How Is Affirm Threading BNPL Growth Through Pacsun's Holiday Cart?

Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM recently partnered with Pacsun, a youth-focused fashion retailer, to power pay-over-time options at checkout. Shoppers can split purchases into installments directly using Affirm when buying Pacsun’s collections. The deal launches during the holiday season, aiming to capture higher demand from trend-driven shoppers.

Per the deal, Pacsun buyers can choose interest-free biweekly payments or longer monthly plans up to 24 months. AFRM’s strategy of no hidden fees or late fees continues to drive its volume and support stickiness. To boost adoption, Pacsun is offering a limited-time 10% discount using a special AFFIRM code on its Holiday Gift Guide, targeting heavy seasonal spending.

Fashion retail drives frequent, impulse-style purchases, making it a strong fit for buy now, pay later (BNPL). Adding Pacsun expands Affirm’s merchant network, which is 420,000 partners strong, and places its product in front of a young audience that naturally embraces installment payments. With more transactions, its revenues from merchant fees will likely grow. The company expects December quarter revenues to be within $1.03-$1.06 billion.

The timing also matters: holiday shopping creates a surge in volume that BNPL players compete fiercely to capture. Winning a brand partnership in this window builds momentum and shareholder confidence. It also diversifies Affirm beyond big partners, improving resilience and supporting long-term growth in a crowded BNPL market. AFRM expects its GMV for the December quarter to be in the range of $13-$13.3 billion.

How Are Other BNPL Providers Faring?

AFRM’s peers like PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL and Block, Inc. XYZ are also working toward increasing their BNPL footprints and capturing more market share.

In the third quarter of 2025, PayPal’s total payment volume grew 8% to $458.1 billion. Its active accounts increased 1% during this time to 438 million. PYPL’s transaction revenues gained 6% year over year in the quarter.

Meanwhile, Block’s BNPL platform’s GMV reached $9.7 billion during the third quarter, marking a 17% jump from a year ago. It witnessed the BNPL gross profit grow 23% to $299 million. Block’s post-purchase BNPL options are expected to play a crucial role in increasing Cash App Card volumes.

Affirm’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Affirm have gained 12.8% year to date, outperforming the broader industry but underperforming the S&P 500 Index.

Affirm’s YTD Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, Affirm trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 5.08X, up from the industry average of 4.83X. AFRM carries a Value Score of D.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Affirm’s fiscal 2026 earnings implies a 566.7% surge year over year, followed by a 56.4% jump next year.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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