Company's SEC filing adds New York office, prompting speculation of US domicile change
Shopify Inc. plans to shift its US-listed shares from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Global Select Market on March 31, a move that could open the door to its inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index, according to BNN Bloomberg.
The Nasdaq 100 tracks the performance of the 100 largest Nasdaq-listed non-financial companies.
Shopify, which maintains a dual listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has a market capitalisation greater than all but 24 companies listed on the Nasdaq.
“Being included in that index would equate to more buying power for a stock,” said Matthew Maley, Chief Market Strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.
He pointed to recent inflows into funds tracking the Nasdaq 100.
Shopify’s shares have risen 16 percent since announcing the transfer, outpacing the broader index. Inclusion in such benchmarks has become increasingly important amid the growth of passively-managed investment vehicles.
Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to major indexes are required to purchase shares of companies included in those indexes, adding to potential demand.
Bloomberg Intelligence estimates passive funds now own 21 percent of the shares of the average publicly-listed US stock — more than triple the share held in 2013.
Products tracking the Nasdaq 100 alone hold hundreds of billions of dollars.
Data compiled by Bloomberg show that among 48 companies added to the Nasdaq 100 in the past five years, the average gain between the announcement and formal addition was 3.7 percent.
However, half of those stocks gave up those gains within 25 days.
Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, said, “In large part there’s some preheating the inclusion and the benefits to be had by these companies, but in the case of names that are already broadly recognized, the impact is diminished.”
Maley added, “It’s a two-way street. Once the stock has become part of a big index/ETF, the selling can become bigger during a bear market.”
Shopify’s shift may represent a rare move for Canadian-domiciled firms. Of the 520 companies that have entered the Nasdaq 100 since 2000, only three were based in Canada.
ATI Technologies Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd. were both later removed from the index.
The only Canadian company currently in the Nasdaq 100 is Lululemon Athletica Inc.
Shopify has regularly competed with Royal Bank of Canada — listed only in Toronto — for the title of Canada’s largest company.
Last month, Shopify submitted a 10-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission as a domestic issuer, rather than the 40-F form it previously used as a foreign issuer.
The new filing listed New York as a “principal executive office” in addition to its Canadian address.
The filing prompted some analysts to suggest that Shopify could be preparing for a change in legal domicile, a step that might align it for possible S&P 500 inclusion.
Shopify has generated more than 60 percent of its revenue from the US annually since at least 2012.
In 2024, Canada accounted for less than 6 percent of its sales.
Even with a domicile change, Shopify could remain in the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
A few days after Shopify’s New York filing, S&P Dow Jones Indices proposed changes to its eligibility rules that would allow companies not domiciled in Canada to remain in the Canadian index.
The company’s decision comes as broader questions continue around Canadian-US trade and investment flows.
The article noted that former US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies had raised concerns in Canada, with some commentators referencing the idea of Canada as a potential 51st US state.
