Better Fintech Stock: Upstart vs. Affirm
2026-03-18 17:05:00 ET
It has been a brutal past few months for fintech stocks, as some leaders in this space have been in free fall. Specifically, two of the most prominent and well-known fintechs -- Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ: UPST) and Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) -- have seen their stock prices fall roughly 36% year to date.
The drops are not really based on business growth -- or lack thereof. In fact, in the most recent quarter, Upstart, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to process loan requests, grew loan originations by 86%, increased revenue by 64%, and was profitable for the third straight quarter with $18.6 million in net income. Affirm, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) specialist , saw gross merchandise volume increase 36%, revenue spike 30%, and net income rise 61%, year over year.
The issues for both of these stocks are more related to their high valuations, since both are trading at around 58 times earnings. And that's down from December price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of 168 for Upstart and 107 for Affirm.
NASDAQ: AFRM
AFRM Trading
1.43% G/L:
$59.89 Last:
2,584,167 Volume:
$60.44 Open:
