Klarna Pauses US IPO Amid Tariff Impact

Klarna, a prominent Swedish fintech firm specializing in buy now, pay later services, has paused its plans for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) due to market turbulence following President Donald Trump's announcement of significant tariffs. The tariffs have caused widespread investor uncertainty and have negatively impacted tech stocks, including Klarna's competitor Affirm, whose stock has dropped significantly. The decision to halt the IPO comes as a setback for the anticipated recovery of the tech IPO market, which had seen recent activity with CoreWeave's IPO, albeit with adjusted pricing and volatile trading. Alongside Klarna, ticketing platform StubHub has also postponed its IPO plans, underscoring the broader impact of the tariffs on market conditions. Klarna was initially aiming for a valuation exceeding $15 billion with its IPO, highlighting the stakes involved in its decision to delay. The company had previously filed for the IPO with the SEC and had planned to start marketing its shares imminently before the tariff-induced market instability.