Klarna CEO highlights US as fastest growing market post-IPO

The Swedish BNPL giant raised $1.37 billion in its public debut and is now betting big on American consumers to drive its next chapter.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 3, 2026

Klarna went public in September 2025, and its CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has identified the US as the company’s fastest-growing market, powered by over 120 million consumers.

The Swedish buy-now-pay-later company priced its IPO at $40 per share on September 9, 2025, raising $1.37 billion in the process. Shares opened at $52 on the first day of trading before settling to close at $45.82, giving Klarna a market valuation exceeding $17 billion.

The US numbers tell the story

Klarna’s third-quarter 2025 results showed US Gross Merchandise Volume climbing 43% year-over-year, while revenue from its US operations surged 51% over the same period. Those figures outpace Klarna’s performance in other regions.

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Klarna now counts over 118 million active global users, with recent figures pushing that number closer to 120 million. The company has positioned itself as the leader in “Pay in 4” volume, the core BNPL product that lets consumers split purchases into four interest-free payments.

New products are accelerating the flywheel

Klarna launched the Klarna Card in July 2025, achieving 1 million sign-ups within just 11 weeks. By March 2026, the Klarna Card had scaled to 5 million active customers globally.

In November 2025, Klarna launched KlarnaUSD, a stablecoin built on the Tempo blockchain. It is the company’s first on-chain payments product.

What this means for investors

Klarna’s IPO marks a notable inflection point for the broader BNPL sector. The company had been private for years, absorbing significant losses while scaling its user base. Going public at a $17 billion-plus valuation means the market is pricing in a belief that Klarna can convert growth into sustained profitability.

The competitive landscape puts pressure on domestic players like Affirm and Afterpay (owned by Block) to defend their market share. The Klarna Card’s rapid adoption, hitting 5 million active customers globally, also puts traditional credit card issuers on notice, as every dollar routed through Klarna’s infrastructure does not generate interchange fees for Visa or Mastercard, or interest income for JPMorgan Chase.

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