New York, March 9, 2026, 15:12 EDT
Shares of Nu Holdings, Nubank’s parent company, fell 0.75% to $14.47 in afternoon New York trading on Monday. Earlier in the session, the stock hit a low of $14.12.
Nu’s latest quarter showed net profit jumping 50% to $894.8 million, with revenue up 45% to $4.86 billion. Still, the stock dropped 5.5% after hours on results day, as analysts zeroed in on expenses and the company’s credit performance. The numbers looked solid, but fresh questions lingered.
Guilherme Lago, the company’s chief financial officer, pointed to growth in both customer numbers and revenue per active user, as well as steady serving costs, as drivers of the profit increase, he told Reuters. Chief executive David Vélez described the U.S. banking space as fiercely competitive but said Nu still sees room in certain niches, as the company continues to pursue the regulatory green light to launch.
Nu wrapped up 2025 serving 131 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, picking up 17 million new accounts over the year. The company, in its latest quarterly update, described 2026 as an inflection year. Nu pointed to spending on platform expansion, artificial intelligence, and a potential U.S. push as factors that could push its efficiency ratio—operating costs versus revenue—higher in the short run.
So that’s the crux of it. JPMorgan’s team pointed to the profit beat coming mostly from a lighter tax bill than forecast. Citi took a different angle, flagging that cost of risk and operating expenses “mud the picture”—despite most operating metrics holding up well. Reuters
Nu is stepping up its brand push before entering the U.S. market. Back on March 4, the company struck a multiyear partnership with Inter Miami CF that will see the club’s new 26,700-seat venue named Nu Stadium when doors open April 4. Nu’s logo is also set to appear on the back of the team’s jerseys starting in August. Cristina Junqueira, co-founder and the executive overseeing Nu’s U.S. expansion, called the stadium deal a way to “anchor our brand in the United States.” Nu International
Competition is heating up on that front. On March 5, Reuters reported Revolut had submitted its own application for a U.S. bank charter, highlighting that Nu faces a field packed with both incumbents and a swelling cohort of fintech rivals. Before Nu can launch Nubank, N.A., it still needs green lights from the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and must satisfy OCC stipulations.
That jump in growth spending could hit as asset quality starts to slip. Nu reported loans overdue by over 90 days dropped to 6.6% in Q4, though Lago pointed out delinquencies typically tick up in the first quarter due to seasonality.
Nu is aiming to fully capitalize its U.S. bank in the next 12 months, with intentions to open doors within 18 months, assuming regulators give the green light. Investors now have a set clock to gauge whether this next chapter delivers steady growth or ends up piling on expenses.
