Klarna (KLAR), the Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant, made a strong debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Wednesday, opening for trade around 1 p.m. ET at $52 per share—a 30% jump from its IPO price of $40. In afternoon trading, shares were up roughly 17%, settling near $46.50 about 90 minutes after the market opened, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $17.5 billion. At the opening price, Klarna’s market cap briefly reached $19 billion, signaling strong investor demand for the stock.
The IPO raised $1.37 billion for Klarna, exceeding earlier estimates of $35-$37 per share. While this marks a significant increase from the company’s 2022 private funding valuation of $6.7 billion, it still falls short of the $45.6 billion valuation SoftBank assigned after a major investment in 2021. Klarna’s public market debut is its second attempt this year; the company initially paused IPO plans in April due to volatility following President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement and a broader slowdown in IPO activity.
Klarna’s listing comes amid a busy week for U.S. IPOs, as capital markets continue to recover from spring lows. Other anticipated offerings include crypto exchange Gemini Space Station, stablecoin issuer Figure Technologies, and Blackstone-backed engineering firm Legence. Klarna follows a string of successful 2025 IPOs, including design software leader Figma (FIG), Circle Internet Group (CRCL), and crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH). According to Renaissance Capital, 144 companies valued at more than $50 million have gone public this year, a 53% increase from the same period in 2024, with tech IPOs collectively raising over $12 billion.
Founded and led by CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna is widely recognized for its BNPL platform, which provides short-term credit for consumers to pay off everyday purchases in installments. The company boasts a user base of 111 million and partnerships with 790,000 merchants, according to its IPO filings. Critics of Klarna and other BNPL providers, including Affirm (AFRM) and Afterpay, warn that the model can encourage overspending and expose the companies to credit risk if customers default.
Klarna’s IPO highlights the growing appeal of BNPL services in consumer finance, even as the sector faces scrutiny from regulators and financial watchdogs. Investors will be watching closely to see whether the strong debut translates into sustained momentum for the stock and continued growth for the company in the evolving digital payments landscape.
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