Affirm CEO Notes Dip in Shopping Interest Among Furloughed Federal Workers Amid U.S. Shutdown
Affirm CEO Max Levchin revealed on Friday that while the company hasn’t observed credit stress among federal employees impacted by the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, there are early signs of reduced shopping enthusiasm within that group.
“We’re noticing a very subtle decline in shopping activity — just a few basis points — specifically among furloughed government workers,” Levchin explained in a recent interview.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, approximately 670,000 federal employees have been furloughed, while another 730,000 continue to work without pay as the government shutdown, which began on October 1, extends into the longest in U.S. history. The funding lapse has disrupted operations across multiple federal agencies and even halted essential programs such as SNAP, which supports more than 42 million Americans.
Despite the disruptions, Levchin noted that Affirm is closely monitoring employment data but remains well-positioned to adjust its credit policies if necessary. “At this point, we’re not seeing any significant credit issues or disruptions,” he added.
The remarks followed Affirm’s strong fiscal first-quarter earnings, which exceeded analyst expectations. The fintech giant reported earnings of $0.23 per share on $933 million in revenue, surpassing market forecasts of $0.11 per share on $883 million in sales, according to data from LSEG.
Affirm’s revenue surged 34% year-over-year, while gross merchandise volume (GMV) jumped 42% to $10.8 billion, outperforming Wall Street’s estimate of $10.38 billion. In light of this performance, the company raised its full-year GMV outlook to $47.5 billion, up from prior guidance of $46 billion.
The San Francisco–based firm, which went public in 2021, has also strengthened its industry partnerships. Affirm recently extended its collaboration with Amazon through 2031 and continues to work with major e-commerce players such as Shopify and Apple.
However, competition in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space remains fierce. Retail giant Walmart recently switched from Affirm to Swedish BNPL provider Klarna, which went public in September following delays linked to market uncertainty surrounding tariff policies.
Still, Levchin remains confident about consumer demand trends. He noted that categories like travel and event ticketing have seen an uptick, indicating that overall consumer spending remains resilient. Active users on the Affirm platform grew to 24.1 million, up from 19.5 million a year ago.
“We continue to advocate for the ‘buy now, pay later’ model as a smarter, more transparent way to shop — and consumers clearly agree,” Levchin emphasized.
