Afterpay Reports 123 Pct Sales Spike, Explores US Public Listing

Afterpay Limited saw record sales for the quarter ending March 30 (Q3 FY21), the buy now pay later (BNPL) platform said on Tuesday (April 20), and the firm is now mulling a public listing in the U.S. According to the Australia-based company’s earnings report, underlying sales rose 123 percent from a year ago on a constant currency basis.

Afterpay saw strong operating performance in Q3 FY21 across every region, with underlying sales up 104 percent on the prior corresponding period. In the U.S., those sales were up 211 percent, and were up 277 percent in the U.K. on a local currency basis. Based on the quarterly performance, North America is now Afterpay’s contributor to underlying sales. March 2021 surpassed December 2020 and delivered the second-highest monthly underlying sales on record, with the U.S. becoming the first region to record more than $1 billion in monthly underlying sales.

According to the report, Afterpay is working with outside advisors on the possibility of a U.S. listing, as the American market is now the company’s largest contributor, one that is only expected to grow larger.

“While Afterpay intends to remain an Australian headquartered company, our shareholder base is increasingly becoming more globally focused,” the report stated. “A U.S. listing would further accommodate this growing interest. There is no timeline set for a Board decision on a U.S. listing, and any listing would be subject to market conditions, approval by a U.S. exchange and satisfying a number of other customary listing prerequisites.”

Afterpay — and the BNPL industry in general — has grown not only geographically around the world, but across many verticals. After it started in fashion and beauty, consumers now use it almost everywhere, including for electronics and home furnishings, PYMNTS reported in a recent conversation with Afterpay’s CEO Nick Molnar. “The glide path over time has been toward using Afterpay to buy everything from airline tickets to going to the dentist. I think you’ll see that start to unfold in the North American market and, more broadly, in other parts of the world,” Molnar said at the time.

Afterpay added several U.S. retailers to its platform during the third quarter, including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain and Bed Bath & Beyond.