Affirm Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong GMV Growth, Rising Card Adoption

Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM posted fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $4.62 per share. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents by 1,300%. The metric rose from 20 cents a year ago.

Revenues of $1.17 billion rose 33.0% year over year and surpassed the consensus mark of $1.11 billion by 5.4%.

AFRM’s strong quarterly results were driven by robust Gross Merchandise Volume (“GMV”) growth, higher transactions, strong repeat customer engagement and increased interest income. Rapid growth in Affirm Card adoption and merchant activity also supported the performance. However, elevated operating expenses and higher provision for credit losses partly offset the gains. The bottom line also benefited significantly from a $1.45 billion income tax benefit related to the release of a valuation allowance on domestic deferred tax assets.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Affirm Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Affirm Holdings, Inc. Quote

AFRM’s Q4 Performance

As of June 30, 2026, AFRM’s active merchants totaled 570,800, up 50% year over year. GMV increased 36% year over year to $14.1 billion. The figure also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.4 billion. The metric gained from strong contributions from direct merchant point-of-sale integrations, wallet partnerships and direct-to-consumer offerings.

Total transactions rallied 41.1% year over year to 52.9 million on the back of a significant surge in repeat customer transactions. The metric beat the consensus mark of 47.4 million. Active cardholders more than doubled to 5.2 million, lifting the card attach rate to about 19%.

Servicing income of $46.1 million advanced 36% year over year and beat the consensus mark of $45.4 million. Interest income rose 35% year over year to $567.3 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $542.3 million.

Merchant network revenues improved 26.3% year over year to $302.4 million but missed the consensus mark of $306.1 million. The metric gained from growing GMV. Card network revenues amounted to $85.2 million, up 26.9% year over year, attributable to higher usage of Affirm Card and Affirm virtual cards. The metric beat the consensus mark of $75.9 million.

Operating expenses increased 24.5% year over year to $1.02 billion. Provision for credit losses climbed 42.5% to $223.2 million, while technology and data analytics expenses rose 31% to $202.6 million. Higher infrastructure costs and amortization of internally developed software contributed to the increase in technology and data analytics expenses.

Operating income improved to $147.3 million from $58.1 million, with operating margin expanding to 12.6% from 6.6%. Adjusted operating income increased 49% to $353.4 million, and adjusted operating margin improved to 30.3% from 27.0%.

Financial Position of Affirm (As of June 30, 2026)

Affirm exited the fiscal fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.6 billion, which increased from $1.4 billion as of fiscal 2025-end. Total assets of $15.8 billion rose from the fiscal 2025-end level of $11.2 billion.

Funding debt totaled $3.3 billion compared with $1.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2025. Total stockholders’ equity was $5.5 billion, up from $3.1 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.

AFRM generated $1.2 billion in net cash from operations for the 12 months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $793.9 million for the 12 months ended June 30, 2025.

Full-Year Update

AFRM reported 2026 operating revenues of $4.3 billion, up from $3.2 billion a year ago. Full-year adjusted net income was $5.53 per share, up from 15 cents a year ago. 

Q1 2027 and FY2027 Guidance

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, AFRM expects GMV of $13.7-$14.0 billion and revenues of $1.19-$1.22 billion. The company projects revenue less transaction costs of $575-$590 million, an adjusted operating margin of 28.0-30.0% and a GAAP operating margin of 11.5-13.5%.

For fiscal 2027, management expects GMV of more than $64 billion. The company expects revenues to remain near 8.49% of GMV, the fiscal 2026 level. Adjusted and GAAP operating margins are projected to exceed 30.5% and 14.5%, respectively.

Zacks Rank of Affirm Holdings

Affirm Holdings currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

How Did the Peers Perform?

Other payment space players like Mastercard Incorporated MA, Visa Inc. V) and American Express AXP have also reported their quarterly numbers. Here’s how they have performed:

Mastercard reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $5.04, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.7%. The bottom line improved 21.4% year over year. Net revenues advanced 14.1% year over year to $9.3 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 2.4%. Mastercard’s quarterly results benefited from strong cross-border volume growth, increased switched transactions and robust demand for value-added services. The upside was partly offset by higher payment network rebates from renewed deals and an escalating operating expense level.

Visa delivered third-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.32 per share, which rose 11% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. Net revenues were $11.63 billion, rising 14% year over year. Visa’s quarterly results reflected resilient spending trends, higher cross-border volumes and solid network activity, including a 10% year-over-year increase in payments volume on a constant-dollar basis. The upside was partly offset by increased operating expenses.

American Express reported second-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $4.53, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.7%. The bottom line advanced 11% year over year. Total revenues, net of interest expense, improved 10% year over year to $19.6 billion. AXP’s quarterly results were driven by increased Card Member spending, higher net interest income and improved card fee growth. However, the upside was partly offset by elevated operating expenses.

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