The Affirm IPO is filed with the SEC. Founded by a PayPal alum, the e-commerce platform is finally going public. And investors are looking forward to the launch of Affirm stock.

But is Affirm a good investment opportunity? Here’s what we know…

Affirm IPO: The Business

PayPal co-founder Max Levchin founded Affirm in 2012 with Nathan Gettings, Jeffrey Kaditz and Alex Rampell. Affirm is a technology company providing e-commerce solutions. It allows consumers to make purchases in interest-free installments. The company also offers an app to help people manage payments or open high-yield savings accounts.

In the Affirm IPO prospectus, the company states…

“We are building the next-generation platform for digital and mobile-first commerce. We believe by using modern technology, the very best engineering talent, and a mission-driven approach, we can reinvent the payment experience. Our solutions, which are built on trust and transparency, make it easier for consumers to spend responsibly and with confidence, easier for merchants to convert sales and grow, and easier for commerce to thrive.”

E-commerce is gaining popularity as technology continues to evolve. And quarantines due to the coronavirus only deepened the attraction of online shopping and payment platforms. So it’s not a surprise Affirm stock is coming now. But what are you really investing in?

Affirm Stock: Investing in the Product

Affirm claims current payment options and systems create risks that are harmful to both consumers and merchants. The company also claims these systems aren’t kept up to date for the latest technology trends, such as mobile commerce. To combat this, Affirm’s products focus on three areas.

Point-of-sale payment solutions for consumers. Consumers can pay in fixed amounts without deferred interest, hidden fees or penalties. This lets people pay over time instead of upfront. However, the company does offer interest-bearing loans in addition to 0% APR options. These loans charge simple interest, a fixed amount agreed upon upfront that never compounds.

Merchant commerce solutions. Affirm claims its solutions help merchants to promote and sell their products, optimize customer acquisition and drive sales. Affirm says that by giving consumers a flexible payment option, merchants can avoid discounts and other marketing promotions that hurt revenue. Affirm’s payment solutions also provide product-level data and insight to improve marketing strategies.

A consumer-focused app. The app contains a suite of Affirm’s products. Users can manage payments, open a high-yield savings account and access a personalized marketplace. The marketplace lets consumers find products and buy them from Affirm’s merchant partners. The app also lets merchants give personalized offers based on a consumer’s spending and shopping habits.

Affirm notes that its business benefits from Gen Zers and Millennials, people born between 1981 and 2012. These generations compose the largest segment of the U.S. population and are the driving force in technology and e-commerce trends. According to the Affirm IPO prospectus, the spending power of this group reached more than $2.5 trillion in 2020.

The E-Commerce Industry Is Growing

Before you decide to invest in Affirm stock, it’s important to understand the industry. Affirm is in the technology sector and, more specifically, the e-commerce sector. Affirm refers to eMarketer for industry statistics. In 2019, global online sales grew 20% to $3.4 trillion. They’re expected to grow to $5.8 trillion by 2023.

But Affirm says e-commerce accounts for just 14% of total retail sales. Gen Zers and Millennials are the ones pushing that number higher. According to Statista, 70% of Millennials prefer online shopping. And in the first half of 2020, the percentage of e-commerce sales increased from 11.8% to 16.1% in the U.S.

There’s also an increase in the idea of “buy now, pay later.” According to Worldpay’s 2020 Global Payments report, this is the fastest-growing global payment method. In North America, it’s expected to represent 3% of e-commerce payments by 2023. In the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, it’s already 6% and could grow to 10% by 2023.

As e-commerce becomes more popular with younger generations, Affirm will have the opportunity to expand and grow to meet the need. But is Affirm profitable?

The Financial Data

Profitability is a big topic for IPOs. While in the past investors were skeptical of companies like Uber for not being profitable, 2020 saw a different trend. Investors are focusing more on growth and the possibility of profit in the future. And that could be good for the Affirm IPO.

On one hand, the company is seeing tremendous revenue growth. For 2019, recorded net revenue was $264.4 million. It almost doubled for the year ending June 30, 2020. Revenue grew 92.7% to $509.5 million. And the trend continued for the three months ending September 30. In 2019, revenue was $87.9 million for this time period. In 2020, it increased to $174 million for a growth rate of 98%.

On the other hand, Affirm has yet to report a net profit. In 2019, the company had a net loss of $120.5 million. However, Affirm was able to decrease its net loss to $112.6 million in 2020. And the same goes for the three months ending September 30. Net loss decreased from $30.8 million in 2019 to $15.3 million in 2020. If Affirm can keep this trend going and continues to expand with the e-commerce industry, it’s possible for Affirm to become profitable in the future.

So for those interested in investing in Affirm stock, what is the Affirm IPO date?

Affirm IPO Details: Date, Price and Ticker Symbol

Affirm filed to go public on November 18, 2020. Analysts thought the offering would come sometime in December alongside unicorn Airbnb. However, the Affirm IPO date was January 13, 2021. Shares priced at $49. The company offered 24.6 million shares for a deal size of $1.2 billion. Affirm stock trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AFRM.

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The Affirm stock will give investors a chance to invest in a rapidly growing industry. If the market continues to improve and reacts well to IPOs, the Affirm IPO could be quite successful.