What Happened?
Shares of buy now, pay later company Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) jumped 3.5% in the afternoon session after the company announced a partnership with Ace Hardware to provide 'buy now, pay later' options at participating stores across the U.S.
The collaboration with the home improvement retailer, which has over 5,200 locations, allowed customers to use Affirm's flexible payment plans for in-store purchases starting at $50. Shoppers could scan a QR code at checkout for a real-time eligibility check. The deal expanded Affirm's network, which already included over 360,000 retail partners. This move aligned with a positive view from Citizens JMP, which had previously noted the company's strong growth runway and differentiated platform. The firm saw Affirm's broader offerings, which included both short-term financing and traditional installment loans, as a key advantage over its competitors.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $75.56, up 3.5% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Affirm’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 56 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was about 21 hours ago when the stock dropped 5.4% on the news that the U.S. government hurtled toward a potential shutdown, sparking economic uncertainty and weighing on investor confidence. Market volatility increased as a partisan standoff pushed the federal government closer to a shutdown. If lawmakers fail to reach a spending agreement, a shutdown would begin, furloughing thousands of federal workers. This prospect has weighed on investor sentiment, creating a 'risk-off' mood in the markets as traders brace for potential economic disruption. The political uncertainty adds a layer of caution for investors heading into the final day of the month.
Adding to the weakness, a key report showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell to a five-month low in September. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index slid to 94.2, a steeper drop than analysts had anticipated and its lowest reading since April. This downturn reflects growing pessimism among Americans about inflation and a weakening job market. Consumer confidence is a closely watched economic indicator as it gauges households' willingness to spend. A decline suggests that consumers may pull back on discretionary purchases, such as dining out or shopping for non-essential goods, which could negatively impact the future revenues and profits of companies in these sectors.
Affirm is up 20.9% since the beginning of the year, but at $75.56 per share, it is still trading 18% below its 52-week high of $92.18 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Affirm’s shares at the IPO in January 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $777.05.
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