Affirm, Block, Mercado Libre Earnings: Fintech Lending Pulse
Gotrade News - Three fintech bellwethers reported on May 7, 2026, and the through-line is the same: lending and AI are now the growth engines, not just the upside option. Affirm, Block, and Mercado Libre each leaned harder into consumer credit, with results that ranged from a sharp profit swing to a deliberate margin sacrifice.
Block was the cleanest market winner of the three. Shares rallied 7.6% in after-hours trading after the company posted $2.91 billion in gross profit, up 27% year over year, and $728 million in adjusted operating income, up 56%.
Cash App did the heavy lifting for Block. Gross profit at the consumer unit grew 38% YoY, while consumer lending originations hit $17.6 billion, an 82% YoY surge, according to PYMNTS.
CEO Jack Dorsey framed AI as the operating layer rather than a side feature. Block's Managerbot has reached more than 1 million sellers and is on track to roll out to all Square sellers in June.
Cash App Score, an AI-driven underwriting tool, is seeing roughly 80% adoption on its recommended actions. Cash App now counts 59 million monthly transacting actives and 9.7 million primary banking actives, the latter up 18% YoY.
Affirm made the case that the buy-now-pay-later category is maturing into a private-credit story. GMV reached $11.6 billion, up 35% YoY, and revenue grew 33% to $1.04 billion.
The profit picture flipped decisively. Affirm posted $88 million in GAAP operating income against an $8 million loss in the prior-year quarter, with adjusted operating income of $281 million.
Credit quality stayed in a tight range. The 30+ day delinquency rate edged up to 2.8% from 2.7%, the 60+ day rate held flat at 1.6%, and the 90+ day rate improved to 0.7% from 0.8%, per PYMNTS.
CEO Max Levchin pushed back on consumer-stress narratives directly. "We are not seeing deterioration in the Affirm consumer," he said, while noting the company is "still tiny relative to the massive payment volume."
Capital is the other half of the Affirm story. Total funding capacity expanded to $28.2 billion, with the platform portfolio at $18.4 billion and 65% utilization, supported by a Sixth Street joint venture, pension funds, and large insurance complexes.
Mercado Libre was the deliberate margin compressor. Net revenue and financial income jumped 49% YoY to $8.8 billion, but net income fell 16% to $417 million and operating income dropped 20%.
Management was explicit that this was a choice, not a miss. CFO Martin de los Santos said the company is "investing for the long term" and "will continue to invest boldly in those initiatives."
The investments are concentrated in Brazil and Mercado Pago. A lower free-shipping threshold in Brazil drove record highs in conversion, frequency, retention, and NPS, while the Mercado Pago credit card expansion pulled millions of marketplace-only users into the fintech stack.
For investors comparing the three, the pattern is clearer when stacked side by side.
| Company | Headline metric | Profit signal | Strategic bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affirm | GMV $11.6B, +35% | Op income $88M vs $8M loss | $28.2B funding capacity, private credit |
| Block | Gross profit $2.91B, +27% | Adj op income +56% YoY | AI tooling, $17.6B Cash App lending |
| Mercado Libre | Revenue $8.8B, +49% | Op income down 20% | Brazil shipping, Mercado Pago credit |
The takeaway for fintech watchers is that scaled lending is no longer a sidecar product. It is the core P&L driver, and AI-based underwriting is what unlocks the volume without blowing up credit metrics, as Block and Affirm both demonstrated this quarter.
Mercado Libre is making the same bet through a different lens. By subsidizing commerce to acquire users, then converting them into credit-card holders, it is building the same lending flywheel from the marketplace side.
Stock reaction outside Block was not noted in the source coverage. Affirm and Mercado Libre filings will be the next read on whether the market rewards the credit pivot or punishes the margin trade-off.
Sources:
