Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM and Shopify recently teamed up to roll out Shop Pay Installments in international markets. This partnership is designed to cater to the growing global appetite for flexible and transparent payment solutions in the online shopping arena. AFRM stock jumped 21.5% yesterday.

Affirm and Shopify are starting by expanding beyond the domestic market and into Canada, allowing its merchants to have early access. Making this a foundation, they are making the way for future expansions into the U.K., Australia and Western Europe, including major markets like France, Germany and the Netherlands.

The growth of Shop Pay Installments allows merchants in certain countries to provide their customers with interest-free payment options at checkout. This not only improves the shopping experience but also helps to lower the rates of cart abandonment. Affirm boasts a robust network of 21 million active users and over 330,000 integrated merchant partners.

Looking at the bigger picture, the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is getting more competitive and scrutinized. Still, Affirm’s history of responsible lending and its solid footing in the United States create a great base for expanding globally. This fits perfectly with Shopify's bigger goal of making commerce easier and helping entrepreneurs all around the world thrive. 

Also, Klarna has paused its IPO plans amid the tech sell-off and tariff uncertainty, easing competitive pressure on Affirm. Without Klarna raising fresh capital, AFRM gains breathing room in the BNPL race.

AFRM Stock Price Performance

In the past year, AFRM shares have rallied 31.1%, outperforming the industry’s growth of 7.8%. 

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AFRM’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

AFRM currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the computer and technology space are CLEAR Secure, Inc. YOU, ACI Worldwide Inc. ACIW and Olo Inc. OLO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLEAR Secure’s current-year earnings of $1.36 per share has witnessed three upward revisions in the past 60 days against none in the opposite direction. CLEAR Secure beat earnings estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 77%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $883.3 million, implying 14.7% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACI Worldwide’s current-year earnings of $2.80 per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past 30 days against none in the opposite direction. ACI Worldwide beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 161.3%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $1.7 billion, indicating 40.4% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Olo’s current-year earnings of 31 cents per share has witnessed three upward revisions in the past 60 days against none in the opposite direction. OLO beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 1.4%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $334.7 million, calling for 17.5% year-over-year growth.

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ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Olo Inc. (OLO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

CLEAR Secure, Inc. (YOU) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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