{"id":33528,"date":"2025-02-10T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=33528"},"modified":"2025-02-11T09:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T01:15:12","slug":"how-sezzle-makes-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sezzle makes money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Company_Profile\" >Company Profile<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Founded\" >Founded<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Services_provided\" >Services provided<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Public_market\" >Public market<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Initial_Public_Offering\" >Initial Public Offering<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Unwinding_the_acquisition_by_Zip\" >Unwinding the acquisition by Zip<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Listed_on_the_US_stock_market\" >Listed on the US stock market<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Company_business\" >Company business<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#What_is_buy_now_pay_later\" >What is buy now, pay later?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Sezzles_operating_performance\" >Sezzle\u2019s operating performance<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Dispute\" >Dispute<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Competitors\" >Competitors<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Main_competitors\" >Main competitors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Second_tier_competitors\" >Second tier competitors<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Capital_market_performance\" >Capital market performance<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Popular_among_mutual_fund_managers\" >Popular among mutual fund managers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Market_Cap\" >Market Cap<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Price-to-Earnings_Ratio\" >Price-to-Earnings Ratio<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Stock_price_performance\" >Stock price performance<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Company_Profile\"><\/span>Company Profile<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Founded\"><\/span>Founded<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sezzle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sezzle (ticker: SEZL)<\/a> is a financial technology company founded by Charlie Youakim in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Services_provided\"><\/span>Services provided<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle\u2019s initial product is a next-business-day ACH payment and cash-back rewards system. Sezzle then iterated its buy now, pay later (BNPL) model in 2017, and Sezzle launched its product in the United States in August 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Public_market\"><\/span>Public market<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Initial_Public_Offering\"><\/span>Initial Public Offering<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle listed on the ASX on July 30, 2019 at $1.22 per share, raising $30 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Unwinding_the_acquisition_by_Zip\"><\/span>Unwinding the acquisition by Zip<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 2022, Sezzle entered into a binding agreement to be acquired by Zip Australia by way of statutory merger, meaning that Sezzle was valued at A$491 million at the time of the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In July 2022, Sezzle and Zip mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced merger agreement for Zip\u2019s proposed acquisition of Sezzle. As part of the parties\u2019 termination agreement, Sezzle will receive $11 million from Zip to cover, among other things, Sezzle\u2019s legal, accounting and other transaction-related expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Listed_on_the_US_stock_market\"><\/span>Listed on the US stock market<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After Sezzle and Zip split, Sezzle began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on August 17, 2023, with the stock trading ticker SEZL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Company_business\"><\/span>Company business <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_buy_now_pay_later\"><\/span>What is buy now, pay later?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle currently specialises in buy now, pay later (BNPL) transactions, which are short-term instalment payments. Unlike other payment software, but without paying interest. The BNPL business opportunity is booming because most BNPL operators do not charge interest and handling fees from consumers, but instead charge a commission from merchants, attracting many people who are short of money to prepay for consumption, driving the unprecedented popularity of BNPL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a detailed introduction to buy now, pay later (BNPL), please see my post of: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/16\/the-most-popular-news-credit-method-bnpl\/\">The most popular news credit method BNPL<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sezzles_operating_performance\"><\/span>Sezzle\u2019s operating performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle has currently acquired a large number of customers and reported good financial growth indicators &#8211; in the third quarter of 2024, Sezzle achieved a sales growth of 40.6% and a net income of US$15.4 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not surprisingly, Sezzle&#8217;s rise came just before revenue growth began to accelerate in the first quarter, from 36% to 60% to 71%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dispute\"><\/span>Dispute<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 18, 2024, Hindenburg Research accused the company of lending at high interest rates to high-risk people and causing severe customer loss, causing Sezzle&#8217;s stock price to plummet by more than 23% in one day and triggering a trading halt due to excessive volatility. Temporary margin trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Hindenburg, Sezzle provided excessive credit lines to high-risk groups, especially those with poor credit who could not apply for credit cards. After obtaining low-interest funds from banks, it charged an interest rate of up to 12.65% for lending, resulting in extremely high risk of bad debts. In fact, the business situation is quite fragile. In addition, Hindenburg pointed out in the report that Sezzle is also facing a serious problem of customer churn, with fewer and fewer users and partner merchants of its BNPL services, and the company&#8217;s prospects are worrying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle strongly refuted Hindenburg&#8217;s accusations, saying that the above statement was taken out of context and misleading, and also stressed that it was confident of achieving the financial forecast targets set by the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Competitors\"><\/span>Competitors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Main_competitors\"><\/span>Main competitors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle\u2019s main competitors, whose main business is buy now, pay later (BNPL) companies, include listed Affirm, Block\u2019s Afterpay, and Sweden\u2019s Klarna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sezzle, in particular, is in very strong competition with Affirm. Sezzle tops the list of top performing U.S. stocks for 2024. The &#8220;buy now, pay later&#8221; company is in fierce competition with Affirm, but after a sharp rise in the second half of 2024, Affirm&#8217;s stock price is currently down less than 10% from its 52-week high, but it failed to enter the top 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Second_tier_competitors\"><\/span>Second tier competitors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Companies whose main business is buy now, pay later (BNPL) include financial giants such as PayPal, Visa, and Wanshida, as well as major e-commerce companies; even Apple and Amazon also offer similar buy now, pay later (BNPL) services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Capital_market_performance\"><\/span>Capital market performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Popular_among_mutual_fund_managers\"><\/span>Popular among mutual fund managers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the same time frame, the number of mutual funds that own the company also increased significantly, from just 11 funds at the end of 2023 to more than 100 funds at the end of the third quarter of 2024, according to IBD MarketSurge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Market_Cap\"><\/span>Market Cap<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As of January 19, 2025, Sezzle&#8217;s market value is US$1.3 billion, which is only considered a small stock in the US stock market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Price-to-Earnings_Ratio\"><\/span>Price-to-Earnings Ratio<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As of January 19, 2025, Sezzle&#8217;s price-to-earnings ratio is 23.94 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stock_price_performance\"><\/span>Stock price performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As of December 26, 2024, Sezzle&#8217;s stock:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It rose 1258% in 2024.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Since the company went public, it has risen by 177.5%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/sezzle-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"Sezzle\" class=\"wp-image-33529\" width=\"180\" height=\"47\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">credit:Sezzle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/10\/how-sezzle-makes-money\/\">How Sezzle makes money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/12\/you-should-know-the-company-square\/\">You should know the company Square (rebraned to Block)<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/16\/why-acquired-afterpay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is Afterpay Worth Block (Square) $29 Billion M&amp;A?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/16\/the-most-popular-news-credit-method-bnpl\/\">The most popular news credit method BNPL<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sezzle\u2019s main competitors, whose main business is buy now, pay later (BNPL) companies, include listed Affirm, Block\u2019s Afterpay, and Sweden\u2019s Klarna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,106,121],"tags":[277,1423,1419],"class_list":["post-33528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fintech","category-consumer-banking","category-lending","tag-afrm","tag-sezl","tag-xyz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33528"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34134,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33528\/revisions\/34134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}