Global-E Online (GLBE)

Company Introduction

Global-E Online: A Deep Dive into the Cross-Border E-commerce Enabler

Introduction

This is our first note about Global- E Online. (GLBE)

It is different to type of company we normally cover. Our usual companies have a long period of profit growth, high returns and a track record of purchasing shares from growing free cash flow. GLBE does not completely fit this model.

It is an Israeli software company that has developed a cross-border, e-commerce platform which provides localised experience for merchants and shoppers. The platform is built for international shoppers to buy seamlessly online and for merchants to sell from, and to, anywhere in the world.

The company was founded in 2013 and went public in 2021.

This short YouTube video gives a good introduction.

Retail Ecommerce is large, growing industry. It consists of well-known players such as Amazon but also includes tens of thousands of brands selling from their own websites or via aggregator platforms such as Shopify.

• According to GLBE, retail e-commerce is worth $7trn in 2025 and is growing at about 7%-8% per annum and accounts for about 22% of total retail sales.

• In the US, retail e-commerce accounts for about 17-18% of total sales, up from 7% in 2015.

• Cross-border e-commerce, a subset of global e-commerce, is growing at rates that outpace domestic growth, driven by social media influence and global consumer tastes.

Many brands want to sell directly to consumers in e-commerce. This disintermediates local distributors and retailers and removes their margin. Brands often want control over distribution, including enforcing strategies such as policies such as no-discounting.

However, when brands try to directly sell online outside their home country, they face many issues and hurdles.

This "global direct to consumer (D2C) online" segment, described by GLBE as the "holy grail for any brand out there," becomes incredibly complicated due to various barriers.

These difficulties mean that even if brands see increased global traffic on websites, often this does not always translate into additional sales.

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