New results are in from February activity in the Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index. The index fell for a second month in a row, with all categories in the index finishing the month lower than where they started. Macroeconomic conditions posed lingering concerns, even as companies such as VTEX, Etsy and Instacart outperformed other big names in ecommerce.
As they did so, a handful of ecommerce stocks went negative with changes of more than 10%. Xometry and Wayfair were among them.
February takeaways from the Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index
- The Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index fell 9.6% month over month in February, completing a second consecutive month of overall decline.
- VTEX (+9%), Airbnb (+4%) and Etsy (+4%) managed to see some of February’s best results, as all categories faced downward pressure.
- Economic conditions and consumer sentiment weighed on outlooks for online merchants and other areas of ecommerce.
This index is a collaboration between Digital Commerce 360 and the financial advisory, capital markets, asset management and private equity firm Baird. It intends to provide perspective into how public markets value companies and technology providers that power digital commerce. The index contains four categories capturing activity extending throughout the Americas and China:
- Online Marketplaces
- Online Retail
- Ecommerce Technology
- International Companies
Readers should note that this index complements insights from Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. That database specifically tracks North American online retailers and their web sales. The Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index, meanwhile, covers both B2C retail and B2B ecommerce companies, in addition to the technology vendors that serve them, with a broader focus on global activity. All commentary and reporting is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be financial advice.
Click here to read January’s ecommerce stock index results.
February ecommerce stock index results
“The Baird/Digital Commerce Ecommerce Stock Index declined almost 10% in February, another challenging month for stocks, and underperforming the broader S&P index, which was down 1% for the month,” said Colin Sebastian, Baird’s managing director and senior research analyst covering internet/ecommerce.
Online retailers in the index felt the declines hardest, as business models and macro conditions continued to see friction.
“Beyond the ongoing concerns over consumer health and the impact of AI on legacy business models, the geopolitical environment is also becoming a bigger factor with uncertainty around import taxes (tariffs), spiking oil prices and regional instability impacting trade and consumer confidence,” Sebastian said. “On the flip side, fiscal stimulus should help to soften the impact with double-digit increases in tax refunds in the U.S. thus far.”
In the meantime, all categories ended February down from where they started the month, though marketplaces showed the most resilience.
“As is typical, monthly performance varied by subsector, with Online Retail the hardest hit, declining 14% for the month, followed by Ecommerce Technology down another 9.5% after a weak January, International down almost 9% and Marketplaces down almost 6%,” he explained.
Still, growth for the year remains possible, and Sebastian pointed to some reasons that his firm maintains optimism.
“Despite the increasing pressure on consumers and ecommerce companies, Baird remains positive on the broader secular growth opportunity and continues to expect almost 6% year-over-year industry growth in 2026,” he stated.
February’s top performers in the index
By the end of February, even the best results observed in the index were limited to single-digit gains. Among those companies moving into positive territory for the period were the ecommerce platform provider VTEX (+9%), Airbnb (+4%), Etsy (+4%) and Instacart (+1%). Meanwhile, double-digit changes were abundant among the index’s weakest stocks; those included Xometry (-28%), Wayfair (-26%), Klaviyo (-22%), 1-800-Flowers (-19%) and Wix (-19%).
VTEX announced its fiscal fourth-quarter and end-of-year results on Feb. 26, recording a 17.2% year-over-year increase in gross merchandise value (GMV) in Q4 and a 12.2% increase in subscription revenue for the same period. The company also added new customers, including Atacado Vila Nova and others in Brazil, Mercacentro in Colombia, Cruz Azul in Ecuador and Llantas Avante in Mexico.
Elsewhere, Etsy gross merchandise sales (GMS) grew by 0.1% year over year to $3.29 billion in the fiscal Q4 results that it announced in February. The month also brought news that Etsy would sell its resale fashion platform Depop to eBay in a cash deal for $1.2 billion.
Etsy ranks No. 20 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the 100 largest marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV). Before Etsy sold Reverb, Reverb ranked No. 45 in the database. Depop currently ranks No. 49.
In home furnishings, Wayfair revenue increased by 6.9% year over year to reach $3.3 billion in its most recent fourth quarter. Despite those gains, concerns persisted about its net loss and flat customer base from a year earlier.
Wayfair ranks No. 11 in the Top 2000.
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