Klarna’s Wild Post-IPO Ride: Stock Slump, New Deals & Experts Predict What’s Next
Klarna’s New York IPO marked one of the year’s biggest fintech debuts. Priced at $40 per share, the offering raised about $1.37 billion and valued the Swedish BNPL leader at roughly $15 billionts2.tech. This valuation, while only one-third of Klarna’s pandemic-era $45.6 B peak, was more than double its 2022 low of $6.7 B after tech markets crashedts2.tech. The IPO was oversubscribed and priced above the initial $35–$37 range, reflecting pent-up investor demand. “$15 billion is far from disappointing”, noted Samuel Kerr, a market expert, given it topped Klarna’s target range and left investors “wanting more”reuters.com. Klarna’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski didn’t sell shares, signaling confidencereuters.com. Trading kicked off with a bang – Klarna’s stock opened at $52 amid frenzied tradingreuters.com. That first-day pop valued Klarna near $19.7 Breuters.com and underscored a thawing IPO market. Klarna’s CFO celebrated the listing as an opportunity for its 111 million users and new shareholders to “partake in [Klarna’s] journey to disrupt financial services”reuters.com. The IPO also boosted confidence in U.S. listings after a dry spell – Klarna became the largest Swedish firm to list in New York since Spotify in 2018reuters.com.
