Klarna Resumes IPO Filing After Pause Earlier This Year
In April 2025, Klarna was due to make its first initial public offering (IPO).
Klarna’s plans to go public stem back to 2021, but were ultimately withheld due to market volatility.
Macroeconomic conditions were influenced by geopolitical situations such as Brexit, a post-pandemic economy and technology sector declines, resulting in the company’s valuation dropping from US$46bn in 2021 to US$6.7bn in 2022.
Despite economic challenges stemming from the ever-changing political climate, Klarna’s growth strategy has been aggressive in the last 12 months.
The year of the build
At the start of the year, the company expanded by partnering with JPMorgan to bring buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services to the bank’s merchant network.
The expansion came as a result of JPMorgan’s increase in global transactions, with the company processing US$2trn in transactions per year.
Klarna was estimated to be valued at US$15m in preparation for its IPO later in the year.
Months later, the Swedish fintech giant paired with US delivery service DoorDash, claiming to increase accessibility of convenience items to American customers.
Continuing to expand in North America, Klarna extended its deal with eBay to serve US consumers. The agreement with eBay made pay-in-4 options available to Americans after a successful stint in Europe six months prior.
The expansion of the service came just weeks after Klarna announced its decision to halt IPO processes.
Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump initiated market instability, with reports that the stock market was valued at a loss of US$6.6trn.
Shortly after the pause in plans to go public, Klarna announced another strategic partnership with BigCommerce. The collaboration brought an increase in flexible payment solutions to business-to-business and business-to-consumer retailers.
Scaling US Growth
After a turbulent few months, with reports of US customer credit losses reaching US$136m, Klarna and Nelnet made a deal, enabling Klarna to continue to carry out large-scale capital growth transactions.
Newly originated interest-free short-term pay-in-4-loans are sold to Nelnet on a continual basis, allowing Klarna to have off-balance sheet funding.
IPO as another strategic move
Now, reports have indicated that the BNPL giant has finally shifted back into a strong enough position to go public in the US.
Sources say that the company is estimated to be worth between US$13-14bn.
Individual shares are currently reported to be US$34 - US$36 and could be available as early as next week.
Other sources suggest that Klarna aims to raise US$1bn from the IPO.
Klarna’s aggressive growth strategy could mean it is one of the first BNPL services to be publicly available.
Sebastian said in a statement regarding Q1 profits that: “Our AI-first strategy is driving exceptional returns, we’re outpacing competitors, our merchant network is scaling rapidly and our next-gen products are reshaping money management for millions.”
The company is expected to hit more financial targets later in the year, including achieving a higher share valuation, decreasing company debt and increasing overall capital.
