Klarna Downer

Klarna’s guidance disappoints

While Klarna’s ($KLAR) March-ending quarter results topped consensus expectations, its guidance falls short:

It sees Q2 revs of $960 million to $1.00 billion vs. the $1.06 billion consensus and the $1.01 billion posted in Q1 2025. 

Many questions on this. Is Klarna’s reach slowing, or is it more indicative of the consumer’s appetite for additional credit and spending? Perhaps share loss to Affirm ($AFRM)?

Data in the New York Fed’s latewst Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit found:

Aggregate delinquency showed little change in Q1 2026, with 4.8% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency. Transitions into early delinquency held steady for auto loans, but ticked down for credit cards, from 8.7% annually to 8.6%, and for mortgages from 3.9% to 3.8%. Transitions into serious delinquency were mostly unchanged for auto loans and credit cards but accelerated slightly for mortgages from 1.4% to 1.5%.

That makes me go hmmm when it comes to Klarna.

Position: None

Avatar photo

Posted by Chris Versace

With 30 years of cross-industry experience, Chris Versace brings his thematic investing lens to TheStreet Pro Portfolio (formerly Action Alerts PLUS) each day as lead portfolio manager. His daily insights, analysis, and recommendations provide the foundation for TheStreet's Pro Portfolio. Versace began his career in equity research before founding Versace Management in 2005. He joined TheStreet team in 2011 as a Real Money contributor before becoming portfolio manager of Action Alerts PLUS in 2021. He holds an MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business and has co-authored a book called “Cocktail Investing - Distilling Everyday Noise into Clear Investing Signals for Better Returns.” With a passion for teaching others about investing, Versace spent 9 years as an Assistant Professor of Finance at NJCU School of Business. When he’s not contributing to TheStreet’s premium services, he can be found speaking at industry conferences or at a Bruce Springsteen concert (he’s seen him 50 times and counting!).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *