updraftplus domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/aonyeani76/cryptocurrencypanther/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131hustle domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/aonyeani76/cryptocurrencypanther/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131wpforms-lite domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/aonyeani76/cryptocurrencypanther/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131The collaboration between Affirm and Walmart is expected to increase the purchasing power during the end-of-year festive season as more shoppers can pay over time.
Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM), an American financial technology company that offers buy now pay later (BNPL) services for online and in-store purchases, has announced a strategic partnership with Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) to expand their services during this holiday shopping season. According to the announcement, Affirm has now expanded its buy now, pay later services to self-checkout Walmart kiosks at over 4,500 Walmart stores in the United States. The partnership increases the shopping capacity for eligible customers, which in return helps the companies widen their sales during the end-of-year festivals.
Following the strategic partnership, AFRM stock closed Tuesday trading at $50.46, up 15.47 percent from the day’s opening price. The $13.19 billion company has seen its stock market gain more than 421 percent in value year-to-date. On the other hand, WMT stock did not have a notable change as they closed Tuesday trading at $155.53, up around 0.36 percent from the day’s opening price.
Affirm noted that more than 54 percent of Americans are looking for retailers that offer buy now, pay later options at checkout during this holiday. Interestingly, Affirm found out that 76 per of its customers either delay or make a purchase without its services
“Expanding our partnership with Walmart and bringing Affirm’s transparent monthly pay-over-time options to their self-checkout kiosks in the US will help even more consumers increase their purchasing power during the holiday shopping season and beyond,” Pat Suh, Affirm’s SVP of Revenue, noted.
Meanwhile, the company highlighted that United States consumers can also pay over time with Affirm at Walmart Vision and Auto Centers.
Affirm has in the past inked notable partnerships with different retailers including Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP). With the increasing demand for buy now, pay later services, Affirm has seen its active customers grow to more than 16.9 million consumers and over $21 billion in gross merchandise volume. Notably, Affirm has also partnered with a myriad of payment companies like Google Pay to offer consumers flexibility in payment options.
With the notable partnerships, Affirm has seen its overall revenue continue to grow year over year. For instance, Affirm reported a total revenue of $497 million, up 37 percent year over year, during the first quarter of fiscal 2024. In a bid to ensure future growth prospects, the company has continued to focus on its strengths and innovate new products. For instance, the company announced that the Affirm Card had more than 400k active users as of September 2023.
Despite suffering a market cap setback in its fiscal Q3 of 2023, fintech platform Affirm expects full-year revenue of $1.56 billion.
On Tuesday, May 9, Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) reported its fiscal Q3 2023 earnings which showed a loss of 69 cents per share and a revenue deficit of $205.7 million. However, recorded earnings per share still topped the consensus estimate of 91 cents for the same period.
Affirm’s fiscal Q3 2023 report showed $381 million in revenue, also beating the $366.9 million analysts expected. Following the better-than-expected performance, the fintech firm projected revenue between $390 million and $415 million for fiscal Q4 2023. Furthermore, the San Francisco-headquartered company expects full-year revenue of up to $1.56 billion.
Although Affirm’s stock is up 27% year-to-date, the company’s shares traded wildly, tumbling 11% in Tuesday’s final trading minutes. Following its earnings report, AFRM tanked to $12.30, representing a 50% decline in the last 12 months. At the time of writing, in the pre-market, the stock is down 7.8% which means that it is trading at $11.34.
A triggering factor for the sustained descent is investor concern regarding the future of its business model. Several investors worry that Affirm’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) scheme would face increasing competition from established tech players such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). In addition, questions arise about how the installment loan financial lender would fare amid a weakening economy and rising interest rate landscape.
Although Affirm’s losses for the latest quarter were lower than expected, the $205.7 million deficit was more than triple 2022’s setback. In the year-ago quarter, Affirm lost $54.7 million on $354.8 million in revenue.
During the pandemic, Affirm thrived as households with stimulus funds and an increased desire for online shopping drove the business’s bottom line higher. However, the fintech platform’s prospects have decreased since then, with fewer bulls jumping on board. In March, D.A. Davidson analyst Christopher Brendler analyzed Affirm’s stock and underscored his optimism by maintaining his ‘Buy’ rating. Brendler said AFRM still held an attraction for investors with its $20 price target. This is despite a wider-than-expected fiscal Q2 2023 loss and staff downsizing. Expressing his thoughts on Affirm’s perceived staying power at the time, the D.A. Davidson analyst wrote:
“Although the rising interest rates and higher defaults have pressured profitability, recent results suggest the industry is successfully adjusting by raising pricing and tightening credit.”
Meanwhile, Affirm chief executive officer Max Levchin echoed Brendler’s sentiments in an investor letter yesterday that read:
“We are in an endurance race. We have the will and the capacity to not just finish but win. Leaning into our foundational advantages of strong and nimble underwriting and scalable technology, we intend to grow responsibly.”
In addition to its anticipated fiscal Q4 2023 revenue of $415 million, Affirm also expects to record a gross merchandise volume of up to $5.35 billion. However, the company warned that its fourth-quarter loan delinquency would also increase. This development implies that revenue minus transaction costs as a percentage of gross merchandise volume could drop to 2.9% in fiscal Q4. The figure currently stands at 3.6% in the current quarter.
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