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Michael Linford

Chief Operating Officer, Affirm Holdings

Search every verified Michael Linford interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. At the Affirm Holdings Investor Forum on May 12, 2026, Chief Operating Officer Michael Linford stated that the company is "exhibiting very real network effects" and argued that the business should be judged through that lens. He emphasized that Affirm will not compromise credit quality or the trust built with capital markets "just to achieve some kind of a goddy GMD number." Linford described the company's underwriting process as requiring the full ensemble of models, policies, and pricing to work "quickly and correctly every single time," adding that "credit is job number zero at a firm." Linford also expressed increased confidence in Affirm's profitability, projecting the company will operate between a 3.75% and 4% RLTC take rate. He attributed this outlook to improvements in funding costs and expectations for loan product mix over the next few years.

Recent appearances

Notable quotes

“We are targeting at least 70% flowthrough of growth in RLTC dollars to growth in adjusted operating income dollars. We're confident that this framework will allow us to both make the necessary opex investments to fund our ambitious growth plans while also allowing us to continue to scale our adjusted operating margins.”

“We are able to deliver significantly greater approvals at target economics, process more transactions, collect even more performance data, and satisfy more merchants and consumers in the process.”

“Credit is job number zero at Affirm. It will always be there. We will not compromise the credit quality, the trust we built with capital markets just to achieve some kind of a GMD number.”

“We've built a network that is real in a sense that is fully closed loop. We are both the issuer of credit, transmitter of the credit information, the acquirer and the risk manager. We're also unique in the sense that we're fully information preserving.”

“I think it's definitely the former; consumers are desperate for alternatives that don't force them into this compounding and revolving treadmill that the credit card business models are built on. The vast majority of our consumers are people who have credit cards available to them and they're preferring Affirm over their revolving credit accounts.”

“The fundamental trend here is a consumer preference away from revolving credit accounts into better alternatives to still get the things that matter to them in a way that's honest and transparent and good for them.”

Other executives at Affirm Holdings

  • Max Levchin, Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

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