BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Why does BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) remain a critical player in the crowded e-commerce platform space, even with its modest growth? The company's strategic shift to enterprise customers is defintely paying off, as evidenced by its Q2 2025 revenue of $84.4 million and an Annual Revenue Run-rate (ARR) of nearly $355 million, showing a clear path to profitability with $4.8 million in Non-GAAP operating income. As a leading Open SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) provider, BigCommerce is fundamentally changing how mid-market and B2B brands scale, but do you understand the history and unique monetization model behind its $372.99 million market capitalization?

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) History

You need to understand the roots of BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) to grasp its current strategy, which is now heavily focused on enterprise and B2B commerce. The company's journey began with a simple idea from two Australian developers, evolving from a bootstrapped project into a NASDAQ-listed, composable commerce powerhouse.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

2009

Original location

Sydney, Australia

Founding team members

Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper

Initial capital/funding

The company was initially bootstrapped, meaning it was self-funded using profits from the founders' previous venture, Interspire. The first major external capital was a Series A funding round in 2011, which secured $15 million from General Catalyst.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory wasn't just about funding; it was defined by strategic shifts to differentiate itself in a crowded market. Here's the quick math: Enterprise accounts, which are only about 4.5% of the total merchant base, generate 75% of the total ARR, which was $263.8 million as of March 31, 2025.

• The Open SaaS Architecture: This was the core technological pivot, combining the ease-of-use of a SaaS platform with the flexibility of open-source through robust APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and headless commerce capabilities. This allowed merchants to customize their storefronts and backend operations far more than typical closed platforms.
• The Enterprise Focus: The 2015 launch of BigCommerce Enterprise and the subsequent focus on B2B (business-to-business) commerce was a critical move. By early 2025, more than 50% of new bookings were coming from the B2B sector, showing a successful strategic shift toward higher-value customers like manufacturers and distributors.
• The Commerce Rebrand and AI Pivot: The July 2025 rebrand to Commerce.com, Inc. was a massive signal to the market. It unifies the company's acquisitions-BigCommerce, Feedonomics (product feed optimization), and Makeswift (visual page builder)-into a single, intelligent platform. This move is designed to position the company to lead in the next era of 'agentic commerce,' where AI will increasingly act on behalf of consumers.

This history provides the context for understanding its current financial health and future strategy. You can dive deeper into the numbers by Breaking Down BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

The appointment of new CEO Travis Hess in late 2024 and the subsequent rebrand in 2025 are defintely the most recent, and arguably most important, transformative decisions, setting the stage for a major push into AI and composable B2B solutions.

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Ownership Structure

The ownership structure of Commerce.com, Inc., formerly BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC, now CMRC), is heavily concentrated among institutional investors, which is typical for a publicly traded software-as-a-service (SaaS) growth company.

This high level of institutional control means that major fund managers and investment firms have significant influence over the company's strategic direction and board decisions. In fact, institutional investors own over three-quarters of the outstanding shares, reflecting a strong belief in the long-term growth story, despite the current lack of net income.

Commerce.com, Inc.'s Current Status

Commerce.com, Inc. is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Stock Market. It completed its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2020.

You should note a recent change: the company officially changed its name from BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. and its ticker symbol from BIGC to CMRC, effective August 1, 2025.

As of the 2025 fiscal year, the company's market capitalization is approximately $415.71 million, indicating it is still a smaller-cap growth stock in the competitive e-commerce platform sector.

Commerce.com, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The company's decision-making power is largely held by a diverse group of institutional shareholders, including major asset managers like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc.

Here's the quick math on who controls the shares, based on the most recent data from the second half of the 2025 fiscal year:

The high institutional ownership-nearly 80%-means that a small number of large funds can defintely influence the outcome of shareholder votes. Insider ownership at over 9% is a positive signal, showing that the leadership team has a material stake in the company's performance.

Commerce.com, Inc.'s Leadership

The executive leadership team, which steers the company's strategy towards reigniting growth and improving shareholder value, has seen key appointments in 2025.

The organization is led by a team of seasoned executives with deep experience in e-commerce, finance, and technology, focusing on the open, composable commerce platform model.

• Travis Hess, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Took over as CEO in 2024, bringing over 15 years of experience from top commerce agencies like Accenture.
• Daniel Lentz, Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Guides the financial and operational functions, with two decades of experience at industry leaders like Dell and Procter & Gamble.
• Rob Walter, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO): Appointed in February 2025, he has 20 years of experience leading sales and go-to-market teams at companies including Salesforce and eBay.
• Michelle Suzuki, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO): Joined in February 2025, bringing over 25 years of experience scaling high-growth companies like Ancestry and Ivanti.
• Vipul Shah, Chief Product Officer (CPO): Has over two decades of experience building innovative products at companies such as PayPal and Google.
• Rosie Rivel, Chief Information Officer (CIO): Oversees IT with 25+ years of executive experience from Kelly Services and Deloitte Consulting.
• Hubert Ban, Chief Accounting Officer (CAO): Brings over 20 years of experience from publicly traded companies and Big 4 accounting firms.

For a deeper dive into what drives these leaders, you should review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC).

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Mission and Values

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc.'s core purpose is to empower merchants to sell more at every stage of growth, a mission that has recently been sharpened to focus on the seismic shift toward an AI-driven commerce ecosystem.

This cultural DNA, guided by values like 'Customer Compass' and 'Own It to Win It,' is what drives the company's strategic pivot, even as it projects full-year 2025 revenue between $339.6 million and $346.6 million, reflecting a strong commitment to growth alongside its merchant base.

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc.'s Core Purpose

You're looking for what truly motivates this company beyond the balance sheet, and honestly, it's about enabling every size of business to thrive digitally. The company's mission and values are the blueprint for its open, composable platform strategy.

The company's values are defintely not just wall posters; they guide how they invest, like the strategic partnerships launched in 2025 with companies like Perplexity and PROS to enhance AI-powered product data and pricing for merchants.

• Customer Compass: Every decision is guided by empowering customer success.
• Own It to Win It: Take accountability, ground decisions in data, and adapt to own results.
• Keep It Real, Always: Speak with honesty and heart; a community built on trust.
• Stronger Together: Unlock possibilities by uniting diverse perspectives to innovate as one.

Official mission statement

The mission is simple and merchant-centric: to help merchants sell more at every stage of growth, from small startups to large enterprises. This means providing a comprehensive Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that handles the complexity so the merchant can focus on their product and customers.

For example, this mission is why Enterprise Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) grew to $269.3 million by Q2 2025, showing the platform is successfully scaling with its largest clients.

Vision statement

The company, which rebranded its parent entity to Commerce.com, Inc. in mid-2025, has a bold new vision: to power agentic commerce. This is the future where Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents act on behalf of consumers to research, recommend, and even transact.

Here's the quick math on the shift: If you don't structure product data for AI discovery, you lose visibility. The vision is to ensure their merchants, who generated a Q2 2025 revenue of $84.43 million, are uniquely suited to thrive in this new AI-driven paradigm.

• Unify BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift for a single purpose.
• Provide an open, AI-driven commerce ecosystem at scale.
• Enable merchants to unlock data potential for personalized experiences.

You can see the financial impact of their operational efficiency gains, too; Non-GAAP operating income reached $4.8 million in Q2 2025, a clear sign the strategic alignment is working. For a deeper dive into these numbers, check out Breaking Down BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. slogan/tagline

While the corporate name is now Commerce.com, Inc., the core product, BigCommerce, is often described by its function, which is its de facto tagline, reflecting its flexibility and power for complex sellers.

It's all about being the platform that doesn't box you in, so you can adapt quickly. That's a powerful selling point when the market is changing this fast.

• The open SaaS and composable ecommerce platform.

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) How It Works

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC), which is now consolidating its brands under the parent company Commerce.com, operates by providing an open, software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-commerce platform that allows merchants to build, run, and scale their online businesses. They make money primarily through subscription fees and a smaller portion from partner and services revenue, aiming for a full-year 2025 total revenue between $335.1 million and $351.1 million based on company guidance.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

Given Company's Operational Framework

The company's operational framework centers on a high-margin, subscription-based model, with a clear focus on the larger, more stable Enterprise segment. Here's the quick math: as of Q3 2025, Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from Enterprise Accounts hit $269.2 million, making up 76% of the total ARR, so that's where the focus is.

• Enterprise-Centric Revenue: Prioritize attracting and growing Enterprise Accounts, which have an average revenue per account (ARPA) of $46,806 as of Q3 2025, a defintely higher-value customer.
• Subscription and Partner Mix: Revenue is split mainly into Subscription Solutions (the core SaaS fee) and Partner/Services revenue (from things like payment processing and app integrations). Partner and services revenue grew modestly to just above $21 million in Q3 2025.
• Efficiency and Profitability: A core operational shift in 2025 has been cost control, leading to improved profitability; Non-GAAP gross margin reached 79% in Q3 2025, and non-GAAP operating income for the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, was just above $30 million.
• AI-Driven Commerce: Integrating AI capabilities across the platform, including product data and pricing, to enable agentic commerce (autonomous purchase journeys) is a critical new process.

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

The company's competitive edge comes from its open, composable approach, which is what modern, established brands truly need to avoid platform lock-in. This flexibility is a huge selling point against more monolithic competitors, plus they are making smart moves in the AI space.

• Open SaaS and Composability: The platform is designed to be open, meaning merchants can easily integrate best-of-breed third-party services for functions like shipping, payments, and fulfillment, instead of being limited to a single vendor's ecosystem.
• B2B Specialization: Strong, dedicated investment in B2B commerce capabilities, allowing them to capture complex use cases like custom pricing, quoting, and tiered catalogs that are essential for manufacturers and distributors.
• Strategic AI Partnerships: Partnerships with companies like PROS for AI-powered pricing and quoting, and Perplexity and Google Cloud for AI-driven product discoverability, position them at the forefront of the shift to conversational commerce.
• Financial Health and Cash Flow: The company boasts a strong balance sheet and improving cash generation. Operating cash flow in Q3 2025 was approximately $11 million, providing the liquidity to invest in innovation and expansion.

For a deeper dive into their financial performance, you should check out Breaking Down BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) How It Makes Money

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. generates revenue primarily by offering a subscription-based, open Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform to businesses for building and running online stores, with a secondary, but still significant, stream from partner and services revenue. The company's financial health as of late 2025 shows a clear pivot: top-line growth is slow, but profitability is improving dramatically.

BigCommerce's Revenue Breakdown

As of the third quarter of 2025, BigCommerce's revenue is cleanly split into two main streams. The subscription solutions revenue, which is the core SaaS offering, remains the largest component, but the Partner and Services segment provides a crucial complementary revenue base.

The Subscription Solutions revenue, which brought in $64.7 million in Q3 2025, is the lifeblood of the business, representing the recurring fees customers pay for platform access. The Partner and Services stream, which accounted for approximately $21.3 million in Q3 2025, comes from revenue-sharing with technology partners, professional services, and the company's Feedonomics and Makeswift products. The growth in both streams is currently muted, sitting around 3% year-over-year.

Business Economics

The core economic engine of BigCommerce is a tiered, recurring subscription model that is explicitly designed to avoid transaction fees, a key differentiator from some competitors. Instead of taking a cut of every sale, BigCommerce charges a flat monthly fee that scales based on a merchant's Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), forcing an automatic upgrade to a higher-priced plan once annual sales thresholds are crossed.

• Pricing Tiers: Plans start at $39 per month for the Standard plan, move to $105 per month for Plus, and $399 per month for Pro, with custom pricing for the high-value Enterprise tier.
• Enterprise Focus: The strategic shift is clear: the Enterprise segment drives 75.7% of the total Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $355.7 million as of Q3 2025.
• High Gross Margin: The software-based nature of the revenue results in a strong Non-GAAP gross margin, which hit 80% in Q2 2025, indicating excellent cost control on the delivery of the service.

Here's the quick math: while the number of Enterprise Accounts is actually declining-down 2% to 5,751 in Q3 2025-the Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) is up 7% to $46,806. This shows the company is successfully monetizing its existing, higher-value customers through upsells to more expensive plans or additional services like Feedonomics, even as it struggles to acquire new enterprise logos. You defintely need to keep an eye on that customer count. For a deeper dive into the company's long-term vision, review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC).

BigCommerce's Financial Performance

BigCommerce is demonstrating a successful pivot to profitability, prioritizing cash generation and operational efficiency over aggressive top-line growth. This is a crucial shift for a mature SaaS company in a competitive market.

• Profitability Surge: Non-GAAP operating income in Q3 2025 was a strong $8.0 million, an 86% increase year-over-year, significantly beating expectations and showing the operating leverage in the model.
• Positive Cash Flow: The company generated $7.6 million in positive Free Cash Flow (FCF) in Q3 2025, marking its second consecutive quarter of positive FCF and validating the focus on financial discipline.
• Full-Year Outlook: Management has tightened its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to a range of $340.6 million to $345.6 million, suggesting a cautious but stable outlook for the remainder of the year.

What this estimate hides is the risk in the Enterprise segment: relying on existing customers to drive 75% of ARR growth via higher ARPA is a vulnerable strategy if the contraction in the total number of enterprise accounts continues. The long-term health of the business depends on reigniting customer acquisition while maintaining that high monetization rate. Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $10.6 million in Q3 2025, a solid improvement that provides a buffer against market uncertainty.

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Market Position & Future Outlook

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) is undergoing a critical pivot, shifting its focus from aggressive top-line growth to profitable, sustainable expansion, aiming for full-year 2025 revenue between $340.6 million and $345.6 million. The company is strategically positioning its open SaaS (Software as a Service) platform to capture the high-value, complex B2B and enterprise-level business, even as its overall store count has seen a recent dip.

The updated full-year 2025 guidance projects Non-GAAP operating income between $24.7 million and $29.7 million, validating the management team's push for operational efficiency and margin expansion. This focus on profitability is defintely the right move in the current macro environment.

Competitive Landscape

In the highly fragmented and competitive e-commerce platform space, BigCommerce differentiates itself by offering a flexible, open-SaaS platform that appeals to merchants who need enterprise-grade functionality without the complexity of a fully self-hosted solution like Adobe Commerce. Here's the quick market share view based on the US e-commerce platform and software market as of late 2025:

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's future trajectory hinges on the successful execution of its new product and monetization initiatives, especially in the fast-evolving world of AI-driven commerce.

Industry Position

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. holds a distinct position as the leading 'Challenger' in the enterprise e-commerce platform market, a position it has maintained for the sixth consecutive year in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce Platforms. This placement reflects its strong, flexible open-SaaS model that bridges the gap between the simplicity of Shopify and the complexity of Adobe Commerce.

The platform's strength is its composable architecture, which lets merchants use best-of-breed third-party services-like a separate Content Management System (CMS) or Product Information Management (PIM)-without being locked into a single vendor's stack. This is a huge selling point for sophisticated, multi-brand retailers.

• Enterprise ARR Focus: Enterprise Accounts now represent 75% of the company's total Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) as of March 31, 2025, showing a clear success in targeting larger, higher-value customers.
• Profitability Turnaround: The company's pivot has delivered results, with Non-GAAP operating income surging to $8.0 million in Q3 2025, a significant operational improvement.
• Strategic Data Play: The acquisition and integration of Feedonomics positions the company to win in the new 'agentic' commerce era, where high-quality, syndicated product data is the key to being discovered by AI shopping agents.

For a deeper dive into who is backing this strategy, you should check out Exploring BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (BIGC) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Next step: Operations should model the revenue impact of the 2026 PayPal payments launch across the entire enterprise ARR base by the end of the quarter.