Sifting through countless of stocks in the Financial Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc.

Marqeta, Inc. operates a cloud-based open API platform for card issuing and transaction processing services in the United States. The company’s platform also provides processor services, bank and network management, program management, and value added services; card issuing, such as debit, prepaid, credit, virtual, and physical cards; UI/UX; access to a suite of bank account and money movement features, including savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, direct deposit with early pay, ACH, cash loads, and fee-free ATMs, bill pay, and instant funding capabilities; Marqeta Dashboard, a self-service portal to access and manage all aspects of card program; TransactPay; Marqeta Hub for consumers, buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers, and card issuers; and credit capabilities, as well as Portfolio Migration which simplifies upgrading existing card programs into its platform. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, lending, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as BNPL providers. Marqeta, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. operates payment network in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Its platform offers pay-over-time solutions at checkout for both consumers and merchants. The company’s commerce platform, agreements with originating banks, and capital markets partners enables consumers to pay for a purchase over time. It has active merchants covering small businesses, large enterprises, direct-to-consumer brands, brick-and-mortar stores, and companies with an omni-channel presence. The company’s merchants represent a range of industries, including electronics; equipment and auto; fashion and beauty; general merchandise; home and lifestyle services; sporting goods and outdoors; and travel and ticketing. Affirm Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Latest Financial Services and Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Marqeta, Inc. had a $1.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Financial Services median of $2.3 million. Marqeta, Inc.’s stock is down 11.5% in 2026, up 4.6% in the previous five trading days and down 36.49% in the past year.

Currently, Marqeta, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 170.2. Marqeta, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $677.2 million with a 1.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 17.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.270 per share for the current fiscal year. Marqeta, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 1, 2026, Affirm Holdings, Inc. had a $23.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 87th percentile of all stocks. Affirm Holdings, Inc.’s stock is down 0.5% in 2026, down 3.1% in the previous five trading days and down 20.94% in the past year.

Currently, Affirm Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.6. Affirm Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.3 billion with a 45.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 33.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.248 per share for the current fiscal year. Affirm Holdings, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Marqeta, Inc.	MQ	D
Affirm Holdings, Inc.	AFRM	D

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Marqeta, Inc. has a Growth Score of 38, which is Weak. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 40, which is Weak.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings or Inc. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Marqeta, Inc.	MQ	B
Affirm Holdings, Inc.	AFRM	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Marqeta, Inc. has a Quality Score of 63, which is Strong. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 39, which is Weak.

The Quality Grade Winner: Marqeta, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Marqeta, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Affirm Holdings, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Marqeta, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Marqeta, Inc.	MQ	D
Affirm Holdings, Inc.	AFRM	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Marqeta, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 23, which is Weak. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 37, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Growth and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Marqeta, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 38, Momentum Score of 23 and Quality Score of 63.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 40, Momentum Score of 37 and Quality Score of 39.

Comparing Marqeta, Inc., Affirm Holdings and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.