Global-e Online Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
Global-e Online (NASDAQ:GLBE) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results and raised its full-year outlook, citing broad-based merchant growth, strong same-store sales and continued expansion of its cross-border e-commerce services.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Amir Schlachet said the company “beat the midpoint across all guidance metrics” in the quarter and remains “slightly ahead of plan” toward the long-term targets it outlined at its investor day last year. Schlachet said the results came despite headwinds from the conflict with Iran, which affected trading into parts of the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
For the first quarter, Global-E reported gross merchandise value of $1.74 billion, up 40% from the prior-year period. Revenue rose 33% year over year to $252 million. Non-GAAP gross profit margin was 47%, up 150 basis points from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA increased 59% to $50.2 million, representing a margin of nearly 20%.
Strong Volume Growth and Margin Expansion
Chief Financial Officer Ofer Koren said GMV for the quarter was $1.742 billion, driven by “healthy consumption in most regions,” foreign exchange tailwinds and contributions from recently launched merchants. Those factors were partially offset by disruptions tied to the Iran war, which affected consumer demand in the Middle East and GCC regions and temporarily strengthened the U.S. dollar.
Revenue totaled $252.1 million, including service fee revenue of $120.8 million and fulfillment services revenue of $131.3 million. Koren said the service fee take rate remained “fairly stable” at 6.9%, while the fulfillment take rate was 7.5%, similar to the prior quarter but lower than the year-earlier period due to shifts toward multi-local volumes and growth in verticals that are multi-local by nature.
Non-GAAP gross profit was $118.5 million, up 37% from the prior year. GAAP gross profit was $114.9 million, representing a margin of 45.6%.
Koren said adjusted EBITDA grew faster than revenue, rising to $50.2 million from $31.6 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP net profit was $46.9 million, or $0.27 per fully diluted share, compared with $32.4 million, or $0.18 per share, a year earlier. GAAP net profit was $30.4 million, compared with a GAAP net loss of $17.9 million in the prior-year quarter. Fully diluted GAAP EPS was $0.17.
The company ended the quarter with $553 million in cash and cash equivalents, including short-term deposits and marketable securities. Free cash flow used in the quarter was $72.9 million, which Koren said was expected and primarily reflected seasonal working capital dynamics following peak season.
Company Raises 2026 Outlook
Global-E raised its full-year outlook for GMV, revenue and adjusted EBITDA. For the second quarter, the company expects:
- GMV of $1.945 billion to $1.985 billion, representing 35.2% growth at the midpoint versus the second quarter of 2025.
- Revenue of $278.5 million to $285.5 million, representing 31.2% growth at the midpoint.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $55 million to $58 million, or a 20% margin at the midpoint.
For full-year 2026, Global-E now expects GMV of $8.53 billion to $8.88 billion, representing 32.5% annual growth at the midpoint. Revenue is expected to be $1.22 billion to $1.28 billion, representing growth of 29.9% at the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $264.5 million to $289.5 million, representing 39.5% growth at the midpoint and a 22.2% margin.
Koren said same-store sales growth was well above historical averages in the first quarter and is expected to remain above historical ranges in the second quarter, though lower than in Q1. The company’s guidance assumes same-store sales growth moderates closer to multi-year averages in the back half of 2026.
Middle East Conflict and FX Effects
Schlachet said about 5% of Global-E’s inbound GMV is to countries directly affected by the current conflict involving Iran. The company saw “a temporary and partial reduction in volumes” to those countries in the second half of the first quarter, though he said demand volumes appeared to have “mostly recovered” in recent weeks.
In response to a question from Bank of America analyst Matt Bullock, Koren estimated the impact of the Middle East conflict, including related foreign exchange fluctuations, at just above 1% in the first quarter. He said the company does not currently see an additional impact in the second quarter based on recent trading trends.
Koren said foreign exchange tailwinds contributed roughly 3% to 3.5% in the first quarter. For guidance purposes, the company assumes recent spot rates and expects lower FX tailwinds in the second quarter and “very low” FX tailwinds in the back half of the year.
Shopify Managed Markets, Borderfree and AI
Schlachet said Shopify Managed Markets version 2.0, Global-E’s white-label self-service merchant-of-record solution on Shopify, is progressing according to plan. He said both Global-E and Shopify are pleased with the rollout, which is expected to expand in additional countries such as Canada and the U.K. in the near term.
In response to Piper Sandler analyst Billy Fitzsimmons, Schlachet said the company is seeing a gradual increase in adoption and improved conversion of leads, with a more meaningful ramp still expected in the back half of the year and into next year.
Global-E also reported progress with its duty drawback offering, which is designed to help merchants potentially reclaim import duties on goods exported outside their home base and certain tariffs paid on returned goods, depending on sale parameters. Co-founder and President Nir Debbi said interest in U.S. import duty drawback has been strong, although merchant data collection and reconciliation have taken “slightly longer than expected.” He said the contribution should become more visible later in the year.
Schlachet said Borderfree.com referral volumes and participating merchants increased during the quarter. The share of merchant sales attributable to Borderfree.com is now over 6% for merchants using the platform. Debbi said the company believes that contribution can continue moving toward 10% over time, while Koren noted that monetization has begun but is not expected to contribute materially in 2026.
Schlachet also emphasized the company’s use of artificial intelligence across research and development, data analysis, operational monitoring, customer support and compliance. He said internal AI tools have helped increase the company’s capacity to ship features without adding resources and have reduced the time required to investigate and resolve technical and merchant support tickets.
Merchant Launches and Expansion
Global-E cited numerous first-quarter merchant launches across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. In North America, launches included Gallery Dept., Andie, Fresh and additional Richemont brands G/FORE and Peter Millar. In Europe, the company launched with brands including Coperni, Paraboot, Lafaurie Paris, Roland-Garros’ online store, TheDoubleF, Pèpè, Capeesh, Perplex and the Audi Revolut F1 Team. In APAC, launches included Universal Music Japan brands, Asian Portal Fishing, Something To Hold, Shanghai Tang, Weber Workshops, Billy J and Hardkernel.
The company also expanded business with existing merchants including Alo Yoga, FIGS, Bandai Namco, Stella McCartney and Patou. Schlachet said Global-E expanded Alo Yoga into additional markets previously served by a local distributor and enabled buy-online-pickup-in-store service in Canada, the U.K. and several European markets.
Debbi said the company’s 2026 merchant pipeline is progressing in line with or slightly above plan, with the mix more similar to 2025 and more distributed across midsized merchants rather than concentrated among a few large accounts. He said Global-E aims to have another record year of launches based on the current funnel.
Global-E also continued its share repurchase program during the quarter, buying back close to $60 million in stock. Since the start of the program, the company has repurchased 3.6 million shares for $131 million, leaving $69 million of remaining capacity under its 2025 repurchase plan.
About Global-e Online (NASDAQ:GLBE)
Global-e Online Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLBE) is a leading cross-border e-commerce platform that enables online merchants to expand sales internationally. The company's cloud-based solution integrates with major e-commerce systems to offer localized checkout experiences, dynamic currency conversion, import duties and taxes calculation, fraud prevention, and compliance with local trade regulations. By managing the end-to-end complexities of global transactions, Global-e helps retailers streamline their international operations and deliver a seamless shopping experience to customers worldwide.
Central to Global-e's offering is a comprehensive suite of services that includes customizable checkout in the buyer's local language, real-time display of prices in over 140 currencies, support for region-specific payment methods, and transparent calculation of duties and taxes at point of sale.
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