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AFRM vs. MSCI: Affirm vs. MSCI Stock Comparison

How do Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but AFRM is classified in Financial Services while MSCI is classified in Capital Markets.

Company profile comparison for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
Profile ItemAFRMMSCI
NameAffirm Holdings, Inc.MSCI Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryFinancial ServicesCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryTransaction & Payment Processing ServicesFinancial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization23.09 billion USD46.60 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNasdaqNYSE
Listing DateJanuary 13, 2021November 15, 2007
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AFRM
MSCI
GSPC
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
Total Return (1Y)-6.89%12.76%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)40.23%9.86%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)-15.36%1.00%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AFRM
MSCI
GSPC
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Affirm (AFRM) carries a highly aggressive beta of 3.70, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas MSCI (MSCI) is closer to market-like at 1.17 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk profile metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)58.20%29.82%
Beta (5Y)3.701.17
Max Drawdown (5Y)-94.35%-43.74%
Avg. Volume (3M)4.46M590.34K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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AFRM and MSCI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.190.28
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.280.40

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Affirm (AFRM) earns 44.49% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; MSCI (MSCI) has no ROE this period.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

44.49%

Max
44.78%
AFRM
44.49%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

--

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
MSCI
--
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): MSCI does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; AFRM is benchmarked against the Financial Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Affirm (AFRM) at 43.86% and MSCI (MSCI) at 40.31% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

43.86%

Max
62.84%
AFRM
43.86%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

40.31%

Max
62.84%
MSCI
40.31%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

MSCI (MSCI) at 56.41% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Affirm (AFRM) at 14.82%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

14.82%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
AFRM
14.82%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

56.41%

Max
107.33%
MSCI
56.41%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
ROE (TTM)44.49%--
ROA (TTM)2.42%21.75%
Net Margin (TTM)43.86%40.31%
Operating Margin (TTM)14.82%56.41%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 32.15% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while MSCI (MSCI) at 9.75% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AFRM.

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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 3,586.67% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than MSCI (MSCI) at 11.67%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
Revenue Growth (YoY)32.15%9.75%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)38.96%11.71%
EPS Growth (YoY)3,586.67%11.67%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)--13.54%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and MSCI (MSCI) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and MSCI (MSCI) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile MSCI (MSCI) reports a yield of 1.21%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
AFRM
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

1.21%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
MSCI
1.21%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile MSCI (MSCI) reports a payout of 42.04%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
AFRM
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

42.04%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
MSCI
42.04%
Median
25.77%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.21%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%42.04%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) at 11.80 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while MSCI (MSCI) at 33.90 sits in the richer quartile — MSCI needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

11.80

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
AFRM
11.80
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

33.90

Max
45.85
MSCI
33.90
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Affirm (AFRM) at 5.03 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and MSCI (MSCI) at 13.58 prices even higher, above its industry range.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

5.03

Max
9.23
AFRM
5.03
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

13.58

MSCI
13.58
Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

MSCI (MSCI) reports a negative P/B ratio of -15.24, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Affirm (AFRM) reports 4.01, ranking against industry peers normally.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

4.01

Max
7.79
AFRM
4.01
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

-15.24

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
MSCI
-15.24
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. MSCI (MSCI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and MSCI (MSCI)
MetricAFRMMSCI
P/E Ratio (TTM)11.8033.90
P/S Ratio (TTM)5.0313.58
P/B Ratio (MRQ)4.01-15.24
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----