Shopify profit rises as AI-driven shopping grows

Shopify Inc. reported a US$1.5 billion profit in its latest quarter, up from US$906 million a year earlier, as shoppers and merchants increasingly used AI in online commerce. The results pushed Shopify’s share price up almost 19 per cent, rising by more than $32 in morning trading to $206.14.

President Harley Finkelstein said Shopify is positioning itself for a commerce market where purchases and store-building can be handled by both people and AI systems. During the second quarter, traffic and purchases that AI drove to businesses using Shopify software tripled from the year before.

Daily merchant use of Sidekick, Shopify’s AI-powered chatbot for sales advice and shop improvements, was 3.6 times higher than a year earlier. Sidekick now handles about 34 million conversations a quarter and helped create more than 36,000 custom apps in the latest quarter, compared with 12,000 in the first quarter.

Shopify said profit amounted to US$1.16 per diluted share, up from 69 cents US a year prior. Adjusted earnings were 42 cents US per diluted share, up from 35 cents US per diluted share, while revenue rose to US$3.58 billion from US$2.68 billion in the second quarter of 2025.