New results are in from April activity in the Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index. The index was up in April, bouncing back from three previous months of declines. Retailers and marketplaces outperformed, with Etsy and Amazon among the strongest performers.
In the backdrop, technology companies remained flat, though only five companies tracked by the index went negative for the month.
April takeaways from the Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index
- The Baird/Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stock Index was up 7.1% month over month in April, turning upward after declines in recent months.
- Etsy (+29%), Amazon (+27%), Carvana (+26%) and Xometry (+26%) outperformed in the index with April’s best improvements.
- Results highlighted optimism among investors going ahead of earnings reports, and expectations that some macro-conditions might improve.
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 February’s ecommerce stock index results.
April ecommerce stock index results
“The Baird/Digital Commerce Ecommerce Stock Index increased 7% in April, after declining 3% in March and down almost 10% in February, however, still underperformed the broader S&P index in April, which was up 10.4% for the month,” said Colin Sebastian, Baird’s managing director and senior research analyst covering internet/ecommerce.
While the index underperformed the S&P 500 at the end of the month, the broad turnaround for all but one of its categories underscored some emerging optimism. In fact, out of 26 companies tracked by the index, only five of them saw share prices fall by the end of April from their April 1 starts.
“We view the rebound last month as indicative of generally stable online spending trends, and the anticipation of positive Q1 earnings reports for companies such as Amazon, eBay and Shopify,” Sebastian said.
Those companies began to report their first-quarter results in the final week of April and first week of May, sharing their own successes and concerns for months to come. Retailers and online marketplaces entered the new month with the most momentum.
“As is typical, monthly performance varied by subsector, with strong 15% positive performance among the Online Marketplace stocks, while Online Retail was up 10% and International Ecommerce was up 2%,” Sebastian assessed. “Conversely, Ecommerce Technology stocks in aggregate were flat.”
As technology companies proved to be the exception alongside growth in other categories in April, some macro-environment uncertainty lingered, with challenges related to war in the Middle East beginning to appear on earnings calls.
“Despite the increasing pressure on consumers and macro-related uncertainty, Baird remains positive on the broader secular growth opportunity and continues to expect almost 6% year-over-year industry growth in 2026,” he said.
April’s index leaders
The top performances in the Ecommerce Stock Index’s April results included two companies that announced earnings as April ended. The online marketplace Etsy was up 29% in April, announcing its first-quarter numbers on April 29. Etsy revenue and gross merchandise sales (GMS) both declined year over year. However, GMS for Etsy’s core marketplace grew by 5.5% year over year to $2.46 billion.
In the meantime, the company will proceed with its planned $1.2 billion sale of the resale platform Depop to eBay. The deal is expected to close in Q3.
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).
Elsewhere, Amazon sales increased by 16.6% in its fiscal first quarter, the ecommerce giant reported on April 29. The company’s revenue from its Amazon Web Services (AWS) business grew at its fastest rate in nearly four years. Sebastian noted that “investors anticipate stronger performance this year across the company’s Online Retail, Advertising and AWS businesses.”
Amazon ranks No. 1 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database is how Digital Commerce 360 tracks the largest North American online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. That database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
Right behind Etsy and Amazon were the ecommerce car sales platform Carvana and digital manufacturing services company Xometry, both of which saw share prices increase by 26% in April ahead of earnings.
Still, all retailers emerged in positive territory for the month.
“Weakest stocks last month included Wix (-17%), Wayfair (-15%) as investors anticipated tougher conditions for Home category online retailers, and Chewy (-5%),” Sebastian said.
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