Why Affirm And Upstart Stock Are Getting Hammered Wednesday

Affirm Holdings Inc AFRM and Upstart Holdings Inc UPST shares are trading lower amid marked weakness in the broader consumer discretionary and consumer discretionary-related sectors. Shares of several retail and apparel companies are trading lower in sympathy with Target, which fell after cutting guidance and reporting a 14.4% year-over-year increase in inventory at the end of October.

Target said shopping behavior was impacted by inflation, interest rates and economic uncertainty.

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Affirm provides a point-of-sale payment solution for consumers and has a partnership with Target. Upstart provides credit services via an AI-enabled lending platform. On a year-to-date basis, AFRM is lower by 84% and UPST lower by 86%.

What Else?

Target reported quarterly earnings of $1.54 per share which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $2.13. This EPS figure is a marked decrease over earnings of $3.03 per share from the same period last year. The company also reported quarterly sales of $26.52 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $26.38 billion by 0.5%.

Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target, said, "In the latter weeks of the quarter, sales and profit trends softened meaningfully, with guests' shopping behavior increasingly impacted by inflation, rising interest rates and economic uncertainty."

Additionally, Target announced today it was undertaking an enterprise-wide effort to simplify and gain efficiencies across its business with a focus on reducing complexities and lowering costs while continuing to support its team. The company believes it can save a total of $2 to $3 billion over the next three years through this work.

According to data from Benzinga Pro:

• AFRM is trading lower by 11.84% to $15.26
• UPST is lower by 9.00% to $19.65