SYDNEY, April 27, 2026, 06:02 AEST
Zip Co Ltd starts Monday’s ASX trade with its on-market buyback still underway. A Friday filing revealed the Australian buy-now-pay-later player picked up another 25,000 shares in the last session, bringing total repurchases to 13.8 million shares so far. ASX cash market’s regular trading kicks off at 09:59:45 Sydney time.
Timing is in focus here as investors balance the lure of capital returns with a tougher issue: can Zip’s stronger profit outlook really last if credit losses remain in check? On April 24, Zip’s investor page listed the share price at A$2.50, following a bumpy ride around its quarterly update.
The company is still digging out from the February slump, after missing Visible Alpha’s first-half cash operating earnings estimates and watching its shares sink 34.4% by the close. Back then, Global X ETFs senior product and investment strategist Marc Jocum told Reuters the second-half guidance pointed to a “dramatic deceleration in momentum.” Reuters
On April 17, Zip projected group cash EBTDA of at least A$260 million for FY26. For the March quarter, cash EBTDA—Zip’s own operating earnings figure before tax, depreciation and amortisation—jumped 41.5% year-on-year to A$65.1 million. Total transaction volume, representing the value of purchases made on the platform, climbed 22.4% to roughly A$4.0 billion.
Zip notched up “record cash earnings,” according to Chief Executive Cynthia Scott, who highlighted momentum in both markets. Operating margin improved to 19.4%, up from 16.5% a year ago. Active customers climbed 3.5% to reach 6.5 million.
The numbers point to the U.S. carrying much of the weight. Transaction volume in U.S. dollars jumped 43.1%, with revenue up 43.3%. Active customer count advanced 9.0%, and the merchant base widened by 17.9%. As for net bad debts, those stayed put at 1.86% of transaction volume—loans written off after recoveries, relative to total transaction volume.
Australia and New Zealand stayed pretty much on an even keel. Zip’s quarterly update showed ANZ revenue up 5.0% year over year and transaction volume ticking 4.8% higher. Active customer numbers in the region, though, dropped 7.4%.
Management picked up an extra option with the buyback. According to Zip’s most recent filing, its A$50 million on-market program—rolled out in February—could target as many as 92.2 million shares. After snapping up shares on April 23, there’s still room for 78.3 million more. That day, Zip spent A$62,000 to repurchase 25,000 shares.
Last week brought new paperwork to the registry. State Street Corp and its subsidiaries disclosed 10.74% voting power in Zip—an increase from 9.65%, according to a substantial-holder notice. These filings cover voting rights, sometimes factoring in securities lending, which means they don’t strictly reflect straightforward buying.
Zip faces tough competition in the buy-now-pay-later sector, where shoppers break up payments and providers typically pocket fees from merchants. The space is packed—Block’s Afterpay dominates in Australia, while Affirm operates in the U.S. According to Reuters, Afterpay counted more than 3.5 million active monthly users in Australia last year, representing roughly half of the country’s BNPL accounts, based on government data.
Credit risk is the story here. Zip’s group net bad debts climbed to 1.93% of transaction volume, up from 1.64% a year ago, despite U.S. losses remaining within management’s target. The company projects U.S. losses to drop below 1.75% in the fourth quarter—if that doesn’t happen, investors may give the guidance upgrade a colder reception.
Regulatory pressure is mounting. Australia’s corporate watchdog wants BNPL firms to secure a credit licence by June 10, 2025, pulling them under the National Credit Code’s umbrella. That shift adds compliance expenses—though it could help steady the sector long-term.
