Affirm stock skyrockets after company reports 71% revenue growth and strong guidance

PUBLISHED THU, SEP 9 20214:32 PM EDTUPDATED THU, SEP 9 20217:10 PM EDT

Annie Palmer@ANNIERPALMER

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KEY POINTS

• Affirm reported better-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter after the bell Thursday and gave strong guidance for the current quarter.
• The stock soared more than 20% in extended trading following the report.
• The blockbuster earnings report comes after Affirm last month announced it’s teaming up with Amazon to launch the e-commerce giant’s first partnership with an installment payment player.

In this article

• AFRM-0.60 (-0.49%)

   

Affirm Holdings Inc. website home screen on a laptop computer in an arranged photograph taken in Little Falls, New Jersey, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020.

Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Affirm reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results after the bell Thursday, including solid guidance and 71% revenue growth.

The stock soared more than 20% in extended trading following the report.

Here’s how the company did: 

• Revenue: $261.8 million vs. $225 million expected, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts

• Loss per share: 48 cents per share, which is not comparable to estimates

Affirm is one of the leading players in the burgeoning buy now, pay later space, which allows people to split the payment for their purchases into installments. Founded in 2013 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, Affirm made its stock market debut in January, with shares beginning trading at $90.90, after listing at $49 a piece.

Affirm gave upbeat guidance for the current quarter. It expects revenue for the fiscal first quarter of 2022 to come in at $240 million to $250 million, which surpassed analysts’ estimates of $233.9 million.

The company had 7.1 million active customers as of the fourth quarter, up from 5.4 million in the previous period.

The blockbuster earnings report comes after Affirm last month announced it’s teaming up with Amazon to launch the e-commerce giant’s first partnership with an installment payment player. The partnership allows Amazon customers in the U.S. to split purchases of $50 or more into smaller, monthly installments.

When asked how the partnership with Amazon came together, Levchin said on a call with investors that large retailers are realizing the buy now, pay later trend isn’t just a fad or a feature. “They look to us as a provider,” Levchin said.

In the earnings report, Affirm said its guidance for the full year and fiscal first quarter doesn’t factor in any potential contributions to revenue or gross merchandise volume from the partnership with Amazon, which is currently being tested with select customers before rolling out more broadly in the coming months.