Minneapolis, MN, Aug. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) (Sezzle or Company) // Purpose-driven digital payment platform, Sezzle, is pleased to update the market on key financial metrics for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.
"We're scaling with intention. It's not just about growing fast, but investing the right way," noted Charlie Youakim, Sezzle Executive Chairman and CEO. "The product features and marketing initiatives we've rolled out are driving stronger engagement and broader adoption. With GMV up 74% year-over-year and Monthly On-Demand and Subscribers (MODS) at an all-time high, we're seeing early proof that our focused investments are paying off."
Second Quarter 2025 Highlights
- Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) hit a new Company high of $927.0 million, up 74.2% YoY, driven by higher engagement from both Subscriber and On-Demand users. The new suite of app enhancements and features are proving effective, with consumers averaging 6.1 purchases in the quarter compared to 4.8 from the same period last year.
- Total Revenue rose 76.4% YoY to $98.7 million, supported by strong On-Demand growth, ongoing WebBank synergies, and sustained consumer activity. Total Revenue as a percentage of GMV reached 10.6%.
- Sezzle's Monthly On-Demand & Subscribers (MODS) reached 748,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand), up from 658,000 last quarter, driven by targeted marketing initiatives.
- Total Operating Expenses grew to $62.6 million, up 59.5% YoY. However, these expenses represented a smaller portion of Total Revenue—down 6.8 points to 63.4%—demonstrating the Company's scalable cost structure.
- Transaction Related Costs[1] as a percentage of GMV declined from 4.5% to 4.1% YoY, resulting from improved payment processing efficiency, increased consumer adoption of ACH payments, and lower funding costs. These gains were partially offset by a higher provision for credit losses, reflecting the Company's stated underwriting strategy aimed at accelerating growth. In absolute terms, Transaction Related Costs2 increased 61.7% YoY to $38.4 million.
- Total Revenue Less Transaction Related Costs[2] grew 87.2% YoY to $60.3 million, representing 6.5% of GMV and 61.1% of Total Revenue—up 0.4 and 3.5 percentage points YoY, respectively.
- Non-Transaction Related Operating Expenses2 increased 50.4% YoY to $27.7 million, driven by significant growth in marketing spend ($8.8 million) compared to the prior year ($1.0 million). Nonetheless, Non-Transaction Related Operating Expenses declined as a percentage of Total Revenue by 4.8 points to 28.1%.
- Operating Income reached $36.1 million in 2Q25, up 116.1% YoY, with Operating Margin expanding by 6.8 points YoY to 36.6% of Total Revenue and 80bps YoY to 3.9% of GMV.
- Sezzle achieved Net Income of $27.6 million in 2Q25, representing 28.0% of Total Revenue. The 7.1% YoY decline stemmed from a swing of a $16.1 million income tax benefit in 2Q24 (driven by the release of the valuation allowance against our deferred tax asset) to a $5.1 million income tax expense in 2Q25. As a result, Earnings per Diluted Share[3] fell 4.9% from $0.82 to $0.78.
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- Adjusted Net Income2, which excludes the impact of certain charges including discrete items, jumped 91.8% YoY to $24.4 million, or 24.7% of Total Revenue. On a diluted per-share basis3, Adjusted Net Income rose 97.1% YoY to $0.69.
- Adjusted EBITDA2 rose 106.0% YoY to $37.9 million and accounted for 38.4% of Total Revenue, a 5.5 percentage point improvement from 2Q24.
- During the quarter, the Company spent $23.5 million to acquire 678,529 shares under its $50 million common stock repurchase plan announced on March 10, 2025.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
- As of June 30, 2025, Sezzle had $120.0 million of cash and cash equivalents, $31.0 million of which was restricted.
- The Company had an outstanding principal balance of $131.3 million on its $150.0 million credit facility as of quarter end.
FY2025 Guidance
- The Company is providing the following guidance for FY2025:
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- Total Revenue Growth: 60-65%.
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- Total Revenue Less Transaction Related Costs[4] as a percentage of Total Revenue: 60%-65%.
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- Adjusted Net Income4 of $120.0 million and Adjusted Net Income per Diluted Share[5] of $3.25.
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- Year-to-date Net Income has exceeded Adjusted Net Income by $4.1 million, as discrete items have lowered the effective tax rate below 25%. To the extent that continues in the second half of 2025, Net Income is expected to differ from Adjusted Net Income.
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- The Company anticipates an effective tax rate of 25% for the second half of FY2025, excluding any discrete items.
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- Adjusted EBITDA4: $170.0-$175.0 million.
Initiatives Update
- Sezzle continues to introduce a range of new features to enhance consumer experience across the full journey from discovery to checkout—supporting our dual strategy of consumer acquisition and retention.
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- In the last year, the Company introduced new products and features such as the Earn Tab, On-Demand, Pay-in-5[6], Express Checkout, Browser Extension, Wishlist, Price Comparison, Products Tab, Money IQ, and Sezzle Balance. These additions have broadened engagement across the platform and enriched the consumer experience, which is reflected through a healthy Net Promoter Score[7] of 75.
Awards and Accolades
- Sezzle's focus on building a responsible, consumer-aligned platform earned national recognition in 2025. The Company was named one of the World's Top Fintech Companies by CNBC, Best Companies to Work For by U.S. News & World Report, and America's Best Online Platforms by Newsweek.
Forgoing B Corp Certification
- Sezzle has elected to forgo recertification of its B Corporation certificate as part of its continued evolution. The Company remains a Public Benefit Corporation and is committed to advancing its mission of financial empowerment and stakeholder impact. Sezzle will continue to publish annual sustainability reports to maintain transparency around its business practices and stakeholder commitments.
Upcoming Events
- Sezzle Management will participate in the upcoming investor conferences:
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- August 11, 2025: Oppenheimer 28th Annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference.
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- August 14, 2025: 7th Annual Needham FinTech & Digital Transformation Virtual 1×1 Conference.
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- September 10, 2025: B. Riley Securities 8th Annual Consumer & TMT Conference.
Quarterly Conference Call and Presentation
The Company will host its second quarter earnings conference call on August 7, 2025, at 5:00pm ET.
To register for the call, please navigate to: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10201705/ffa540284c
All participants can access the webcast using the following link: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=DBf1gUM9
Upon registration, participants will receive the dial-in number. Those without internet access or unable to pre-register may dial in by calling: 1-866-777-2509 (US/CA toll free) or 1-412-317-5413 (international toll). A replay will be available until August 14, 2025. To access the replay dial 1-877-344-7529 (US toll free) or 1-412-317-0088 (International toll). Replay access code: 1939323.
In conjunction with the earnings call, the Company will release its presentation on the Sezzle Investor Relations website before the call. Please navigate to the Sezzle Investor Relations website for the presentation that management will review on the call.
Contact Information
| Lee Brading, CFA Investor Relations +1 651 240 6001 [email protected] | Erin Foran Media Enquiries +1 651 403 2184 [email protected] |
About Sezzle Inc.
Sezzle is a forward-thinking fintech company committed to financially empowering the next generation. Through its purpose-driven payment platform, Sezzle enhances consumers' purchasing power by offering access to point-of-sale financing options and digital payment services—connecting millions of customers with its global network of merchants. Centered on transparency, inclusivity, and ease of use, Sezzle empowers consumers to manage spending responsibly, take charge of their finances, and achieve lasting financial independence.
For more information visit sezzle.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business. Forward-looking statements include our expectations, whether stated or implied, regarding our financing plans and other future events.
Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "project," other words or expressions of similar meaning (or the negative versions of such words or expressions). These forward-looking statements address various matters including statements regarding the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others: impact of the "buy-now, pay-later" ("BNPL") industry becoming subject to increased regulatory scrutiny; impact of operating in a highly competitive industry; impact of macro-economic conditions on consumer spending; our ability to increase our merchant network, our base of consumers and gross merchandise value (GMV); our ability to effectively manage growth, sustain our growth rate and maintain our market share; our ability to maintain adequate access to capital in order to meet the capital requirements of our business; impact of exposure to consumer bad debts and insolvency of merchants; impact of the integration, support and prominent presentation of our platform by our merchants; impact of any data security breaches, cyberattacks, employee or other internal misconduct, malware, phishing or ransomware, physical security breaches, natural disasters, or similar disruptions; impact of key vendors or merchants failing to comply with legal or regulatory requirements or to provide various services that are important to our operations; impact of the loss of key partners and merchant relationships; impact of exchange rate fluctuations in the international markets in which we operate; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and third party allegations of the misappropriation of intellectual property rights; our ability to retain employees and recruit additional employees; impact of the costs of complying with various laws and regulations applicable to the BNPL industry in the United States and Canada; and our ability to achieve our public benefit purpose and our election to forego B Corporation recertification and other factors identified in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the "Annual Report") and the Company's subsequent filings filed with the SEC. You are encouraged to read the Company's Annual Report and other filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. The Company's business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our operating results prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), we present the following non-GAAP financial measures: Total revenue less transaction related costs; transaction related costs; non-transaction related operating expenses; adjusted net income; adjusted net income margin; adjusted net income per diluted share; adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA"); and Adjusted EBITDA margin. Definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures and summaries of the reasons why management believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to the Company and investors are as follows:
- Total revenue less transaction related costs is defined as GAAP total revenue less transaction related costs. Transaction related costs is the sum of GAAP transaction expense, provision for credit losses, and net interest expense less certain non-recurring charges as detailed in the reconciliation table of GAAP operating income to non-GAAP total revenue less transaction related costs above. We believe that total revenue less transaction related costs is a useful financial measure to both management and investors for evaluating the economic value of orders processed on the Sezzle Platform.
- Non-transaction related operating expenses is defined as the sum of GAAP personnel; third-party technology and data; marketing, advertising, and tradeshows; and general and administrative operating expenses. We believe that non-transaction related operating expenses is a useful financial measure to both management and investors for evaluating our management of operating expenses not directly attributable to orders processed on the Sezzle Platform.
- Adjusted EBITDA is defined as GAAP net income, adjusted for certain non-cash and non-recurring charges including depreciation, amortization, equity and incentive–based compensation, and merger-related costs, as well as net interest expense as detailed in the reconciliation table of GAAP net income to adjusted EBITDA. We believe that this financial measure is a useful measure for period-to-period comparison of our business by removing the effect of certain non-cash and non-recurring charges, as well as funding costs, that may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by GAAP total revenue. We believe that this financial measure is a useful measure for period-to-period comparison of our business' unit economics by removing the effect of certain non-cash and non-recurring charges, as well as funding costs, that may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business.
- Adjusted net income is defined as GAAP net income, adjusted for certain charges including discrete tax items, fair value adjustments on warrants, losses on the extinguishment of our lines of credit, and other income and expense, as detailed in the reconciliation table of GAAP net income to adjusted net income. We believe that this financial measure is useful for period-to-period comparison of our business by removing the effect of certain charges that, in management's view, does not correlate to the underlying performance of our business during a given period.
- Adjusted net income margin is defined as Adjusted net income divided by GAAP total revenue. We believe that this financial measure is a useful measure for period-to-period comparison of our business by removing the effect of certain charges that, in management's view, does not correlate to the underlying performance of our business during a given period.
- Adjusted net income per diluted share is defined as non-GAAP adjusted net income divided by GAAP weighted-average diluted shares outstanding. We believe that this financial measure is a useful measure for period-to-period comparison of shareholder return by removing the effect of certain charges that, in management's view, does not correlate to the underlying performance of our business during a given period.
Additionally, we have included these non-GAAP measures because they are key measures used by our management to evaluate our operating performance, guide future operating plans, and make strategic decisions, including those relating to operating expenses and the allocation of resources. Therefore, we believe these measures provide useful information to investors and other users of this press release to understand and evaluate our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. However, non-GAAP financial measures have limitations, should be considered supplemental in nature, and are not meant as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These limitations include the following:
- Total revenue less transaction-related costs is not intended to be measures of operating profit or cash flow profitability as they exclude key operating expenses such as personnel, general and administrative, and third-party technology and data, which have been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring GAAP expenses.
- Transaction related costs exclude significant expenses such as personnel, general and administrative, and third-party technology and data, which have been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring GAAP expenses.
- Non-transaction related operating expenses exclude significant expenses, including transaction expense and provision for credit losses, which have been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring GAAP expenses.
- Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude certain recurring, non-cash charges such as depreciation, amortization, and equity and incentive–based compensation, which have been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, recurring GAAP expenses. Further, these non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain significant cash inflows and outflows, which have a significant impact on our working capital and cash.
- Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin excludes net interest expense, which has a significant impact on our GAAP net income, working capital, and cash.
- Adjusted net income, adjusted net income margin, and adjusted net income per diluted share excludes certain charges such as losses on the extinguishment of our lines of credit, fair value adjustments on our warrants, other income and expense, and discrete tax items which have been, and may be in the future, recurring GAAP expenses.
- Long-lived assets being depreciated or amortized may need to be replaced in the future, and these non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect the capital expenditures needed for such replacements, or for any new capital expenditures or commitments.
- These non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect income taxes that may represent a reduction in cash available to us.
- Non-GAAP measures do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs.
- Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate the non-GAAP financial measures differently or not at all, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these limitations, you should not consider these non-GAAP financial measures in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our financial results as reported under GAAP, and these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered alongside other financial performance measures, including net income and other financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. We encourage you to review the related GAAP financial measures and the reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business.
[1] See appendix for a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures.
[2] See appendix for a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures.
[3] Per diluted share figures reflect 6-for-1 common stock split effective March 28, 2025.
[4] See appendix for a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures.
[5] Per diluted share figures reflect 6-for-1 common stock split effective March 28, 2025.
[6] Pi5/Pi4/Pi2 loans are originated by WebBank except loans in Iowa and Puerto Rico.
[7] Net Promoter Score (NPS) last 30-days as of June 30, 2025.
Attachments
Erin Foran Sezzle 6514032184 [email protected]