EVENTS:   Best Equity Short Ideas Conference Call 12 - Zach Shannon/Corto Capital Advisors & Craig Huber/Huber Research Partners & Thomas Beevers /Forensic Alpha & Ed Steele/Iron Blue Financials & Bill Campbell/Paragon Intel - 12 Nov 25   Will AI Deflate the World? Macro Lessons from Three Industrial Revolutions and China - Manoj Pradhan/Talking Heads Macro - 13 Nov 25     ROADSHOWS: Forest Products Sector Equity and Commodity Research With Expertise in Distressed Debt - Kevin Mason /ERA Research   •   London   12 - 14 Nov 25       Buyside to Buyside Forum and Expert Calls across TMT, Consumer, Healthcare and Fintech - Andrew Peters /Revelare Partners   •   London   17 - 19 Nov 25       Fundamental US Healthcare Short Ideas - Dr Elliot Favus /Favus Institutional Research   •   London   17 - 19 Nov 25      

Fortnightly Publication Highlighting Latest Insights From IRF Providers

Company Research

Affirm (AFRM)

Technology

Galliano's Financials Research

Victor Galliano sees the disparity in valuation between AFRM and Klarna as more of a downside risk for AFRM than an upside opportunity for KLAR; the intense competition in the BNPL marketplace is a potential “banana skin” for its premium growth expectations and he believes that AFRM should lose some of its “scarcity value” as a near pure play on BNPL in view of KLAR’s listing. With regards to Victor’s recommendations on payments companies in general, he maintains Buy ratings on PagSeguro, Nexi and PayPal for their value credentials primarily and upgrades KakaoPay from Sell to Neutral, following its marked de-rating.

Edition: 220

- 19 September, 2025


Ranking the winners and losers in Global Payments

Technology

Galliano's Financials Research

Victor Galliano introduces a proprietary payments scorecard, ranking companies based on weighted metrics including valuation, margins, EBITDA growth and valuation-to-growth. PagSeguro and Nexi remain top picks due to deep value characteristics and strong scorecard rankings. PayPal is upgraded to Buy, replacing Visa, supported by improved margins, stabilising net take rate and attractive valuation. Affirm is upgraded to Neutral, while KakaoPay is newly rated Sell. The stock has surged on stablecoin speculation, but Victor warns of underestimated regulatory risks, especially following Bank of Korea’s recent caution on digital assets.

Edition: 215

- 11 July, 2025


Plenty of value in Payment companies

Technology

Galliano's Financials Research

Victor Galliano highlights PagSeguro for its attractive valuations vs. its Brazilian and global peer group. Getnet is also considered too cheap to ignore despite its challenging relationship with Santander. While Nexi is the only European payments company added to Victor’s buy list - negative sentiment as a result of poor execution on past acquisitions is more than well discounted in the share price. In the megacap names, Mastercard remains a key pick.

Edition: 132

- 01 April, 2022