Affirm Holdings has no parent company. It is an independent US public company listed on Nasdaq as AFRM, and founder and CEO Max Levchin is its largest voting holder, with 44.04% of total votes as of September 30, 2026.
Shopify ranks second with 17.92% of the vote. Affirm’s market cap stood near $24.4 billion on November 3, 2026.
Affirm ownership at a glance
Public shareholders hold most of the economic value, while Class B holders hold most of the votes.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Ownership type | Public company with dual-class shares |
| Parent company | None (independent) |
| Largest shareholders | Max Levchin (44.04% of votes), Shopify (17.92% of votes), Capital World Investors (7.75% of Class A) |
| Latest market cap | About $24.4 billion (November 3, 2026) |
| Last funding round | $1.2 billion IPO, January 2021 |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| CEO | Max Levchin |
Who owns Affirm today?
As of September 30, 2026, Affirm had 298,389,237 Class A shares and 40,530,194 Class B shares outstanding, according to its 2026 proxy statement.
Max Levchin held 26,485,472 Class B shares, or 65.35% of that class, plus 2,735,296 Class A shares. By our count, that is about 8.6% of all shares but 44.04% of the vote.
Of his Class B shares, 10,352,528 sit in 2012 MRL Investments LLC, which he controls.
Shopify held 10,148,797 shares of each class. That gave it 3.40% of Class A, 25.04% of Class B and 17.92% of total voting power.
Asset managers hold most of the remaining Class A stock.
Who controls Affirm?
Each Class A share carries one vote. Each Class B share carries 15 votes, and the two classes vote together.
Levchin’s 44.04% falls short of a majority on its own. Affirm’s fiscal 2026 annual report states that Class B holders, acting together, control all matters put to shareholders.
His share of the vote has grown from about 19.8% at the January 2021 IPO. Class B shares convert to Class A when sold or transferred, which lifts the weight of holders who keep theirs.
Several large tech firms use a similar setup, including the dual-class structure at Meta.
Levchin is chairman as well as CEO. The board has 10 directors, seven of them independent, and Christa Quarles is lead independent director. Directors serve staggered terms.
The board will shrink to nine at the December 14, 2026 annual meeting. Brian Hughes and Lightspeed partner Jeremy Liew are leaving, and former Capital Group partner James Bray is nominated to join.
Who are Affirm’s largest shareholders?
The 2026 proxy lists these holders above 5% of a share class. Fund figures come from each holder’s latest SEC filing.
| Holder | Type | Class A stake | Class B stake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Levchin | Founder, insider | 2,735,296 (under 1%) | 26,485,472 (65.35%) |
| Shopify Inc. | Strategic partner | 10,148,797 (3.40%) | 10,148,797 (25.04%) |
| Capital World Investors | Institution | 23,115,136 (7.75%) | None |
| Morgan Stanley | Institution | 6.95% | None |
| Capital Research Global Investors | Institution | 20,251,044 (6.79%) | None |
| FMR LLC (Fidelity) | Institution | 17,741,707 (5.95%) | None |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Institution | 16,832,019 (5.64%) | None |
The two Capital entities are both part of Capital Group and together held 14.54% of Class A.
Funds own more shares than Levchin but far fewer votes. A similar gap shows up in Palantir’s shareholder and voting data.
The Vanguard Group, a 6.76% holder in the 2025 proxy, filed a 2026 amendment reporting zero shares at the parent level.
Who are the biggest investors in Affirm?
Affirm began in 2012 inside HVF, a company studio Levchin set up in 2011. HVF is now 2012 MRL Investments LLC.
Affirm raised $300 million in April 2019 at a $2.9 billion post-money valuation, according to FinLedger. GIC and Durable Capital Partners led a $500 million Series G in September 2020.
Shopify came in through a July 2020 deal. Affirm granted it warrants for about 20.3 million shares at one cent each in return for powering Shop Pay Installments.
Crunchbase puts Affirm’s pre-IPO funding at about $1.5 billion. Its main private backers included:
- GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, which co-led the Series G
- Durable Capital Partners, the other Series G lead
- Thrive Capital, a 2019 Series F investor
- Lightspeed Venture Partners, whose partner Jeremy Liew joined the board in 2013
- Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures, early venture investors
Payments company Stripe took the private route instead, as shown in Stripe’s founder-led ownership breakdown.
Is Affirm publicly traded?
Yes. Affirm’s Class A shares trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker AFRM. Class B shares are not listed.
The IPO priced at $49 per share, and Affirm sold 24.6 million shares for about $1.2 billion, per its pricing release. The stock closed its first trading day, January 13, 2021, at $97.24.
AFRM closed at $71.97 on November 3, 2026. Fiscal 2026 revenue reached $4.3 billion, up 32%.
To see how companies like Affirm make money, BizModelInsight breaks down business models and compares them.
FAQ
Who founded Affirm?
Max Levchin, Nathan Gettings, Jeffrey Kaditz and Alex Rampell founded Affirm in 2012. Levchin, a PayPal co-founder, is chairman and CEO.
How much of Affirm does Max Levchin own?
As of September 30, 2026, Levchin held about 26.5 million Class B and 2.7 million Class A shares. That is about 8.6% of all shares and 44.04% of total voting power.
Does Shopify own Affirm?
No. Shopify is a minority shareholder. It held 10.1 million shares of each class as of September 30, 2026, giving it 17.92% of the vote and about 6% of all shares.
Does PayPal own Affirm?
No. PayPal does not appear among Affirm’s major holders in the 2026 proxy. The link is Levchin, who co-founded PayPal before starting Affirm in 2012.
What is Affirm’s market cap?
Affirm’s market cap was about $24.4 billion on November 3, 2026, when its Class A stock closed at $71.97 on Nasdaq.
