If you hold Shopify stock as I write this article, you have many reasons to be happy. This is because revenues and earnings for the second quarter of 2021 beat the expectations of most shareholders. What does this mean in terms of dollars and cents? Well, the right call is to let the numbers speak and stats speak for themselves.

A Summary of Shopify Revenue and Earnings

For the quarter ended June 30 2021, earnings per share on an adjusted basis stands at $2.24. In percentage terms, this is an improvement of 113% over the last year's figure. In addition, revenues increased by 57% to stand at $1.12 billion. Clearly, these are impressive numbers when you compare them to last year's numbers. Most analysts expected earnings of about 97 cents per share but the got more than double what they expected. To put things in perspective, let us look at last year's results. Last year, earnings per share was $1.05 while revenues were $714 million. If things continue to go well for Shopify in the next two quarters, the company will keep making progress.

Grounds for Optimism

Shopify investors are clearly optimistic and there are grounds for this optimism. First off, Shopify earned higher than anticipated revenue and incurred lower than expected operating expenses. It follows that the company's income for the 2021 financial year will be higher than it was in 2020.

A Better Business Environment

The fact that the world is winning the war against Covid-19 is another reason to expect better days ahead for Shopify. This is because a better business environment (without the ravages of Covid-19), means more business for Shopify and its business partners. Shopify is taking advantage of the current momentum by building a U.S. distribution network for storing and shipping products to customers and merchants. Meanwhile, the Shopify success story is not based on optimism alone. There is solid evidence to expect better days ahead for this firm. This is because merchant solutions revenue climbed to $785 million and that's an increase of 52% over the previous year. Again, subscription solutions revenue stands at $328.1 million and this represents a 70% hike over the previous year.

Caveat

The Shopify success story is not likely to end any time soon. However, a prudent investor anticipates challenges ahead and takes precautions. In this case, one area of concern for investors is the fact that that the stock price is dropping. For the short-term investor, this might be a problem. However, a temporary fall in the stock price is not a serious problem. In the opinion of this writer, you should buy Shopify stock because it represents good value for money. Invest in this company and you will smile all the way to the bank.

Shopify's Harley Finkelstein on earnings and the shift in e-commerce