Shopify has listed a U.S. address alongside its Ottawa-based headquarters for the first time in an annual regulatory filing it made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The e-commerce software business names both its Lafayette Street hub in New York and its O’Connor Street site in Ottawa as “principal executive offices” in the Feb. 11 filing.
TD Cowen analyst Peter Haynes spotted the shift mid-February and alerted investors to the fact that the filings also featured a U.S. employment identification code.
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Annual filings Shopify made with the SEC dating back to 2017 have only listed the Ottawa location and were typically made under the foreign issuer 40-F designation rather than the domestic issuer 10-K that Shopify used this month.
Haynes also pointed out that Shopify reorganized how it reports some data to “flip the geographic breakdown” of the company’s assets from mostly Canadian to mostly U.S.
He mused the move was likely meant to help Shopify gain membership to certain U.S. indexes.
Rick Watson, CEO and founder of New York-based RMW Commerce Consulting, agreed.
In an email to OBJ Friday morning, Watson said Shopify is “positioning itself for the next 10-20 years,” adding the company’s move to list a U.S. address in its SEC filings is “essentially a requirement to grow to the next stage of investment levels.”
However, Shopify spokesperson Alex Lyons instead positioned the move as a voluntary way to align Shopify’s disclosures with its software peers.
The decision comes amid a looming trade war with the U.S. that has caused a growing number of Canadian businesses to consider moving some of the investments or operations south of the border to avoid potential tariffs.
But Watson said he doesn’t believe that’s what is behind Shopify’s decision to adjust how it reports its assets.
“Shopify has been known to find good staff anywhere – regardless of location,” he noted. “So I don’t think it will especially mean that more staff will move to the United States or be recruited there, all things being equal.
“I don’t think this has anything to do with tariffs,” Watson added. “This is more about a CFO (who) wanted to ensure he stays ahead of the next few tiers of stock market growth, inclusion in the proper indices, etc. In that, I think it makes all the sense in the world.”
– With additional reporting from OBJ staff
