The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has slumped 7% lower to $90, driven by today's broader weakness in tech and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) selling off overnight.
Amid the weakness in local BNPL shares, US-listed Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) delivered an upbeat quarterly result with its share price jumping 5.56%.
With the US market as the most important growth region for the Afterpay share price, Affirm results could provide key insight as to how the region is performing.
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Affirm catches a break on solid quarterly results
The Affirm share price has tumbled all the way from a high of US$146.90 on 10 February to a record low of US$53.80 last Friday.
Its results overnight delivered a much-needed push to the upside, closing the overnight Monday session 5.56% higher to $57.00. The climb came about with a significantly higher volume of 5.77 million shares traded compared to its 10-day average volume of 2.93 million shares.
Affirm delivered an 83% increase in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in the third quarter to US$2,257 million against the prior corresponding period. From a quarter-on-quarter perspective, GMV increased 8.77%.
The company's active customers increased 60% to 5.36 million on the pcp and an encouraging 19.4% on the previous quarter.
How does this compare with Afterpay growth?
Afterpay's quarterly results have far outpaced Affirm, with a 104% increase in transaction values and 75% increase in customers.
However, credit needs to be given where credit's due, as Affirm only has a regional exposure to North America, while Afterpay has made a significant effort for international exposure.
Is this good news for the Afterpay share price?
The 5.56% move from Affirm on significant volume is encouraging. However, in the bigger picture, its shares are still hanging around record lows. Only time will tell whether Affirm's move up is just a 'dead cat bounce' from lows or part of a broader recovery.
In the case of the Afterpay share price, it plunged almost 40% from a high of $160.05 to $100 between mid-February to late-March. This was followed by what seemed like a bullish rally back up to $130 by mid-April, but after running higher for a few sessions, its shares are back to square one and below the iconic $100 level.
