(Reuters) - Shopify (SHOP) topped market estimates for sales in the holiday quarter on Tuesday, on the back of healthy consumer spending and the company rolling out AI features that have attracted more sellers to its e-commerce platform.
Shares in Shopify rose 8% before the bell on Tuesday.
U.S.-listed shares of the company fell 9% in premarket trading. Shopify expects its revenue to grow at a mid-twenties percentage rate in the current quarter, while analysts expect a rise of 24.4% from a year earlier to $2.31 billion according to data from LSEG.
The company also expects operating expense as a percentage of revenue to be 41% to 42% in the first quarter, compared with 31.5% in the holiday quarter.
Shopify has invested in building out artificial intelligence-based tools and features across its services that help sellers on its platform with tasks ranging from image generation and inventory management to gathering customer and sales data.
The company also benefited from strong online sales over the holiday season, with U.S. online spending rising nearly 9% between November and December, according to data from Adobe Analytics.
The Canadian company reported revenue of $2.81 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.73 billion according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
