Shopify's downbeat first-quarter profit outlook spooked investors on Tuesday, even as the e-commerce company posted better-than-expected holiday-quarter sales on the back of healthy consumer spending and its rollout of AI features.

The results reflect that Shopify’s platform, which provides the backbone for online storefronts, is playing a critical, if unseen to consumers, role to a wider swath of ecommerce transactions.

Shopify Inc. reported quarterly revenue that exceeded expectations, suggesting its e-commerce software solutions stood out with merchants during the busy holiday quarter.