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Affirm's Active Merchants Rise: A Strategic Advantage in BNPL Space?
AffirmAffirm(US:AFRM) ZACKSยท2025-06-12 16:51

Core Insights - Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM) is focusing on growth and merchant expansion, particularly in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market, with significant merchant adoption on its platform [1] - The company has expanded into the U.K. market, marking a major step outside North America [1] Merchant Growth - Affirm reported over 254,000 active merchants in fiscal 2023, which increased by approximately 19.3% year over year in fiscal 2024, and reached around 358,000 active merchants by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2025, reflecting a 23% year-over-year growth [2][11] Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) - The increasing participation of merchants has led to more checkout opportunities, significantly boosting GMV, which surged 36% year over year to $8.6 billion in the fiscal third quarter of 2025. The company projects GMV to be between $35.7 billion and $36 billion for fiscal 2025 [3][11] Revenue and Partnerships - Merchant network revenues rose 34.3% year over year in the fiscal third quarter of 2025, supported by strategic partnerships and product enhancements. The company aims to enhance its product lineup with more flexible payment options and improved point-of-sale integrations [4][11] Competitive Landscape - Competitors in the payment solutions space include PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) and Sezzle Inc. (SEZL). PayPal reported 436 million active accounts and net revenues of $7.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025, while Sezzle's total revenues grew 123.3% year over year to $104.9 million in the same quarter [5][6] Stock Performance and Valuation - Over the past year, AFRM's shares have increased by 90%, outperforming the industry's growth of 37.4%. The company trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 5.25, below the industry average of 5.68 [9][10] Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Affirm's 2025 earnings implies a growth of 100.6% from the previous year, with five upward estimate revisions in the past 30 days [13]