By Mackenzie Tatananni

Shares of Affirm and PayPal were sliding Friday on fears a recession could lessen demand for consumer loans.

Both stocks extended prior losses as Affirm fell 12% to $34.17 and Venmo owner PayPal slipped 3.5% to $59.57. The stocks have declined 28% and 11%, respectively, over the past two days, marking Affirm's worst two-day stretch since 2022.

Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Affirm last week, rating the stock at Neutral. In addition to problems specific to the company, such as its history of quarterly losses, analyst Jeff Cantwell expressed concern the economic environment was "in the process of changing, perhaps materially so," and could lead to moderation in consumer spending.

The March 24 note came days before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on U.S. trading partners. This included levies of at least 10% on imports from all countries and higher-than-expected "reciprocal" tariffs on certain trade partners. On Friday, China vowed to impose its own 34% reciprocal tariff on all imports from the U.S. beginning April 9, calling Trump's latest measure "a typical unilateral bullying practice."

Other fintechs were feeling the pressure, too. Shares of personal-loan providers SoFi and Upstart fell 11% and 12%, respectively, on Friday.

While PayPal held up slightly better, Affirm dragged behind the broader market. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were down 4.9%, 4.1%, and 5%, respectively.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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April 04, 2025 13:39 ET (17:39 GMT)

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