859 million in marketable securities. Its balance sheet in the release shows total liabilities of $1,915 million and no separate line for debt.
What to watch
- The full quarterly report: Shopify's Form 10-Q for the third quarter should give more detail on the merchant cash advances that moved to investing cash flows.
- The holiday quarter result: Shopify's fourth quarter 2026 release will show whether revenue grew at the low thirties rate it expects and whether the free cash flow margin landed near 19%.
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article. The quarterly trend uses each quarter's figures as Shopify first reported them.
- About $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion of fourth quarter 2026 revenue: fourth quarter 2025 revenue of $3,672 million grown by 30% to 33%, our reading of a low thirties rate.
- About $786 million, or 21% of revenue, of free cash flow without the cash advance change: the reported $816 million less the $30 million the release says moved to investing.
- About 32% of revenue in operating expenses: $1,213 million of operating expenses divided by $3,742 million of revenue.
- Highest free cash flow margin since the end of 2024: the 22% against each quarter's margin as first reported since the third quarter of 2024; without the cash advance change, about 21%, still above every quarter since then and below the 22% of the fourth quarter of 2024.
- The fourth quarter as the year's best margin: 12%, 16%, 19% and 22% through 2024 and 15%, 16%, 18% and 19% through 2025, from each quarter's own release or the year-earlier column of the next year's release.
- About 15% share drop: the $132.00 pre-market trade in StockTitan's Nasdaq quote data at 7:12 a.m. ET on November 3 against the $156.22 close of November 2; the $125 low at 7:01 a.m. ET was about 20% below that close.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Shopify revenue grow in Q3 2026?
Shopify revenue grew 32% to $3,742 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, from $2,844 million a year earlier. Growth was 34% in each of the two quarters before.
Why is Shopify stock down today?
The shares traded about 15% below Monday's close in pre-market trading at 7:12 a.m. ET on November 3, right after the results came out. The release does not mention the share price or give a reason for the move.
What is Shopify's guidance for Q4 2026?
Shopify expects fourth quarter revenue to grow at a low thirties percentage rate from a year earlier, gross profit dollars to grow at a high twenties rate, operating expenses at 29% to 30% of revenue, and a free cash flow margin in line with the 19% of the fourth quarter of 2025.
What was Shopify's free cash flow in Q3 2026?
Free cash flow was $816 million, or 22% of revenue, up from $507 million and 18% a year earlier, according to the company's non-GAAP reconciliation.
What were Shopify's earnings per share?
Diluted earnings per share were $0.36 under standard accounting rules (GAAP), up from $0.20, and $0.49 on Shopify's non-GAAP basis, up from $0.34.
Does Shopify pay a dividend?
Shopify paid no dividend in the third quarter, and its cash flow statement shows no dividend payment. Shopify returned cash through share buybacks instead, spending $562 million on them in the quarter.
Sources
- Shopify third quarter 2026 results release on StockTitan, November 3, 2026
- Shopify second quarter 2026 results release on StockTitan, August 5, 2026
- Shopify first quarter 2026 results release on StockTitan, May 5, 2026
- Shopify fourth quarter 2025 results release on StockTitan, February 11, 2026
- Shopify third quarter 2025 results release on StockTitan, November 4, 2025
- Shopify second quarter 2025 results release on StockTitan, August 6, 2025
- Shopify first quarter 2025 results release on StockTitan, May 8, 2025
- Shopify fourth quarter 2024 results release on StockTitan, February 11, 2025
- Shopify third quarter 2024 results release on StockTitan, November 12, 2024
- Shopify investor relations
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