Sezzle and Expensify Jump After Earnings to Spur 4.3% FinTech IPO Index Rally

Stocks took a breather on Thursday (Nov. 14), but the general trend of the FinTech IPO Index was up and to the right.

This week, as has been seen through the last several weeks, earnings continued to roll in, as buy now, pay later (BNPL) continued to make a splash.

Sezzle continued its torrid post-earnings pace. The stock has risen 48% through the past five sessions. The company’s shares doubled last week as the latest results and earnings materials indicated that active subscribers for its Premium and Anywhere offerings were higher by 319,000 from last year’s September period to end at 529,000 in the most recent quarter.

Active customers, overall, were 3.6% higher than last year to 2.7 million.  Repeat usage as a percentage of total orders stood at 95.7%, compared to 93.8% a year ago. And quarterly purchase frequency stood at 5.4x, from 3x last year in the third quarter. Total revenues were 71% higher year on year to $40.8 million.

In addition, in non-earnings related Sezzle news, Backcountry, an online outdoor equipment and cycling retailer, has launched a partnership with Sezzle. The collaboration lets customers take advantage of Sezzle’s BNPL financing when shopping Backcountry’s online and in-store brands.

Affirm’s shares were ahead by 9%, extending the BNPL-related rally.

As PYMNTS reported this week, the Visa Flexible Credential is being rolled out in the U.S. with the Affirm Card (already in the market), the BNPL provider’s debit card that allows consumers to opt to pay over time for transactions made through the Affirm app. The joint efforts create a new account that lets the 1.4 million Affirm Card-wielding consumers use a virtual debit product to either pay now or pay over time, wherever Visa is accepted.

Expensify’s shares were 44.4% higher through the week. The company said in its earnings announcement that user counts “have been stable for the past two quarters,” with revenue up 6% quarter-over-quarter to $35.4 million. Total card spend was up 8% through that same timeframe, with a majority of that spending occurring through the company’s new card program.

Toast’s numbers for the third quarter established that gross payment volume (GPV) increased 24% year over year to $41.7 billion, and the number of total locations relying on Toast’s platform increased 28% year over year to nearly 127,000. The company’s annual recurring revenue from software-as-a-service grew by 33%, complemented by a 44% increase in subscription revenue.

“Payments ARR grew 23% and FinTech gross profit increased 27% in the third quarter,” said Toast CFO Elena Gomez.

Toast shares surged more than 23%.

MoneyLion’s stock was 15.6% higher. The company said last week that total revenues gained 23% to $135 million. CEO Dee Choubey said on the conference call with analysts that MoneyLion is executing on its recently announced roadmap “of becoming the number one destination for financial decisions” and said the company is seeking “improving conversion metrics across our marketplace.” MoneyLion ended the third quarter with 18.7 million customers, which was 54% higher than a year ago when 1.6 million new customers joined, quarter over quarter.

Paysafe Leads the Slide

Paysafe shares sank more than 21% to lead declining names. In the third quarter, the company noted adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share that ended in September were below the 59 cents a share the Street had expected. Total revenues of $427.1 million, up 8% year over year, slightly exceeded consensus.

The company’s earnings supplementals detailed that merchant solutions volumes were up 8% to $32 billion, as revenues gathered 11% to $241 million. Digital wallet volumes were 5% higher to $5.9 billion; revenues gained 4% to $191 million.

Open Lending’s stock lost 6.5%. In the September period, the company facilitated 27,435 certified loans during the third quarter of 2024, compared to 29,959 certified loans in the third quarter of 2023. Total revenue was $23.5 million during the third quarter of 2024, down from $26 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Blend Lab’s third-quarter results detailed revenues of $45.2 million, up from $40.6 million a year ago. Within the Blend Platform segment, Mortgage Suite revenue increased by 6% year-over-year to $21.5 million. The company’s Consumer Banking Suite revenue totaled $9.5 million in the third quarter, an increase of 54% year over year.