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yesterday

Klarna Expands Growth While Grappling With Rising Credit Losses and Deferred IPO

The BNPL leader reports 100 million users and $701 million in Q1 revenue but faces mounting losses and adapts its customer service strategy with human gig workers.

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Sebastian Siemiatkowski attends the official launch of the Klarna pop-up on June 4, 2019, in London.
'Buy now, pay later' has become an increasingly popular way to pay for items online (Kaboompics.com/Pexels)
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Overview

  • Klarna reported a $92 million pretax loss in Q1 2025, with revenues growing 15% year-over-year to $701 million and active users surpassing 100 million.
  • Consumer credit losses rose 17% to $136 million, while unpaid balances increased slightly from 0.51% to 0.54%, though the company maintains they remain low.
  • The company postponed its planned $15 billion IPO earlier this year, citing trade-war impacts and economic uncertainty.
  • Klarna is piloting a hybrid customer service model, hiring gig-based human agents to address limitations in AI-driven support.
  • In March 2025, Klarna partnered with DoorDash to offer BNPL options for groceries, retail purchases, and subscriptions, expanding its reach in everyday spending categories.