Hey there weekday warrior,
Klarna is taking its talents to the public markets (for some reason).
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 28 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
File Now, List Later
Bah gawd, that’s Klarna’s music…
Buy now, pay later player Klarna filed for a US IPO on Friday under the ticker symbol KLAR (imagine having the chance to get BNPL and not…). The decision to take its talents to the US was a big middle finger to European exchanges and a friendly reminder that America has not lost its fastball. Sorry, haters.
While the Affirm competitor didn’t offer any details on the IPO size, Klarna most recently raised money at a $6B valuation. And analysts expect it to seek a ~$15B valuation on the public markets.
But that doesn’t mean the IPO will be a major win for everyone…
You see, in 2021 Klarna raised a round at a… wait for it… $46B valuation. I know what you’re thinking: “Who would be dumb enough to have invested to invest in a company at that sort of valuation?” The same guy who thought Adam Neumann was a straight shooter: SoftBank’s Masa Son.
But Klarna’s come a long way from getting double-teamed by the curse of the Vision Fund and ZIRP. According to their filing, revenue jumped 24% last year to $2.8B, and they were profitable (… on an adjusted basis).
So what’s the plan for all that money?
Klarna wants to become a fully functioning bank when it grows up.
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said he’s willing to spend upwards of $1B to get its money-transmitting license in the US (spoiler: right now it uses partner banks, which isn’t uncommon for fintechs). It also hopes to take on high credit card fees in the US (hold up, let him cook…)
Of course, most of it will probably go towards marketing and offering competitive rates to consumers. KLAR faces stiff competition from the likes of Block, Affirm, and PayPal (and pretty much every major financial institution in the game).
+ Docusign: “It’s called vibe signing…”
Everyone: “Take my money”
Docusign $DOCU ( ▲ 1.09% ) smashed its Q4 earnings report with a top and bottom line beat. Revenue for the quarter came in at $776M, with a boost from DOCU’s “IAM” (read: its AI tech). CEO Allan Thygesen served some real “duh” energy with this one: “more and more people are going to want to sign things electronically.” Ok, fair.
Plus, the Evite for prenups is partnering with the big swingin’ tech companies aka Microsoft $MSFT ( ▼ 0.92% ) and Google $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.41% ), presumably to bring ‘click to sign’ to the masses. New DOCU tagline: No more pens, everything is computer.
+ 2nd-mover advantage secured.
Coca-Cola $KO ( ▼ 1.24% ) and PepsiCo $PEP ( ▼ 0.69% ) are back to doing what they do best: waging all-out war to fuel consumer demand for semaglutides.
ICYMI, last month, Coke announced that it would be rolling out a new brand of prebiotic sodas called “Simply Pop” to poach market share from Olipop and Poppi. Now Pepsi wants some smoke (and to jump in the game with a yuge head start).
The Cola cucks are in advanced talks to acquire Poppi for over $1.5B in a deal that could be announced as soon as this week. Friendly reminder that Austin-based Poppi spent a cool $8M on its ‘we’re soda-addicts, but we’re better than you’ Super Bowl ad. Pepsi knows if you can’t beat em, buy em.
+ March consumer sentiment data dropped Friday, and, um… you guys doing OK? CS nosedived 11% this month to its lowest level since November 2022.
+ Netflix $NFLX ( ▲ 0.34% ), Comcast’s Peacock $CMCSA ( ▲ 0.08% ), and Amazon $AMZN ( ▼ 0.15% ) are embracing the YouTube-creator economy (read: poaching YouTube stars out from under Google’s $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.41% ) nose) after MrBeast’s Beast Games made Amazon over $100M in profit. Dude Perfect Netflix show inbound.
+ Time for a Costco $COST ( ▲ 0.25% ) run. With markets eating sh*t, gold is up big. Prices hit a new ATH Friday at over $3k per ounce.
+ Shutdown averted. On Friday, the Senate passed a 6-month funding bill to avoid shutting down the government.
🔥 5 ways to get your tax refund faster. I swear to God… if #1 is ‘File earlier’…
+ US stocks “rallied Friday, clawing back some of the steep losses seen over the week, as investors got a reprieve from tariff-related headlines.” (CNBC)
+ The 10-year yield “rose on Friday as investors digested new consumer sentiment data that points to greater inflation expectations.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “prices rebounded by 1% on Friday to end the week nearly unchanged as investors weighed the diminishing prospects of a quick end to the Ukraine war that could bring back more Russian energy supplies to Western markets.” (Reuters)
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Visa +0.9% 2) Nvidia +5.2% 3) Hims & Hers Health +5.0%
⏪ On Friday…
+ Bit Digital and Li Auto reported before the bell
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ The February Retail Sales report will be released
Friday, I asked, “What's the biggest red flag email address?”
Husband and wife combined address won with 32.8% of the vote.
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
Husband and wife combined address: “Over-controlling husband alert.”
Anything with 420 or 69 in it: “Yeah....that was funny in 1997, not so much now. Anything that is not a first and last name is concerning. There are still 3 or so people on hotmail or it's predecessors, so I don't mind that.”
.edu but has like 10 years of work experience: “A cheap, unsuccessful, college grad still living in their parents' basement.”
Hotmail: “Might as well send texts through WhatsApp if you’re already using Hotmail. ”
Other (write-in): “1) Any email address related to a Mythological animal 2) Any email address related to a Star Wars character ”
And here’s today’s question…
Have you ever used buy now, pay later?
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?
No, it’s the face of an individual who is financially irresponsible/dumb enough to be talked into spending money on a family photo shoot that he could have just done with his iPhone. So, act accordingly...
This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.