Affirm Holdings Inc. (AFRM) had a rough Thursday, sliding lower as investors positioned themselves ahead of the buy now, pay later company's fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings report. The results are scheduled to hit after the closing bell, and it seems traders are playing it cautious.

What Wall Street Expects

Analysts are looking for Affirm to deliver earnings per share of $0.61 for the quarter, according to consensus estimates. Not a wild number, but in this market environment, meeting or beating expectations matters more than usual.

Caught in the Tech Undertow

Here's the thing: Affirm's decline isn't happening in a vacuum. The stock's weakness comes as technology shares broadly got hammered Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 0.65% and the S&P 500 sliding 0.70%. This looks less like company-specific jitters and more like investors hitting the eject button across growth and tech names. Sometimes you're just in the wrong sector on the wrong day.

On the business front, Affirm recently notched a win. Back on Jan. 31, the company expanded its exclusive partnership with Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE). Under the multi-year agreement, Affirm became the exclusive buy now, pay later option for lodging and packages across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo throughout the United States. That's not a small deal when you're trying to cement your position in the travel payment space.

Affirm now works with nearly 420,000 merchants worldwide, offering flexible payment options designed to make purchases more accessible for customers while boosting average order values for businesses. The model works when consumers spend more because they can split payments.

Analyst Sentiment Remains Positive

Despite Thursday's pullback, Wall Street maintains a Buy rating on the stock with an average price target of $84.86. Recent analyst activity has been notably supportive:

• Morgan Stanley: Upgraded to Overweight with a $76.00 price target (Feb. 3)
• Needham: Upgraded to Buy with a $100.00 target (Jan. 27)
• Cantor Fitzgerald: Initiated coverage with Overweight and an $85.00 target (Jan. 27)

AFRM Price Action: Affirm Holdings shares were down 3.22% at $60.16 at the time of publication Thursday, according to market data.