Klarna IPO Targets $14 Billion Valuation in U.S. Debut
Klarna revives its New York Stock Exchange listing plan, seeking up to $1.27 billion with shares priced at $35–$37.
New York, September 2 EST: Klarna, the Swedish fintech once touted as Europe’s answer to Silicon Valley’s payment disruptors, is finally pushing ahead with a U.S. IPO. After years of delays, the company has filed to raise up to $1.27 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, a listing that will test both Klarna’s durability and Wall Street’s appetite for riskier growth stories.
A Company That Fell Hard And Wants Back In
At its peak in 2021, Klarna looked unstoppable. It was Europe’s most valuable startup, worth more than many banks. Then the music stopped. Rising rates made investors skittish, regulators started circling, and Klarna’s valuation collapsed to $6.7 billion in a 2022 funding round that was seen as humiliating for a company once valued at seven times that.
Now, Klarna is trying to rewrite the story. It plans to sell 34.3 million shares, priced between $35 and $37 each, giving it a market cap around $14 billion. If those numbers stick, it would still be far below its glory days but comfortably above its nadir. The listing, under the ticker KLAR, will be steered by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley.
Numbers That Impress, Losses That Don’t
On paper, Klarna looks huge. More than 111 million consumers use its app or services, and it’s signed up 790,000 merchants in 26 countries. Over the past 12 months, shoppers ran $112 billion worth of goods through its system numbers that would make traditional banks envious.
But the profits haven’t followed. Klarna reported $3 billion in revenue for the year through June, up 17% from the prior period, while still logging an operating loss of $225 million. Adjusted figures paint a prettier picture a $151 million operating profit but the adjustments don’t erase the central problem growth is expensive, and margins are thin.
That tension defines Klarna’s IPO pitch. Can it scale into something steady and profitable, or is it another fintech with flashy growth but a shaky foundation? Investors will be forced to choose.
A Market With Its Guard Up
Klarna’s debut comes at an odd moment. The IPO pipeline has been frozen for months, and fintechs in particular are viewed with suspicion. The BNPL model, which lets shoppers split payments over time, has been criticized as a form of disguised debt that hits younger consumers hardest. Regulators in both the U.S. and Europe have pledged to tighten oversight.
The closest public comparison, Affirm Holdings, has had a rocky run since its 2021 listing. Its stock soared, then cratered, and only recently regained momentum through deals with Amazon and Shopify. Klarna’s performance in the coming weeks will inevitably be measured against that history.
“Everyone’s watching this one,” a portfolio manager told Reuters. “If Klarna can’t make a credible case for itself, the fintech IPO window doesn’t just stay shut; it gets bolted.”
What’s Next
The company hasn’t given a precise date for the listing, but filings suggest it could happen within a fortnight. That’s a tight window in a jittery September market. Any sign of weakness, be it poor order books or a sudden shift in investor sentiment, could derail momentum quickly.
For now, Klarna has won some valuable attention. After years of silence, postponements, and speculation about whether it had missed its shot, the Swedish payments giant is back in the headlines. Whether the market welcomes it with open arms or a skeptical shrug will say as much about fintech’s future as it does about Klarna’s.
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A Wall Street veteran turned investigative journalist, Marcus brings over two decades of financial insight into boardrooms, IPOs, corporate chess games, and economic undercurrents. Known for asking uncomfortable questions in comfortable suits.
