One of the best performers on the ASX 200 in 2019 has been the Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price.
Since the start of the year the payments company's shares have rallied an incredible 67% higher.
This makes it the second-best performer on the index behind the Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price with its gain of 83%.
Why is the Afterpay share price on fire this year?
There have been a couple of catalysts for this impressive share price performance.
The first was the conclusion of the Senate Inquiry into Credit and Financial Services and the release of its report on credit and financial services targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship.
There had been concerns that Afterpay and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) could have been negatively impacted by the inquiry, but none of the recommendations that were made are expected to be a problem. The removal of this risk led to rampant buying of both shares.
Another catalyst for this strong share price rise was the company's performance in the U.S. market.
In its first half results, management revealed that its U.S. business has continued its strong form with significant growth in sales and customer numbers.
The latter has continued post-results, with the company announcing at the start of the month that it had reached its one millionth U.S. customer after just 10 months in the country.
CEO and co-founder, Nick Molnar, appeared to be delighted with the way the company has been performing in the massive U.S. market.
He said: "We only launched last May, so the customer uptake and demand for Afterpay demonstrates a generational shift in how millennials are spending when they shop. More than a million people in America have shown they welcome an opportunity to manage their budget and enjoy the products they love right away without having to deal with any high-interest debt."
This amount of success in such a short space of time appears to have convinced the market that the Afterpay platform can replicate its Australian success in a market many, many times bigger.
Is it too late to invest?
Whilst its shares are certainly a high risk option, I believe they could be a very rewarding long-term investment. Especially if its U.S. business continues to perform so strongly and the company's expansion into the U.K. is a success.
This could make it worth snapping up shares on any share price weakness today.
