The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) and the rest of the personal loan stocks fared in Q4.

Personal loan providers offer unsecured credit for various consumer needs. The sector benefits from digital application processes, increasing consumer comfort with online financial services, and opportunities in underserved credit segments. Headwinds include credit risk management in unsecured lending, regulatory oversight of lending practices, and intense competition affecting margins from both traditional and fintech lenders.

The 8 personal loan stocks we track reported a strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.9% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 7% since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q4: Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM)

Founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin with a mission to create honest financial products, Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) provides a payment network that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them over time with transparent, flexible installment loans.

Affirm reported revenues of $1.12 billion, up 29.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Affirm scored the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Still, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 17.4% since reporting and currently trades at $51.62.

Is now the time to buy Affirm? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Sezzle (NASDAQ: SEZL)

Founded in 2016 as an alternative to traditional credit cards for younger shoppers, Sezzle (NASDAQ: SEZL) provides a payment platform that allows consumers to split purchases into four interest-free installments over six weeks at participating retailers.

Sezzle reported revenues of $129.9 million, up 32.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 17.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $73.52.

Is now the time to buy Sezzle? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

OneMain (NYSE: OMF)

Dating back to 1912 and formerly known as Springleaf, OneMain Holdings (NYSE: OMF) provides personal loans, auto financing, and credit cards to nonprime consumers who have limited access to traditional banking services.

OneMain reported revenues of $1.28 billion, up 8.8% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Still, it was a satisfactory quarter as it posted a narrow beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates.

OneMain delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 14.3% since the results and currently trades at $54.15.

Read our full analysis of OneMain’s results here.

SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI)

Starting as a student loan refinancing company founded by Stanford business school students in 2011, SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) operates a digital financial platform offering lending, banking, investing, and other financial services to help members borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their money.

SoFi reported revenues of $1.01 billion, up 37% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also put up full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

SoFi had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 23.9% since reporting and currently trades at $18.55.

Read our full, actionable report on SoFi here, it’s free.

LendingClub (NYSE: LC)

Pioneering peer-to-peer lending in the US before evolving into a digital bank, LendingClub (NYSE: LC) operates a marketplace that connects borrowers with lenders, offering personal loans, auto refinancing, and banking services.

LendingClub reported revenues of $266.5 million, up 22.7% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. It was a strong quarter as it also logged full-year EPS guidance beating analysts’ expectations and a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 25.5% since reporting and currently trades at $14.59.

Read our full, actionable report on LendingClub here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

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