Zalando and Shopify report mixed results amid e-commerce shifts
Zalando's stock fell after reporting slow organic growth, while Shopify posted its weakest revenue growth in three quarters. Both companies are pivoting toward AI-driven commerce, with Shopify maintaining a high valuation despite missing analyst expectations.
Zalando's stock fell 5% after earnings, with organic B2C revenue growth at just 0.9% and active customer growth at 3%. The partner marketplace share of trading volume reached 34% and is targeted to rise to 40-50% by 2028, a strategy intended to reduce capital tied in inventory. Zalando also announced 'Zalando Extended,' allowing users to shop in third-party stores via its app using AI agents. Shopify reported 32% revenue growth, its weakest in three quarters, missing analyst expectations for trading volume and subscription revenue. Despite this, Shopify maintained a free cash flow margin of over 20%. The company is positioning itself as infrastructure for agentic commerce, enabling stores to sell via AI agents like ChatGPT and Gemini. Shopify's valuation stands at $180 billion, over 50 times earnings. Caro Juncker argued that the disappointment regarding Shopify lies less in the absolute numbers and more in the enormous expectations, while noting that Zalando's growth potential lies in new categories and retail media.