Shopify (TSX:SHOP) is nowhere near the wild pandemic-era peak that had investors treating it like it could do no wrong. Even in the last year, shares hit a top spot of about $253. That might sound like a warning, but it can also be the opportunity. Great stocks do not always stay cheap because the business is weak. Sometimes they pull back because expectations got ridiculous.
Shopify stock went through that cycle in a big way. Even now, the shares remain well below the valuation frenzy of late 2021, yet the business itself is far larger, more profitable, and more mature than it was back then. That’s exactly the kind of setup long-term investors should pay attention to.
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Why Shopify Is More Than an E-Commerce Platform
Shopify stock is still one of the most important Canadian tech companies on the market. It gives merchants the tools to build online stores, manage payments, sell in person, handle shipping, and increasingly use artificial intelligence (AI) to run their businesses more effectively. In short, it is trying to be the operating system for commerce. That makes Shopify stock more than a simple e-commerce website builder, but deeply woven into how businesses sell.
Over the last year, Shopify stock has kept adding fuel to that story. It continued to see steady merchant growth and little meaningful hit from tariff changes in early 2025, which helped calm investor nerves. Later in the year, the company impressed again with strong holiday-quarter growth, a fresh $2 billion share buyback plan, and more momentum around its AI tools. Partnerships and integrations with major brands and platforms have also helped show that Shopify stock is not standing still. More recently, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down sweeping tariff measures sent Shopify and other e-commerce stocks higher, as the decision removed a near-term overhang on cross-border commerce.
That is why the stock still looks like a forever-hold candidate. It already has scale, it still has room to grow, and it sits in the middle of a commerce world that keeps getting more digital. Even better, Shopify stock has become more disciplined. Investors are no longer just buying a dream. They’re buying a real business that generates meaningful cash while still growing quickly.
The Numbers Behind the Forever-Hold Case
The numbers are strong. Shopify stock reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of US$3.67 billion, up 31% year over year, while gross merchandise volume climbed to US$123.84 billion. For the full year, revenue reached US$11.56 billion, up 30%, and free cash flow hit US$2.01 billion. Operating income came in at US$1.47 billion for 2025. That is a big deal as it shows Shopify stock is not just growing fast, but doing so while staying profitable and cash generative.
The business mix also looks healthy. Merchant solutions brought in US$8.8 billion in 2025, while subscription solutions generated US$2.75 billion. International revenue rose 36%, offline revenue rose 27%, and business to business (B2B) gross merchant value (GMV) jumped 96%. Shopify stock also said it expects first-quarter 2026 revenue to grow at a low-thirties percentage rate, which suggests the momentum has not fizzled out. That kind of broad-based strength is exactly what you want from a long-term compounder.
Shopify’s valuation can still make investors wince. The stock’s current market cap is $217 billion, translating to a trailing P/E of 128. So yes, Shopify is not cheap in the usual sense. At that kind of P/E, any slowdown could knock the shares around significantly. But that is often the trade-off with elite growth stocks. You pay more for quality, scale, and staying power. For investors with patience and a long time horizon, Shopify still looks like one of the best Canadian stocks to buy and hold for years.
Bottom line
Shopify stock is no longer the pandemic darling it once was, and that is probably a good thing. The hype has cooled, the business has matured, and the company now looks more like a serious long-term winner than a market craze. It may not be cheap by old-school value standards, but it has the kind of growth, cash flow, and strategic position that can justify sticking around for a very long time. Watch for the Q1 2026 earnings report in early May as the next test of whether the low-thirties revenue growth guidance holds.
