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Klarna Stock Falls After IPO. It Didn’t Pop Like Others—Why That’s a Good Thing.

Sep 11, 2025 07:05:00 -0400 by Mackenzie Tatananni | #IPOs

Klarna stock rose 15% in its trading debut, ending the session with a market value of around $17.4 billion. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

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Klarna stock didn’t see a triple-digit percent gain in its trading debut, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Shares began trading at $52 on Wednesday, about 30% above the offering price, but pared gains to end the day up 15% at just under $46 a share. Based on the closing price, the Sweden-based fintech’s market value was around $17.4 billion.

The success of several high-profile IPOs this year means investors have become used to eye-watering stock pops on day one. Circle Internet Group rose 168%, while design-software maker Figma nearly tripled in its trading debut.

Klarna’s outcome may seem muted by comparison, but it’s actually the ideal scenario for a company, Phil Haslett, chief strategy officer at Equityzen, told Barron’s.

“A modest uplift on day one signals the offering was priced correctly and that there’s genuine excitement for the business—just not the same level of frenzy we saw with names like Circle, CoreWeave, or Figma,” Haslett explained.

Besides, history has shown there’s no guarantee the enthusiasm will last. Figma shares have slumped more than 50% since they began trading on July 31, in part because of an underwhelming second-quarter earnings report.

Klarna is no stranger to curtailing expectations. The fintech’s valuation peaked at $45.6 billion in 2021, adding Klarna to the ranks of companies like Zoom and Peloton that got a boost during the pandemic.

The following year, however, Klarna slashed its valuation to $6.7 billion, an 85% decrease. The reset came as the broader fintech sector faced pressure from rising interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainty.

“It takes guts to admit to the market that the earlier valuation was wrong,” Haslett said. “What we’re seeing now in this IPO, through the filings and the numbers, is that Klarna has proven it has a profitable, growing business that can compete—and, hopefully, withstand the kinds of credit cycles that have tripped up other fintech companies in the past.”

The fintech has come a long way since its founding in 2005. Originally marketed as a buy-now, pay-later service provider, Klarna has since expanded to launch debit and credit cards. The company holds a banking license in the European Union and has partnered with WebBank in the U.S. to issue its Visa-branded Klarna Card.

While its debut might not have been as attention-grabbing as Figma’s or Circle’s, the company is nevertheless attracting buzz. Chief Commercial Officer David Sykes told Barron’s that Klarna’s branding is, and will continue to be, its strength.

“There have been heaps of investors who supported us the whole way through, and this is a good opportunity for them to create liquidity,” Sykes said of Klarna’s IPO. “But it’s also a really good opportunity for fans of the brand to own a piece of what we think will be an important part of digital finance in the future.”

Klarna aims to take on the traditional banking sector. “I don’t meet many people who are a fan of their bank — it’s a very transactional relationship,” Sykes said. “We’ve always had this aspiration to not just be a great brand, but to be brand that invites excitement.”

Klarna stock declined 1% to $45.38 on Thursday. Fintech peers Affirm Holdings and Block were down 3.1% and up 1%, respectively. The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.8%.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com and Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

Corrections & Amplifications: CoreWeave stock closed at the $40 offer price on its first day of trading. A previous version of this article’s headline incorrectly said the stock popped in its trading debut.