Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM) posted stable performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, underlining its resilience in an unstable economic environment. For the period ending March 31, 2026, the company reported gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $11.6 billion; This represents a 35% increase over the previous year. While total revenue increased 33% to $1.039 billion, revenue decreased process costs (RLTC) increased 41% to $498 million; this amounted to 4.31% of GMV.
fintech reported net income of $103 million, a sharp turnaround from the previous year’s results.
Operating income reached $88 million (8.5% of revenue) and adjusted operating income reached $281 million (27% of revenue); This reflects significant margin expansion.
While active consumers increased by 22% to 26.8 million, the number of transactions per active consumer increased by 20% to 6.7.
Merchant partners expanded significantly, with Affirm Card direct-to-consumer GMV up 48% to $3.7 billion. card– Specific volume increased by 146% and the number of active cardholders reached 4.4 million.
Founder and CEO Max Levchin He highlighted the results as “exceptional” and noted that GMV growth of over 30% was achieved for the 10th consecutive quarter without compromising credit discipline.
Highlighting improved unit economics and operational efficiency, he noted that top-line momentum is now matched by stronger profitability further down the top line.
Financing costs fell 126 basis points year-on-year to 5.8%, helped by successful asset-backed securities issuance and positive repricing. Credit Measurements remained robust, with delays consistent with expectations.
Confirm provided optimistic guidance. For Q4, it expects GMV to be between $13.15 billion and $13.45 billion, revenue to be between $1.08 billion and $1.11 billion, and margin gains to continue.
Full-year fiscal 2026 projections call for GMV of approximately $49.3 billion to $49.6 billion and revenue of $4.175 billion to $4.205 billion. Management anticipates stable product mix and interest rates as it develops international ventures.
Analysts Praise Affirm’s hybrid BNPL Model that combines transparent installment loans (some with interest, some with zero APR) with business fees, interest income and loan sales.
Unlike pure short-term “pay in four” offers, Affirm helps users establish credit histories while maintaining conservative underwriting by reporting to credit bureaus.
This approach has provided consistent access to capital markets with $28.2 billion in financing capacity supporting annual GMV potential of over $65 billion.
Affirm Card and in-store expansions further differentiate the platform by increasing repeat usage and higher average order values.
The future outlook looks bright. Wall Street sees recent gains (EPS forecast at $0.30 versus $0.17 and revenue forecasts up more than 4%) as evidence of sustainable scaling.
Forecasts show fiscal 2027 revenue could exceed $5 billion, driven by card growth, commercial partnerships and more than 70% margin expansion in RLTC earnings.
While macroeconomic headwinds continued, Affirm’s performance on securitization eased concerns. private loan financing difficulties.
wider buy now pay later The market is predicted to grow at a compound annual rate of over 20% through the early 2030s, driven by e-commerce integration, point-of-sale adoption and consumer demand for flexible payments.
However, growth is slowing after pandemic peaks as regulatory scrutiny intensifies and traditional banks introduce rival installment features.
Multi-channel strategies and artificial intelligenceGuided underwriting is now on the table as the emphasis shifts to responsible lending and lower default rates during potential credit cycle testing.
Among key rivals Klarnaemphasizing lifestyle branding and own card; Afterpay (Blok), strong in retail and Cash App ecosystems; and PayPal’s integrated wallet solutions. Sezzle and Zip target niche segments with financial education tools. Confirm It aims to maintain advantage through scale, credit reporting transparency and diversified revenue streams, positioning it advantageously as BNPL gradually evolves from a niche fintech segment to mainstream consumer finance.
