New York, February 27, 2026, 08:19 (EST) — Premarket
- Sezzle slipped 3.6% to $81.68 before the bell, pulling back after Thursday’s sharp 35.3% jump.
- After posting robust 2025 numbers, the buy-now-pay-later company raised its adjusted profit forecast for 2026 and issued new revenue growth targets.
- According to a separate SEC filing, some previous cash-flow statements can’t be relied on because of a classification mistake.
Sezzle Inc (SEZL.O) dropped 3.6% to $81.68 ahead of the open on Friday, retracing some ground after the fintech’s blowout quarterly numbers sent shares surging earlier.
Sezzle shares dropping catches attention, given the stock had just barged into view with a sharp one-session pop and a flurry of fresh disclosures—the sort that can jolt positioning in a hurry. When moves like this hit, traders start picking apart what actually matters: is it guidance, the credit stats, or something buried in the accounting notes?
Sezzle occupies a spot in the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector—an area of consumer finance known for sharp swings, where sentiment can shift fast on tweaks to funding costs or even subtle shifts in repayment behavior. Lately, investors have zeroed in more on “quality of earnings” screens, particularly when it comes to lenders exposed to routine consumer outlays.
The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $129.9 million late Wednesday, a 32.2% jump from the prior year. Gross merchandise volume reached $1.2 billion, reflecting the total value of transactions on Sezzle’s platform. Sezzle bumped up its 2026 adjusted net income per diluted share outlook to $4.70, previously set at $4.35, and projected revenue growth between 25% and 30%. “Our tenth year as a company was our most transformative yet,” said Executive Chairman and CEO Charlie Youakim. SEC exhibit
Credit stats gave the offering some support. Provision for credit losses dropped to 2.0% of GMV in the quarter, the company said. Revenue landed at 11.2% of GMV, spelling out the “take rate”—that’s the slice of shopping volume that ends up as revenue.
But there was a catch in another filing. Sezzle revealed it had misclassified some purchases, notes receivable originations, and repayments in its 2024 cash-flow statement and a handful of interim periods. Those statements, it said, can’t be relied on as filed. Still, the company maintained the restatement leaves its balance sheets and income statements untouched.
During the call, management pushed on the funding story for the long haul. Chief Financial Officer Lee Brading told listeners the company remains in “discovery” on a banking charter, and said they “anticipate submitting an application here in the first half of 2026.” Brading cautioned the process is “long and non-guaranteed.” Earnings call transcript
Needham wasted no time, bumping its price target on Sezzle up to $94 from $85 and sticking with a buy. The firm cited Sezzle’s quarterly beat, plus confidence in management’s 2026 guidance. It also flagged that a charter might help cut funding costs down the line.
Sezzle laid out its product roadmap for 2026, pointing to an AI-powered shopping assistant, a wireless feature, and more long-term lending options. For day traders, those plans might not move the needle, but investors weighing whether Sezzle is becoming just another payments app—or morphing into a wider consumer finance platform—will be watching closely.
Competition is thick. Big BNPL players like Affirm and Block’s Afterpay are making stronger moves at merchant checkout, and PayPal keeps touting flexible payments in its wallet. For Sezzle, the play is straightforward: keep credit losses in check as user numbers climb. Anything beyond that, and things start to get complicated.
This could go a few different ways. If consumers pull back, BNPL demand may slide, and if underwriting standards get loose, expect credit losses to jump. Management itself has called the charter push uncertain. Then there are the accounting restatements—even if they’re just “classification only”—that can unsettle investors wary of any surprises.
Looking ahead, investors are eyeing the company’s annual report—which will factor in the cash-flow restatement—and management’s scheduled appearances: March 10 at the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum, then March 11 at an Oppenheimer non-deal roadshow.
