Like a market phoenix rising from the ashes of regulatory and inflation inferno, Aussie buy-now-pay-later challenger Zip is zipping up the market charts with a recent boom. What’s going on? Can it keep rising?

What the experts have to say

“I truly think so. Right now, you see the share price is weaker because of uncertainty — global uncertainties and war and things — it’s your buying opportunity. It’s just incredible. I think they’ve done an incredible job turning around that business. Australia is focused on making money, and the US is focused on growth. And that growth is accelerating. Even though we worry about U.S. consumer slowdown and others, it’s just not happening. They simply keep winning share in that whole deep fragmented market.”

She also highlighted Zip’s advantage over its more famous rival:

“Zip is still very pure. Afterpay grew really fast early on, but Zip still has a tiny market share — and they can go into markets where Afterpay isn’t. They’re nimble, they’re still growing off a low base, and the opportunities are there.”

“Their credit checks were always a lot more sophisticated and in-depth than a lot of the imitators or competitors.”

It sure pays to be watching Switzer Investing TV each week, by the way. If you caught the episode from three weeks ago, you would’ve had the jump on the market.

Both Jun Bei Liu and Bell Direct’s Grady Wulff were bullish on Zip back then too. In fact, if you’d listened to them and invested $10,000 on 27 May, you’d now be sitting on a little over $14,000 today.

It truly pays to be a viewer!

Can the Zip share price keep growing?

Zip's shares over the last six months (including the Liberation Day dip).

Like most tech and consumer stocks, Zip was caught in the market pullback today — spooked by the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, and some cautionary signals out of the US Federal Reserve.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell kept US interest rates on hold, and warned that the economic outlook remains uncertain. That kind of messaging typically weighs on stocks like Zip that are tied to consumer spending and confidence.

Back in May on Switzer Investing TV, Grady Wulff explained why higher rates can put pressure on the BNPL sector:

“We’re in a high cost of living environment right now. A lot of people are using these services, but with rate cuts on the horizon they might not be as wanted for buy now pay later services. So it kind of goes with the economic cycle.”

But both Wulff and Liu agree: a rate cutting cycle is coming — and that’s where the opportunity lies for stocks like Zip.

“A rate cut cycle has started to come down,” Liu said. “You want to find companies where earnings won’t be impacted. There are lots of linked businesses and sectors that will do very well over the next six months.”

Wulff adds that Zip’s growing diversification puts it in a stronger position than some of its BNPL peers:

“If you’re going to play that space, Zip is the way to go. They’ve just launched into the physical payment space. They’re not just buy now pay later — they’re encompassing that whole financial services product sphere. They’re not just a simple BNPL product.”

As always, momentum stocks like Zip aren’t for the faint-hearted. But if the broader market holds together, rates start coming down, and growth stays intact — Zip’s ride may not be over yet.