Klarna Had Its Best Quarter Ever and Still Lost a Quarter of Its Value
The company behind “buy now, pay later” is learning the hard way that investors demand profits now, not later. Despite record sales and strong top-line growth, markets erased a quarter of Klarna’s value Thursday after earnings revealed a widening loss. The selloff dragged shares to all-time lows — now down nearly 70% since September’s IPO.
- Up 38% from last year, Q4’s sales beat expectations and notched its first-ever billion-dollar quarter — while GMV, representing all processed purchases, climbed 32%.
- Yet, last year’s $40M profit became a $26M loss — as loan provisions surged 59% and operating expenses rose 18% amid enhanced product development.
The long, long, long game: While Klarna’s bottom line took a beating, BNPL’s appetite didn’t. Currently, 14% of consumers are still reaching for BNPL even after record holiday spending, pointing to durable demand. The Swedish fintech is funneling that loyal base into higher-value banking products, where 15.8M converted users already yield 3x a typical user in revenue. While costly upfront, the business model mirrors the product: buy now, profit later. Whether Wall Street has the patience is the only real question that matters.
