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Shopify beats but issues low guidance; shares plunge
E-commerce platform Shopify beat revenue and earnings estimates last quarter, but shares fell 15.6% after it issued weak guidance. Earnings per share were US$0.36, up from $0.35 one year ago and above the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.32. Revenue rose 34% to $3.17 billion, surpassing estimates by 2.79%. “Shopify has entered the AI era with a clear edge: strong, durable growth and two decades of commerce intelligence. That puts us in a category of one, and we’re about to see that advantage compound throughout 2026,” said Shopify president Harley Finkelstein. Merchant solutions revenue climbed to $2.42 billion from $1.74 billion, its strongest growth in more than four years. Subscription solutions revenue was $750 million, up from $620 million. Gross merchandise volume was $100.74 billion, increasing from $74.75 billion one year ago. Monthly recurring revenue grew from $182 million to $212 million. Shopify’s gross profit climbed from $1.17 billion to $1.55 billion. Operating income was $382 million, rising from $203 million. The platform also processed $67 billion in payments during the quarter, it said, with its gross merchandise volume penetration rising from 64% to 67% year-over-year. Its outlook for 2026’s
Software
Palantir revenue jumps due to US govt contracts
Palantir beat earnings and revenue estimates last quarter, driven by a large increase in United States government revenue. Earnings per share were US$0.33, up from $0.13 one year ago and above LSEG consensus estimates of $0.28. Revenue grew 85% to $1.63 billion, passing estimates of $1.54 billion. “Palantir's Rule of 40 score has soared to 145%. We have shattered the metric, a feat matched only by other fellow AI infrastructure companies: NVIDIA, Micron and SK hynix,” said CEO Alex Karp. The Rule of 40 combines revenue growth and profit margin. “Momentum surged as we grew 85% last quarter—our highest-ever year-over-year growth rate—by more than doubling our U.S. business, and now we are raising our full-year revenue guidance to 71% growth, 10 points ahead of our guidance from last quarter, driven by our confidence in an accelerating U.S. market.” U.S. government revenue rose 84% year-over-year to $687 million, while total U.S. revenue increased 104% to $1.28 billion. Palantir did not disclose the details of its U.S. government contracts, but its software is used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to surveil immigrants. It closed $1.18 billion in U.S. commercial total contract value last quarter, up 45%.
Software
Atlassian cloud revenue climbs, shares up 25%
Software company Atlassian beat earnings and revenue estimates last quarter as cloud revenue rose, with shares surging 24.8% to rebound from their recent decline. Earnings per share were US$1.75, rising from $0.97 one year ago and above the Zacks consensus estimate of $1.31. Revenue was up 32% to $1.79 billion, surpassing estimates by 5.52%. “Our strong Q3 results show the power of our strategy in action, with total revenue growing 32% year-over-year to $1.8 billion, as customers sign bigger, longer-term commitments, and connect their teams and workflows on our AI-powered platform,” said CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes. “The momentum across our three strategic priorities of Enterprise, AI, and the System of Work continues to build, and I’m excited about the significant opportunity ahead to drive durable, profitable growth as we scale,” said CFO James Chuong. The company’s cloud revenue grew 29% to $1.13 billion. It had 55,913 customers with more than $10,000 in cloud annualised recurring revenue, a 10% increase. Atlassian posted a $56.23 million operating loss last quarter due to restructuring charges of $223.8 million. Its adjusted operating income was $456.54 million, up from $261.50 million. Its guidance for its fisca
Software
Synopsys stock climbs after investment from Elliot
The stock of big chip-design software maker, Synopsys, has risen after activist investor Elliot Management made a multi-billion-dollar investment in the company. People familiar with the matter said Elliot plans to engage with Synopsys to push the business to make more money from its software and services. “Synopsys is essential to the global chip industry,” Elliott Managing Partner Jesse Cohn told The Wall Street Journal. “As AI drives a step change in chip complexity and capital investment, Synopsys is uniquely positioned to benefit from this growth.” Following the investment, the stock for Synopsys grew 2.89% to US$432.48, and its market cap is $82.85 billion. Elliot hasn’t revealed the exact value of the investment. The firm also took a $1 billion stake in Pinterest earlier this month. This comes as the semiconductor arms race grows, as companies pour resources into designing AI chips. Global chip sales hit $792 billion last year and are expected to surpass $1 trillion by the end of this year, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association. In December, Nvidia purchased $2 billion of Synosys common stock in a computing power partnership.
Software
Record Q1 fails to stop Adobe plunging as CEO departs
Shares in Adobe Inc fell almost 7% after it announced its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) would step down, despite posting record results for the first quarter of the 2026 financial year (Q1 FY26). The global software company, which created the PDF format, said Shantanu Narayen had decided to transition from his position as CEO after 18 years, once a successor was appointed, but would remain Chair of the Board. Lead Independent Director Frank Calderoni will Chair a special committee to direct the process to consider internal and external candidates. Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) shares closed $3.92 (1.43%) lower at US$269.78 on Thursday (Friday AEDT), capitalising the company at US$109.97 trillion (A$1.55 trillion), before diving $18.26 (6.77%) in after-hours trading to $251.52. The company also announced net income rose 4% to $1.889 billion in the three months ended 27 February, and diluted income per share increased 11% to $4.60 on revenue which climbed 12% to $6.4 billion. “Adobe delivered record Q1 results with AI-first ARR (annualised recurring revenue) more than tripling year over year (to $26.06 billion) and subscription revenue growing 13%,” Narayen said in a news release. “Our mission to empower everyone to create

Software
Google updates app store billing and fee structure
Google has announced major changes to its Android app store billing and fee structure. The Alphabet Inc unit said it would lower the commission it takes from developers and expand payment options. Google’s President of Android Ecosystem, Sameer Samat, said the company was announcing substantial updates to its business model with more billing options, a program for registered app stores, lower fees and new programs for developers. “This is a significant evolution, and we plan to share additional details in the coming months,” Samat wrote in a blog. Mobile app developers will be able to use their own billing systems alongside Google Play's systems and direct users to their own websites for purchases. It will also be easier for users to download and install third-party app stores on their Android devices with the changes starting outside the United States first under a staggered schedule. The move resolves its long-running dispute with Epic Games and paves the way for the return of the free online video game Fortnite to the Play Store. In a 2020 anti-trust lawsuit, Epic accused Google of illegally monopolising how users ⁠access apps and make in-app purchases on Android devices before the two companies reached a s
Software
Render raises funding at US$1.5bn valuation
Cloud startup Render has raised US$100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The company is benefitting from the people asking AI models to write software for them, and seeking advice on where to run new programs in a cloud computing world dominated by Amazon, OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet and Nvidia. Render’s co-founder and CEO, Anurag Goel, told CNBC that the company’s revenue growth is well over 100%, and more than 4.5 million developers use its tools. Goel also said that the company has benefited from a generational shift in how developers choose cloud developers. “Hyperscalers are no longer the default for teams that want to move fast. AI-assisted coding means developers can build faster than ever, and they need a cloud that can keep up. That's what Render delivers,” Goel said in a media release. Render was founded in 2018 and is San Francisco-based with around 100 employees. Investors include 01A, Addition, Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Georgian Partners. With the new capital, Render will hire additional technical staff members to build features. The cloud startup runs its software on Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform but is testing the use of its own servers. Expanding the
Software
Shopify stocks drop despite strong guidance
Shopify's stock fell despite beating the top line and giving strong guidance to start the year in its latest earnings. Revenue for the final quarter of 2025 grew 31% to US$3.67 million, beating expectations of $3.59 million. The e-commerce company also reported earnings of 48 cents per share. This was below analysts' expectations of 51 cents per share. Shopify also announced that it expects first-quarter revenue to expand at a “low-thirties percentage range” year-over-year, which is higher than the 25.1% growth forecast by analysts, according to FactSet. “2025 was Shopify at full throttle - driving compounding growth, while laying the rails for the new era of AI commerce,” Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, said. “2026 will be the year of the builders, and we’ll be powering them - from first sale to full scale.” The company’s board of directors also approved $2 billion in share buybacks. Shares of software companies have sold off heavily in recent weeks as investors grew increasingly concerned about the potential threat of artificial intelligence tools. The company has adopted AI technology and was an early partner of OpenAI when it launched its Instant Checkout feature. It also helped Google deve
Software
WorkDay CEO steps down, replaced by company co-founder
CEO of Workday, Carl Eschenbach, has stepped down from the top job, after just three years in the role. Co-founder Aneel Bhusri had stepped into the role effective immediately, his second tenure as CEO, having preceded Eschenbach prior to 2024. Workday, which offers financial software and management, student information services for universities and HR services, announced at the start of last year it would be cutting jobs equal to 8.5% of staff, as part of a restructuring plan pushed forward by AI investment. Now, this week, it has announced further cuts again, around 2% of staff, with Eschenbach stepping down shortly after, saying it had “been a privilege to serve as CEO". “I’m deeply grateful to Carl for leading Workday through an important chapter — scaling the company, building on our foundation, and positioning us well for what’s ahead,” said Bhusri. “We’re now entering one of the most pivotal moments in our history. AI…will define the next generation of market leaders.