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Investing.com -- Oppenheimer has initiated coverage on Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) with an Outperform rating and a $80 price target, highlighting the company’s strong position in the fast-growing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market.
The broker’s price target implies roughly 15% upside potential from current levels, with Oppenheimer analysts highlighting Affirm’s differentiated underwriting model, robust funding strategy, and transparent pricing as key drivers of continued BNPL share gains.
Over the next two years, they expect Affirm to deliver at least a mid-20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) and high-20% CAGR in adjusted operating income.
According to Global Market Insights data cited by Oppenheimer, global BNPL volume rose at a 21% CAGR from 2022 to 2024. While Klarna, the top provider by market share, grew GMV at 13%, Affirm expanded at a 42% pace during the same period, driving nearly 400 basis points of global share gains.
Moreover, consumer spending, a key factor for BNPL investors, continues to be strong.
Recent discussions with companies indicate that card volume growth in May was consistent with April’s performance and slightly better than the first quarter of 2025, Oppenheimer said. This reinforces the idea that consumers are still spending robustly.
Despite the recent loss of the Walmart (NYSE:WMT) partnership—about 5% of Affirm’s GMV—Oppenheimer expects the company to outperform conservative initial full-year 2026 (FY26) guidance. The firm projects GMV growth of 27% in FY26 and adjusted operating income of roughly $1 billion.
Affirm’s shares currently trade at less than 1x estimated next-twelve-month EV/EBITDA to EBITDA growth, a valuation Oppenheimer considers attractive in a stable macro environment.
While the broker’s model anticipates a modest increase in net charge-off rates and provisioning expenses, analysts believe Affirm is well-positioned to handle potential economic downturns.
This is because its lending focuses on higher-quality borrowers compared to other BNPL services, and its ability to underwrite each transaction provides flexibility and resilience if macroeconomic conditions worsen.