Global-e: Strengthening Shopify Partnership and AI-Driven Small-Merchant Expansion Support Buy Rating and Margin Upside

Analyst Mark Zgutowicz of Benchmark Co. maintained a Buy rating on Global-e Online, retaining the price target of $52.00.

Mark Zgutowicz has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors tied to Global-e’s growth profile, visibility, and profitability trajectory. He highlights that the company has penetrated only a small portion of a very large addressable market while still delivering 30%+ GMV growth, with management indicating confidence that this pace can be sustained near term. Entering 2026, Global-e’s growth outlook appears better supported than in prior years, underpinned by a strong pipeline of first-half merchant activations, stable same-store sales trends, resilient cross-border activity, and manageable tariff headwinds. He also sees additional upside in the second half from incremental contributions by the BorderFree acquisition, accelerated small merchant onboarding, and Shopify Managed Markets 2.0, suggesting that his forecast for margin expansion may ultimately prove conservative.

Mark Zgutowicz’s rating is based on improving business quality and the evolving relationship with Shopify, which he believes strengthens Global-e’s competitive position. The shift from exclusive to preferred partner status with Shopify is viewed positively, as Global-e gains deeper integration (including Shop Pay and key APIs), maintains favorable revenue share protections, and reduces fees paid to Shopify, all of which should enhance conversion and margins. He further notes that the redesign of Shopify Managed Markets 2.0 alleviates friction for smaller merchants and, while it lowers reported take rates on a small portion of GMV, it also removes associated costs and revenue-share obligations, mitigating profit impact. Finally, he underscores the company’s use of proprietary AI to efficiently tap a large, underserved small-merchant segment, and views the current valuation—about 24x 2026 EV/adjusted EBITDA versus a mid-20s EBITDA growth profile and a DCF-supported $52 price target—as attractive for long-term investors.

Zgutowicz covers the Communication Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Meta Platforms, Spotify, and Taboola.com. According to TipRanks, Zgutowicz has an average return of 13.5% and a 50.30% success rate on recommended stocks.