Swedish fintech Klarna begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Klarna
The Swedish buy-now, pay-later firm Klarna began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday afternoon at $52, up 30% from its $40 initial public offering price. High investor demand had allowed it to boost its initial public offering price to $40 late on Tuesday (above its stated target of $35 to $37) pushing its offering valuation to $15.1 billion. The firm raised $1.37 billion through its offering of 34.3 million shares, with $200 million going to the company and $1.17 billion going to existing shareholders. The stock is trading under KLAR and at a price of $52 has a market cap of $19.6 billion.
Klarna is the first of three high-profile fintech firms that are aiming to go public this week. Blockchain-based lender Figure is planning an IPO tomorrow and the Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange, Gemini, is set for its debut on Friday. The action comes amid renewed investor enthusiasm for IPOs, with the successful launch of stablecoin issuer Circle and design startup Figma just this summer.
The Swedish fintech became a closely-watched IPO contender when its private market valuation peaked at nearly $46 billion in 2021 during the pandemic-era e-commerce boom. Klarna intended to mark its public market debut in April, but was forced to pause its plans amid looming tariff uncertainty.
Since its founding in Stockholm in 2005 and foray into American markets in 2019, Klarna has established a global presence with the U.S. as its largest market. The fintech is best known for pioneering the buy-now, pay-later flexible payment model that allows customers to make purchases from retailers without paying the full amount upfront. Klarna gives its 100 million customers the option to split their purchases into four equal payments over six weeks, pay the full sum within a month, or opt for longer-term financing, which often carries stiff interest. As of late, the company has attempted to rebrand itself as a digital bank, with its offering of savings, checking accounts and credit cards.
Despite solid user growth, profitability has been a major challenge for the firm since 2019 as buy-now, pay-later competitors have gained momentum and crowded the market. With a nearly $29 billion valuation, Affirm has emerged as a strong competitor and has seen its stock rise almost 44% since the start of the year. The San-Francisco based fintech reported profits for the first time last quarter, in a significant breakaway from its pattern of losses. Meanwhile,Klarna’s losses rose to $52 million on revenue of $823 million for the quarter ended June 30, as compared with a $7 million loss on $682 million in revenue during the same period in 2024.
Klarna’s IPO was underwritten by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.