BNPL investors get back on the horse amid latest round of quarterlies
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Two ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) stocks announced quarterly results this morning, and investors approved.
BNPL market leader Afterpay (ASX:APT) was the standout, announcing global sales of $4.1bn for the September quarter.
That marked a gain of around nine per cent from the June quarter ($3.8bn), and was 115 per cent higher than the prior year comparative period.
After a sharp selloff for BNPL stocks yesterday, investors sent APT shares back above the $100 mark this morning following the announcement.
New competitor OpenPay (ASX:OPY) also announced its Q1 results, where the company said it booked revenues of $6.2m — a gain of 68 per cent from the prior year comparative period.
The company said it had 372,000 active customers across a merchant base of over 2,200 companies.
As a comparison, APT said its active customer numbers rose to 11.2m, across a merchant base of 63,800.
Shares in OpenPay tracked sideways at around $2.80, below its August highs of almost $5 but above its December IPO price of $1.60.
Commenting on the Afterpay result, UBS analyst Tom Beadle said the underlying sales figure is tracking above the bank’s HY21 estimate, driven by strong growth in the Australian market.
UBS forecast half-year sales of $8.3bn to December, meaning APT only has to achieve Q2 sales of $4.2bn in the busy Christmas season to meet that figure.
In the larger US market where APT is looking to make inroads, the company booked $1.6bn in sales to be tracking “somewhat in line” with UBS half-year estimate of $3.6bn, Beadle said.
Despite the sales growth, UBS maintains that APT’s actual valuation is less than $30, when the value of future sales are discounted back to their present value.
OpenPay’s global expansion strategy is initially focused on the UK, where it has an active customer base of 149,000.
New merchant wins in the UK market included Watch Nation, Shopto and Fulham Football Club, the company said.
“Post quarter-end, a further English Premier League football club, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, launched with Openpay to enable merchandise purchases through its online store,” the company said.
Elsewhere in the BNPL universe, US-based Sezzle (ASX:SZL) reversed a seven-day losing streak with a 4.5 per cent gain in morning trade.
At around $7.20, the company has so far held its gains of around 1,800 per cent from its March low of 37c at the height of the pandemic panic.