Core Insights - Shopify terminated fewer than 10 employees for faking sales projections to boost their commissions, leading to a significant discrepancy in expected versus actual sales [1][2][3] - The internal investigation revealed that the gap between promised sales and actual sales amounted to at least tens of millions of dollars [2] - Shopify's commission structure was exploited by the salespeople, which was based on projected annual sales of new merchants [3] Financial Performance - In Q3, Shopify processed approximately $29 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV), reflecting a 67% year-over-year increase [3] - Payments penetration reached 65% of GMV during the same period [3] - Shopify Capital reported $1.73 billion in outstanding loans and merchant cash advances, up from $1.22 billion at the end of 2024, indicating a 42% increase in demand among merchants [4] Consumer Demand - Consumer demand remains resilient, as indicated by Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, who noted that shoppers continue to buy and return across various channels and categories [4] - The embedded nature of Shopify Capital allows merchants to access funds and repay them dynamically based on daily sales, with 91.9% of the loan portfolio current at the end of Q3, down from 93.7% at the end of the previous year [5]