🟣 Nu Holdings $NU (+9,37%) Q3 2026: Record Profits Meet Growing Credit Risk
Nubank once again delivers strong growth figures in the third quarter of 2026 and continues to drive its international expansion. A closer look at the numbers reveals the company’s operational strengths, but also highlights areas of concern in its loan portfolio.
🟢 Pros:
- Record Revenue & Profit: Gross revenue rose, on a currency-adjusted (FX-neutral) basis, by +37% to $6.30 billion (expectation: $5.96 billion). Net income climbed by +31% to $1.10 billion with a strong return on equity (ROE) of 32%.
- Customer Growth: The customer base grew to 143 million users (+3.7 million in the quarter) with a high activity rate of 83.6% (in Brazil, as high as 86.3%). Average revenue per active customer (ARPAC) reached $18.
- Extreme cost efficiency: The efficiency ratio improved to 19.3% (previous year: 20.3%). The loan portfolio grew by +33% to 41.6 billion USD, solidly backed by customer deposits of 47.5 billion USD.
- Global Expansion & Stablecoins:
Nu U.S. reached customers in all 50 U.S. states shortly after its launch. In addition, with Nu Global , a multi-currency account built on stablecoin infrastructure went live and is already serving users in 37 countries.
🔴 Cons:
- Rising non-performing loans (NPLs): The ratio of loans more than 90 days past due (90+ NPL) in the total portfolio rose to 7.3% (or 12.1% of interest-bearing balances). This stems from the deliberate expansion into higher-risk interest-bearing segments (share rose to 61%). Context: However, loan loss provisions of $7.1 billion comfortably cover the 90+ defaults at 234% .
- Slight decline in the reported interest margin: The risk-adjusted net interest margin (Risk-Adjusted NIM) appeared to decline from 12.4% to 12.1%, weighed down by a one-time effect of 63 basis points (write-down on purchased receivables from external payment institutions). On an adjusted basis, however, the recurring margin rose from 11.9% to 12.7%.
- Rising Costs in Q4 & Tax Rate in 2027: In the fourth quarter, deferred expenses and new hires will be made up for, which is why the cost ratio will temporarily rise slightly again. In addition, investments in Nu U.S. and Nu Global will weigh on efficiency by up to 100 basis points, and a higher effective tax rate (low to mid-20% range) is expected again for 2027.
On December 8 , the first Investor Day for the long-term strategic roadmap will take place.
