Shopify shares surged Wednesday after the Ottawa-based e-commerce software company delivered second-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations across every major metric, along with a third-quarter outlook that comfortably outpaced analyst forecasts, sending the stock toward its highest levels of the year.

Shopify shares climbed as much as 33.8% in premarket trading before settling to a gain of 16.72% by the time markets opened, with the stock changing hands at $143.91. The rally marked one of the largest single-session moves in the company's history and erased a substantial portion of the stock's earlier year-to-date underperformance, which had left shares down roughly 23.4% through Tuesday's close.

Shopify reported second-quarter revenue of $3.58 billion, up 34% from the prior year and well ahead of the consensus estimate of approximately $3.45 billion compiled by Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings came in at 42 cents per share, topping the 40-cent forecast by two cents. Gross merchandise volume, the total dollar value of transactions processed through Shopify's platform, rose 32% year over year to $115.57 billion, also exceeding analyst expectations of $111.98 billion.

Profitability metrics showed similar strength. Gross profit reached $1.71 billion, up 31% from the same period a year earlier, while free cash flow came in at $654 million, representing an 18% margin, up sharply from $422 million in the prior-year quarter. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Hoffmeister pointed to growth across merchant sizes, sales channels........

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