Klarna's French Connection: 1 in 7 Adults, and Counting
Klarna Group plc KLAR recently announced that it is gaining serious traction in France, now reaching 7 million users, which is roughly 1 in 7 adults. That surge signals a clear pivot away from traditional high-interest consumer loans. France is quickly becoming one of Klarna’s most dynamic markets, especially on the app engagement front.
As of January 2026, the KlarnaKLAR-- app logged 2.9 million monthly active users in France, with usage skyrocketing 221% from a year ago. The momentum is being driven by a broader product push, from cashback and the Klarna Card to savings accounts, budgeting tools, and integrated shopping features like loyalty card storage. Merchant adoption is keeping pace. Klarna now partners with more than 48,000 merchants in the country, marking 129% growth from last year.
On a global scale, Klarna’s footprint continues to expand. The platform serves over 118 million active users and processes 3.4 million transactions daily. It crossed 55 million monthly active app users in February 2026, while daily usage jumped 53% year over year to 9 million users. Its merchant network grew 42% to 966,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This expanding ecosystem is adding scale and deepening engagement. Higher user activity is translating into stronger transaction volumes, with gross merchandise volume (GMV) rising 32% year over year to $38.7 billion. As Klarna leans further into banking and financial tools, it is positioning itself to drive higher lifetime value and generate more revenue per user.
Klarna Faces Competition in BNPL
Competition is heating up for Klarna as rivals like Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM and PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL scale aggressively in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space. Affirmis gaining momentum with higher transactions, strong repeat usage and growing servicing income. Its GMV climbed 36% year over year to $13.8 billion in the last reported quarter, while expansion into the U.K. and a broader European rollout, backed by Shopify, could intensify pressure in key markets like France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, PayPal remains a formidable player, operating across 200 markets. Its U.S. strength continues to drive volumes, with BNPL total payment volume surpassing $40 billion in 2025, up more than 20% year over year.
Klarna’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Klarna have declined 53.7% over the year-to-date period, underperforming the broader industry’s 12.3% fall.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Klarna trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.07X, lower than the industry average of 4.96X. KLARKLAR-- carries a Value Score of F.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Klarna’s 2026 and 2027 EPS is currently pegged at a loss of 12 cents and a profit of 80 cents, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Quantum Computing Stocks Set To Soar
Artificial intelligence has already reshaped the investment landscape, and its convergence with quantum computing could lead to the most significant wealth-building opportunities of our time.
Today, you have a chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this technological revolution. In our urgent special report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power, you'll discover the little-known stocks we believe will win the quantum computing race and deliver massive gains to early investors.
Access the Report Free Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Klarna Group plc (KLAR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Comentarios
Aún no hay comentarios