Sydney, Feb 21, 2026, 17:47 AEDT — Market closed
- Zip Co slipped 3.8% to finish at A$1.78 on Friday, adding to Thursday’s sharp 34.4% drop.
- Investors took a hit after a half-year earnings miss and a “flat” outlook for the second half.
- Attention shifts to inflation numbers due Wednesday, with investors eyeing the next moves for interest rates.
Zip Co dropped another 3.8% to close at A$1.78 on Friday, deepening losses for the buy-now, pay-later firm after its half-year update triggered a selloff.
Zip shares nosedived 34.4% on Thursday, marking the steepest drop since 2014, after first-half cash operating earnings fell short of expectations and the company projected a second half that would be roughly in line with the first. Strategist Marc Jocum at Global X ETFs called the reaction to its “flat growth” guidance unusually severe. UBS analysts cited “higher credit losses” alongside softer U.S. customer trends as added pressure. Reuters
Why does this matter? Zip’s parked in the market’s most reactive zone—consumer credit and the interest rate story. Australia’s consumer price data drops Wednesday. If the numbers come in hot, traders may double down on their expectations for another Reserve Bank of Australia rate hike. That’s not great news for high-growth lenders.
Zip reported a record first-half cash EBTDA of A$124.3 million, marking an 85.6% jump over the previous year. Total transaction volume climbed 34.1% to reach A$8.4 billion. Net bad debts ticked up slightly, coming in at about 1.7% of TTV, compared with 1.6% last year. “Zip continues to increase profitability at scale,” chief executive Cynthia Scott said. ASX Announcements
Still, attention shifted quickly to the outlook instead of the rearview mirror. Here, a minor miss can easily overshadow a stack of stronger numbers.
Zip dropped even as the S&P/ASX 200 finished Friday nearly flat at 9,081.4. The index still managed to advance roughly 1.8% for the week, with gains in banks and energy stocks leading the way.
Earnings season rolls on this week, with investors watching for updates from Woodside Energy, Woolworths, Coles, and Qantas. Expect some choppy trading in those names as results hit.
Credit stands out as Zip’s main vulnerability here, not just market sentiment. Persistent rises in bad debts—or a sharper-than-forecast slowdown in U.S. growth—might leave the stock searching for support.
Zip plans to post its third-quarter FY26 results update on April 17, with the company’s 2026 full-year results slated for August 20, per its investor calendar.
