Affirm Files for IPO - Going Public Confidentially

This afternoon, Affirm, a company specializing in point-of-sale financing for online shoppers, revealed its intention to become a publicly traded entity.

The submission for its initial public offering is confidential, meaning details regarding the company’s current performance are presently unavailable. Reports from the Wall Street Journal indicated Affirm was considering a public offering as early as July. Following that announcement, TechCrunch investigated the potential valuation Affirm was aiming for during its market debut, estimating it could reach as high as $10 billion.

Throughout its time as a privately held company, Affirm has secured substantial funding. The fintech unicorn has accumulated over $1 billion in private investment, including a $500 million Series G round in September 2020, a $300 million Series F round in April 2019, and a $200 million Series E round in December 2017. Additionally, Affirm obtained over $400 million through previous equity financings and a $100 million line of credit in late 2016.

Consequently, a significant number of venture capital investments are dependent on Affirm’s success and its ability to provide future returns.

PitchBook data shows the company was valued at $2.9 billion during its $300 million Series F funding round last year. The company’s most recent valuation remains undisclosed. Therefore, the extent to which a $10 billion public valuation would exceed its final private valuation is currently unknown.

Affirm is poised to enter a favorable public market environment should it proceed with listing in the near future. The third quarter of 2020 experienced a surge in public market activity, marking the most active quarter for initial public offerings since at least 2016, partly fueled by the popularity of SPACs. Both individual and institutional investors have demonstrated strong interest in growth-oriented stocks, leading to positive results for recently debuted, albeit unprofitable, tech companies.

Companies that are profitable have performed even more impressively, with certain companies like Snowflake standing out as exceptional cases.

Following the confidential filing, Affirm will await feedback from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its application. It will then have the option to submit a public S-1 filing when prepared. While there is no fixed schedule, we will thoroughly analyze the company’s financials once they become publicly available. Affirm is following a similar path to other recent companies, such as Palantir, which initially filed confidentially before making their offerings public.