2025 was a volatile year that had its moments of stellar growth and others full of volatility. When filtering out the noise, some winners from 2025 will continue to highlight strength in 2026 and beyond. In fact, there’s a soaring stock that I would continue to buy now without any hesitation.
That stock is Shopify (TSX:SHOP), and here’s why current and prospective investors should look closely at this soaring stock. The company’s evolution over the past decade shows exactly why it continues to outperform even in choppy markets.
Meet Shopify
Shopify is more than an e-commerce platform. The company came to fame offering a digital storefront setup completed in a fraction of the time required by traditional means.
Since then, Shopify has branched out its core business to include multiple bolt-on functionalities, encompassing everything from order fulfillment and support to logistics, social media, and reporting.
Each new layer has widened Shopify’s ecosystem, making the platform increasingly difficult for merchants to outgrow or replace.
And during that time, the stock has soared. Over the trailing 12-month period, the stock is up by over 50%. More importantly, the stock has now recouped to its former highs seen during the pandemic. Reclaiming those levels signals renewed confidence in Shopify’s business model and long‑term growth trajectory.
And despite those gains, there’s still plenty of upside in this top growth pick, which is why it’s a soaring stock to buy now.
Why Shopify stands out right now
The stellar performance of the stock in 2025 solidified the stock as a mature cash generator. This is a noted change from the growth-at-all-costs mantra from prior years.
Some of the key points that back this claim up can be picked out from the latest quarterly update. This includes an incredible 32% year-over-year improvement in revenue in Q3 2025. Coincidentally, the quarter also saw free cash flow margins hit 18%, making it nine straight quarters of double-digit free cash flow.
That nine-quarter record also extended to gross merchandise volume, which saw a 32% increase in the quarter. Sustained momentum across these core metrics shows that Shopify’s growth is broad‑based rather than driven by a single catalyst.
Finally, over the Black Friday to Cyber Monday period, Shopify generated sales of $14.6 billion. That record-breaking number reflected a whopping 27% year-over-year improvement, showcasing strong demand from consumers and trust in the platform.
That mix of growth, cash generation, and scale is rare in tech. In other words, it supports the buy-and-hold mindset of this soaring stock.
The AI tailwind
It seems like everything lately has an AI twist. Shopify isn’t immune to that. In fact, the platform is embracing it.
Shopify is becoming a core hub for “agentic commerce.” That’s where AI agents help customers find, compare, and purchase products online. Given Shopify’s massive network of merchants, this could be a huge growth driver over the next several years. The company is already partnering with leading AI players to enable agentic shopping interfaces.
These capabilities deepen Shopify’s competitive moat by embedding the platform even further into the merchant and consumer experience.
Incredibly, that potential is still not accounting for other AI initiatives that Shopify has bolted onto its experience. That includes product descriptor development, image generation, and other areas.
For prospective investors looking at this soaring stock and future potential, the implications are huge. Shopify isn’t just riding the e-commerce wave like other retailers. Instead, Shopify is taking a leading role in defining the intersection of commerce and AI.
And that potential, over the longer term, is huge.
Final thoughts
Shopify is more than just a soaring stock to buy now. The company offers a blend of high-growth, improving profitability, and a solid glide path towards AI-powered commerce.
The stock isn’t as cheap as it used to be, but in my opinion, there is significantly more upside to be realized in 2026 and beyond.
Buy it, hold it, and watch your well-diversified portfolio grow.
