Fintech startup Klarna aims to raise $1.27B in U.S. IPO with $14B valuation

Klarna is gearing up for one of the year’s most anticipated listings. The Swedish fintech, best known for pioneering the buy-now-pay-later model, is expected to raise up to $1.27 billion in its New York Stock Exchange debut. The deal would value the company as high as $14 billion, a sharp contrast to its pandemic-era peak but still a major test for the fintech sector’s comeback.

According to CNBC calculations, Klarna plans to offer 34,311,274 ordinary shares priced between $35 and $37 each, trading under the ticker “KLAR.” Of those, 5.56 million shares will come directly from the company, while roughly 28.8 million will be sold by existing shareholders. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are leading the offering as joint bookrunners.

Founded in 2005 by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, and Victor Jacobsson, Klarna reshaped online shopping with installment payments that gave consumers flexibility at checkout. Over the years, it expanded into debit cards and deposit accounts, and it now operates as a licensed bank in Europe. The company is also pursuing a U.S. banking license while partnering with WebBank to offer financing products stateside.

The company’s SEC filing shows revenue rising 20% year-over-year to $823 million in the June quarter, but it also reported a net loss of $53 million, wider than the same period a year ago. Once valued at $45.6 billion during a 2021 SoftBank-led round, Klarna’s worth collapsed by as much as 85% in 2022 to $6.7 billion amid a broader tech selloff and macroeconomic uncertainty tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Klarna had originally planned to go public earlier this year, but paused after U.S. President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs in April. Its revived push comes as equity markets warm back up to new listings. Figma and Circle delivered blockbuster debuts, soaring 333% and 864% above their offering prices within days. According to LSEG data, the 20 largest U.S. IPOs this year have averaged a 36% first-day pop.

Still, the environment is fragile. The Nasdaq has logged four consecutive weeks of losses, reminding investors how quickly sentiment can swing. Klarna’s return will test whether buy-now-pay-later can still capture investors’ imagination in a market where Affirm, Afterpay, Visa, Mastercard, and traditional banks are crowding the field.

For Klarna, this IPO is more than a listing—it’s a reset. After years of soaring highs and bruising lows, the company is stepping onto Wall Street to prove its staying power. If it sticks the landing, the offering could restore some of the shine lost since its pandemic peak and open the door for other late-stage startups waiting for the right moment to list.

Once one of Europe’s most prized startups, Klarna reached a staggering $46 billion valuation in a SoftBank-led funding round in 2021. But the buy-now-pay-later pioneer saw its worth collapse by 85% in 2022, dropping to $6.7 billion. Since then, it has been working its way back. Analysts now peg Klarna’s value closer to $15 billion, fueled by a return to profitability and strong revenue growth.

Klarna Founders