AFRM vs. NDAQ: Affirm vs. Nasdaq Stock Comparison

Company Profile

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

Nasdaq (NDAQ) has more than two decades of public-market history since July 1, 2002, whereas Affirm (AFRM) listed on January 13, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Affirm (AFRM) carries a highly aggressive beta of 3.70, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas Nasdaq (NDAQ) is closer to market-like at 0.94 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Affirm (AFRM) at 44.49% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 17.33% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for AFRM.

For every dollar of sales, both Affirm (AFRM) at 43.86% and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 36.06% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

Both Affirm (AFRM) at 14.82% and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 50.57% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 32.15% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 11.65% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AFRM.

Both companies show strong earnings momentum, but Affirm (AFRM) at 3,586.67% is the standout with EPS growth above its industry range; Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 60.10% also sits in the top quartile.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and Nasdaq (NDAQ) 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-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and Nasdaq (NDAQ) 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

Dividends

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Nasdaq (NDAQ) reports a yield of 1.09%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Nasdaq (NDAQ) reports a payout of 31.69%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Affirm (AFRM) at 11.80 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 29.27 sits in the richer quartile — NDAQ needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

Both look expensive on sales: Affirm (AFRM) at 5.03 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 10.36 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Both Affirm (AFRM) at 4.01 and Nasdaq (NDAQ) at 4.99 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics