AFFIRM JUMPS 7% AS SHOPPERS BORROW THROUGH $4.09 GAS

🔴 $14.1 billion ran through Affirm in a single quarter, and the stock jumped 7%.

CNBC reports the buy now, pay later firm beat on fiscal fourth-quarter revenue at $1.17 billion, above the $1.11 billion LSEG estimate. Gross merchandise volume of $14.1 billion topped the $13.39 billion StreetAccount expectation.

Guidance was the other half of the move. Affirm expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of $1.19 billion to $1.22 billion, ahead of the Street's $1.16 billion.

CEO Max Levchin gave CNBC's Squawk Box the reason he thinks demand is running hot.

"In times of inflation, we see more demand because folks are budgeting," he said. "They're more thoughtful about how they want to use the money, and we're there to help."

The pressure point he named was the pump. The national average for gas was $4.09 a gallon Friday, according to AAA data cited by CNBC. That is below May, when it climbed above $4.50, and the last time it sat under $3 was March 2.

📈 The wider picture: annual inflation at 3.7% in July, with the PCE index up 0.2% for the month. Personal income rose 0.4% and spending rose 0.2%, both stronger than expected.

Levchin says the consumer is generally healthy but is not calling it clean. "Sustained pressure on prices isn't great in the long term," he told CNBC.

So: are you splitting payments on things you used to just buy outright?

#Affirm #BuyNowPayLater #Inflation #GasPrices #causeanuproar