New York, February 23, 2026, 17:16 EST — Trading after the bell.
Shopify Inc (SHOP.O) slid roughly 7% to $117.28 in Monday’s after-hours trade, deepening its decline and putting it almost $9 below where it finished on Friday. Shares bounced between $115.89 and $125.51, with volume at 12.6 million trades. The company’s market cap sits near $187 billion, putting its price-to-earnings ratio around 105.
Investors pulled back from risk, eyeing fresh tariff jitters and worries over how fast new AI tech might upend the software sector. The Dow slid 1.66%, with the S&P 500 down 1.04%. The Nasdaq wasn’t immune, falling 1.13%. Software names in particular took a beating, shedding 4.3%. “Sell first, assess later,” said Tom Hainlin, strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, summing up the tone. Nvidia is set to report Wednesday, one of several anticipated earnings this week. Reuters
This is significant for Shopify. The stock tends to behave like a typical growth software play when investors get defensive. High-multiple names, including Shopify, have been hit hard by traders on negative macro headlines—even if the underlying company narrative stays pretty much the same.
Earlier this month, Shopify rattled some investors after its holiday-quarter earnings flagged a drop in free cash flow margin — that’s the portion of revenue left after expenses and investments. The update wasn’t all caution: Shopify rolled out a $2 billion buyback plan and spotlighted its growing bet on AI tools. “The AI era has now reached commerce,” President Harley Finkelstein told analysts on the post-earnings call. Reuters
According to a U.S. securities filing, Shopify’s buyback plan allows the company to repurchase as much as $2.0 billion worth of Class A subordinate voting shares—up to 5% of the class’s issued and outstanding shares. The authorization kicks in on February 17 and doesn’t set an end date. Shopify noted that buybacks could happen via open market purchases, private deals, block trades, or preset trading arrangements.
Shopify’s drop pulled down Toronto’s main stock index, putting pressure on tech shares as investors in Canada tried to make sense of new developments in U.S. trade policy.
Software stocks took a hit, losing roughly $223.75 billion in market value, and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF tumbled 4.75%. That marks the ETF’s worst single-day drop since early February, according to MarketWatch.
Shopify’s risk? Tariff threats could start to bite, hitting consumer demand and shaking small-business confidence — right as investors are busy questioning if AI is shifting the landscape for software pricing power and competitive moats. High volatility? Buybacks might provide a little support for the stock, but they’re no match for full-blown sector de-risking.
With no events on Shopify’s investor calendar, shares are left to move with the broader market, sector trends, and any hints of increased buybacks in the open market.
March 6 stands out as the next likely mover, with February jobs numbers from the U.S. government on deck. Fed Governor Christopher Waller flagged that report as a potential influence on his stance for holding rates. The central bank will announce its next policy decision following its March 17–18 meeting.
