Affirm CEO Sees Subtle Shopping Shift Among Federal Workers Amid Shutdown: Report

• The federal government shutdown has entered its 38th day, marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
• According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, nearly 670,000 federal employees have been furloughed in the shutdown, and about 730,000 are working without pay.
• Max Levchin said that the company is seeing a very subtle loss of interest in shopping just in the federal government employees group. 

Affirm (AFRM) CEO Max Levchin reportedly said on Friday that although the company hasn’t observed any credit strain among federal employees during the government shutdown, early signs suggest a shift in shopping habits.

“We are seeing a very subtle loss of interest in shopping just for that group, and a couple of basis points,” Levchin told CNBC.

Government Shutdown

The federal government shutdown has entered its 38th day, marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Airline operators are canceling hundreds of flights to adjust to the reduction ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration.  

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, nearly 670,000 federal employees have been furloughed in the shutdown, and about 730,000 are working without pay.

Monitoring For Disruption

According to CNBC, Levchin noted that he was closely examining employment data for signs of any major disruptions, and that Affirm is “capable” of adjusting credit standards when needed.

“Right now, things are just fine,” he said. “We’re not seeing any major disturbances at all.”

Retail sentiment on Affirm improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory compared to a day ago, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

According to TheFly, Morgan Stanley noted that concerns about softness in discretionary spending and credit proved to be overdone. The firm believes buy now, pay later is a share gainer within e-commerce and that Affirm is "leading the charge." 

Shares of the company have gained over 50% in the last 12 months.  

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also See: Senators Ron Wyden And Elizabeth Warren Press Fiserv CEO For Details On Bisignano-Era Federal Contracts

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