(Reuters) -Brokerages are largely bullish on buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) lender Klarna ( KLAR ) as they begin coverage on Monday, though some warn that rising costs could pressure near-term profitability.
Shares of the Swedish fintech are up 2% in premarket trading.
Klarna ( KLAR ) made its long-awaited U.S. public debut last month at $52 a share, above its initial IPO pricing of $40, after shelving its listing plans in April amid tariff-driven market turbulence.
The offering capped the company's years-long push to go public and signaled a broader resurgence in the U.S. IPO market.
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley were among the underwriters for the offering.
"We view Klarna ( KLAR ) as the market leader in BNPL solutions, with a particularly strong franchise in Europe, where we believe Klarna ( KLAR ) is a new, emerging closed loop payment scheme," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.
Klarna ( KLAR ) is the largest Swedish company to list its shares in the U.S. since music streaming giant Spotify ( SPOT ) in 2018.
Founded in 2005 when online shopping was still in its early stages, Klarna ( KLAR ) has grown into a major player in BNPL, offering short-term installment options - a model that gained significant traction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite being profitable for its first 14 years, Klarna ( KLAR ) has faced losses in recent years as it expanded in the U.S. and other markets.
Analysts at Citigroup said short-term profitability could be hit by rising costs in Klarna's ( KLAR ) growing Fair Financing business, but they expect margins to recover by full-year 2026 as that segment matures and the company deepens its presence in the U.S. and Europe.
Shares of the company have fallen about 22% from their September 10 opening price and have traded as low as $35.60, amid a broader sell-off in fintech stocks.