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Sezzle Inc. is trying to make BNPL feel less like a guilty pleasure

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Sezzle Inc. is trying to make BNPL feel less like a guilty pleasure

TL;DR

Quick Summary

  • Sezzle’s 4Q25 GMV hit $1.2B (+35.3% YoY) and revenue reached $129.9M (+32.2% YoY) as profitability accelerated.
  • Credit performance improved: provision for credit losses fell to 2.0% of GMV in 4Q25, helping net income jump.
  • For 2026, Sezzle guided to 25%–30% revenue growth and $170M adjusted net income, while raising adjusted EPS guidance to $4.70.

#RealTalk

Sezzle’s story is shifting from “BNPL is popular” to “this company can profitably manufacture habit.” That’s a much rarer fintech trick.

Bottom Line

The February 25, 2026 results and raised 2026 guidance show Sezzle is scaling while improving credit outcomes—two things that don’t usually move together in consumer finance. The durability test from here is whether its app ecosystem keeps driving repeat engagement without loosening underwriting standards.

If you’ve ever used buy now, pay later and told yourself, “It’s fine, it’s basically budgeting,” Sezzle Inc. gets you.

This Minneapolis-based payments company has built its business on a simple promise: split purchases into four interest-free payments over six weeks, and make the whole thing feel like a feature, not a financial compromise. The pitch lands especially well with younger shoppers who live online, bounce between storefronts, and want flexibility without the credit-card vibes.

On February 25, 2026, Sezzle (SEZL) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, and the numbers made one thing clear: this isn’t just a BNPL app riding a trend cycle. It’s turning into a real, profitable payments platform.

What Sezzle just proved

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Sezzle said gross merchandise volume (GMV) hit $1.2 billion, up 35.3% year over year, while total revenue rose 32.2% to $129.9 million.

Profitability was the headline flex. Sezzle reported net income of $42.7 million in 4Q25, up 68.3% year over year, with earnings per diluted share of $1.21. For all of 2025, Sezzle posted total revenue of $450.3 million (up 66.1% year over year) and net income of $133.1 million, or $3.72 per diluted share.

If you’re wondering how a consumer-credit-adjacent business prints profits like that without setting off alarm bells, Sezzle pointed to tighter credit performance and better efficiency. In 4Q25, its provision for credit losses declined to 2.0% of GMV, an 80-basis-point improvement year over year. Translation: fewer losses per dollar spent, even through the holiday quarter when impulse purchases peak.

The less-obvious story: Sezzle wants to be an app you open on purpose

BNPL companies historically live or die on being “the button” at checkout. Sezzle’s current vibe is different: it’s trying to become the place you start.

In the same February 25, 2026 update, Sezzle highlighted product features built around shopping behavior (think price comparison, wishlists, browser tools, “earn” mechanics) and said app sessions were up 51% year over year by December 2025. It also reported monthly “On-Demand and Subscribers” reached 918,000.

That matters because the holy grail in fintech isn’t just transactions. It’s habit. If people open your app even when they’re not paying, you’re no longer a background utility. You’re closer to a consumer platform.

Why the market is paying attention in 2026

Sezzle didn’t just post a strong year—it raised the bar for the next one.

For fiscal year 2026, Sezzle introduced total revenue growth guidance of 25% to 30% and guided to adjusted net income of $170.0 million. It also raised its adjusted net income per diluted share guidance to $4.70 from $4.35.

And then there’s the confidence signal companies love to send when things are going well: buying their own stock. Sezzle said it completed a previously authorized $50 million share repurchase program on December 4, 2025, and its board authorized a new $100 million repurchase program on December 15, 2025.

The big question isn’t whether BNPL is “back.” It’s whether Sezzle can keep this balance—growth, credit discipline, and product stickiness—without drifting into the messier parts of consumer lending. So far, its 2025 results say it’s playing the game with more control than most people expect from a company that started as a checkout option.