Sezzle Subscribers: Can 76.4% Y/Y Growth Keep Accelerating?

Sezzle Inc.’s SEZL subscriber engine delivered its strongest quarter yet in the second quarter of 2026. Active subscribers reached 854,000, up 76.4% year over year, while the company added 140,000 net new subscribers. Management said this was its largest quarterly subscriber gain since launching the subscription program, showing that subscription model is scaling.

Subscriber growth is translating into heavier usage. Average quarterly purchase frequency rose to a record 7.2 times from 6.1 times in prior-year quarter. Sezzle reported that subscribers place about eight more orders per quarter, on average, than non-subscribers. Management views subscribers as its highest lifetime-value users, linking subscriber growth to stronger engagement.

The company is adding more reasons for customers to stay subscribed. SezzleCash gives eligible Anywhere subscribers access to short-term cash advances, while Sezzle Mobile offers an unlimited wireless plan starting at $29.99. Card-linked offers, rewards, beta-product access and fee-free Sezzle Send for Anywhere users are also designed to make subscriptions harder to leave.

Marketing played a role. Sezzle spent $19.4 million on marketing in second quarter, more than double the $8.8 million spent a year earlier. Management said customer acquisition remained within its target of a payback period of under six months. That gives Sezzle room to keep investing, although executives expect lower marketing spending in the third quarter of 2026.

New products could support the next leg of growth. Nearly 10% of eligible new Anywhere subscribers used SezzleCash for their first transaction. Sezzle Send also had more than 100,000 users on its waitlist, creating another potential channel for attracting customers beyond the company’s traditional buy-now-pay-later offering.

How Are Affirm & Klarna Growing Their Users?

Affirm’s AFRM user base is expanding as more consumers adopt its flexible payment services for everyday purchases. A larger active-user population can strengthen engagement, repeat usage and brand familiarity, making Affirm a significant Sezzle competitor in overall consumer reach. In third-quarter fiscal 2026, Affirm reported 26.8 million active customers.

Klarna Group plc KLAR maintains a substantially larger global user community, giving it broad consumer visibility across payments and shopping services. Its growing active-user base suggests strong adoption and frequent interaction, supporting Klarna’s competitive position against Sezzle in attracting and retaining consumers. In second-quarter 2026, Klarna reported 120 million active consumers worldwide.

SEZL’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Sezzle have outperformed in the past three months compared with the broader industry and the S&P 500 Index.

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From a valuation standpoint, Sezzle’s shares have a Value Score of D. In terms of forward 12-month P/E, SEZL stock is trading at 19.36X, which is at a premium to the Zacks Financial Transaction Services Market industry’s 18.84X.

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Sizzle’s estimate revisions reflect a positive trend. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2026 EPS has been revised upward to $5.24 in the past month. The consensus estimate for the metric indicates a year-over-year increase of 45.96%.

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Sezzle currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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

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