Klarna posts first net profit

Klarna Group reported $1 million of net income for the first quarter on May 14, swinging from a $99 million loss a year earlier and marking the company’s first quarterly net profit. Revenue rose 44% year over year to $1.0 billion, while adjusted operating profit increased to $68 million from $3 million, according to the company’s earnings release. The Swedish payments company also said second-quarter revenue is expected to be between $960 million and $1.0 billion. The result gives Klarna a fresh profitability marker less than a year after its New York listing. Reuters reported in September 2025 that Klarna shares jumped in their debut, valuing the company at nearly $20 billion at the opening trade after an IPO priced at $40 a share and valued the company at about $15.1 billion. (investors.klarna.com) ### How big was the quarter beyond the profit line? Klarna said gross merchandise volume reached $33.7 billion in the quarter, up 33% from a year earlier. Transaction margin dollars rose 44% to $389 million, matching the pace of revenue growth, the company said. (marketscreener.com) The company said operating income was $17 million, compared with an operating loss of $90 million in the first quarter of 2025. Bloomberg reported analysts had expected a net loss of $67.2 million on average, making the quarter a beat against consensus forecasts. (investors.klarna.com) ### What did Klarna say drove the improvement? Chief Executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in the earnings release that Klarna “executed well across all the business,” with growth compounding across its merchant and consumer network. The company said active consumers rose 21% to 119 million and its merchant base increased 49% to more than 1 million. (investors.klarna.com) Credit quality remained broadly steady in the quarter. Klarna said provisions for credit losses were 0.55% of gross merchandise volume, compared with 0.54% a year earlier. Reuters reported the quarter’s strength also reflected a drop in credit-loss provisions from the prior quarter. (investors.klarna.com) ### Where is Klarna trying to grow from here? Klarna said the Klarna Card has reached 5 million active users across 16 countries, part of its push beyond checkout financing into everyday spending. The company also said fair-financing gross merchandise volume grew 138% year over year and that peer-to-peer payments launched in January across 13 European countries. (investors.klarna.com) New distribution deals are also part of the plan. Klarna said default payment-service-provider partnerships with Stripe and Nexi are already in place, while integrations with JPMorgan Payments and Worldpay “will go live soon.” The company also listed new merchant partnerships including Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Quay and Article. (investors.klarna.com) ### Did the outlook match the strong quarter? Klarna said second-quarter guidance calls for gross merchandise volume of $35.5 billion to $36.5 billion, revenue of $960 million to $1.0 billion, transaction margin dollars of $375 million to $395 million and adjusted operating income of $30 million to $50 million. The company said it is reiterating its full-year 2026 guidance. (investors.klarna.com) Reuters reported the company’s profit and revenue were ahead of analysts’ expectations, but said the outlook fell short of market forecasts. That left investors weighing a profitable quarter against a more restrained near-term revenue target. ### What comes next for investors? Klarna’s investor relations site lists first-quarter 2026 materials, including the earnings release, webcast and supplementary financial statements, under filings dated May 14, 2026. (investors.klarna.com) The same page shows second-quarter 2026 reporting materials will be posted in the quarterly-results section when released. (investors.klarna.com) (msn.com)