New York, February 4, 2026, 19:38 EST — After-hours
Shopify shares dropped 4.4% to $114.02 in after-hours trading Wednesday, following a session where the stock fluctuated between $110.00 and $120.01. Trading volume hit roughly 20.8 million shares.
Traders continue cutting back on software and tech stocks amid concerns that emerging AI tools might disrupt the sector, despite a slew of company-specific developments. Shopify announced it will release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings before the market opens on Feb. 11, followed by a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The software sector took a hit earlier this week, largely due to concerns that fast-advancing AI could undercut pricing power and squeeze margins. “We’re looking at a lot of software names that are seen as companies that may well be disrupted,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, as shares in Salesforce, Datadog, and Adobe fell amid the broader selloff. Reuters
Not everyone is convinced. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed the notion that AI will replace software as “illogical,” speaking amid a widening AI-driven selloff across global markets. Reuters
U.S. stocks slipped Wednesday as investors grappled with the uncertain payoff from heavy AI investments and how to factor that risk into prices. “We’ve got an expensive market and expectations are really high,” said John Campbell, senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments. Meanwhile, Josh Chastant, portfolio manager at GuideStone Funds, admitted he was “a bit bearish on software in general.” The mood also took a hit from weaker-than-expected January private payrolls data from ADP and the government’s decision to delay the January jobs report due to a partial shutdown. Reuters
Jefferies analyst Samad Samana maintained a Hold rating and a $160 price target on Shopify ahead of its earnings report. He noted that third-party data suggests Shopify will beat consensus estimates on gross merchandise value (GMV), which measures the total value of goods sold on its platform.
Investors will zero in on the usual suspects: GMV trends over the holiday quarter, the ripple effect on payments and merchant services, and if Shopify can keep costs in check while expanding its AI offerings and stepping further into offline retail.
Yet the stock’s been moving like a high-beta software play, which can swing either way. If management signals caution on consumer demand, merchant growth, or expenses, sellers might jump back in. That’s especially true if the wider software sell-off continues.
Shopify will report earnings on Feb. 11, offering its first detailed outlook for 2026 during the call.
