New York, May 18, 2026, 14:07 (EDT)
Nu Holdings Ltd. shares barely moved Monday afternoon, with the price sticking close to lows seen after Nubank’s Q1 results. The market kept its attention on higher loan-loss provisions, setting aside record revenue. The stock last traded at $12.18, off 0.1%, in a range of $12.10 to $12.42. Volume was around 38.7 million shares.
Nu shares dropped 5.72% Friday and at Monday’s latest price were about 10% below where they closed May 11, making for a fast drop at the New York-listed Brazilian digital bank.
Stocks slipped as Treasury yields and oil moved higher, dragging on the broader tape. The Nasdaq underperformed. “Interest rates and oil” are what investors are watching, Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, told Reuters, with markets digesting a more complex macro backdrop. Reuters
Nu reported first-quarter revenue above $5 billion for the first time, with net income at $871 million. Return on equity hit 29%. The company said its customer count passed 135 million. Founder and CEO David Vélez said Nu is “rebuilding banking around AI,” citing its use of artificial intelligence in lending and service. Nu International
Nubank posted net income that missed the $980 million forecast, though revenue topped out at $5.3 billion, ahead of the $4.5 billion consensus, Reuters said. CFO Guilherme Lago pointed to faster credit expansion as the main reason profits came in light, saying that growth forced the company to build up provisions for potential bad loans.
Credit drove the story. Nu’s total credit portfolio climbed 40% on the year to $37.2 billion. The company reported its 15-to-90-day non-performing loan ratio moved up to 5.0%, from 4.1% the previous quarter, showing more early trouble. Later-stage 90-plus-day delinquencies slipped to 6.5%.
The company pushed back on bearish views. Lago said the bank isn’t “seeing any signs of asset quality degradation.” He told Reuters that Mexico was “beating Brazil” for growth, engagement and profitability. That business reached break-even for the first time. Sahm
Nu says Mexico gives it a new growth path outside Brazil, where it counts over 115 million customers. The company reported it passed 15 million customers in Mexico, making it the market’s No. 3 financial institution.
Banks and payments stocks traded mixed, not showing a clear Brazil selloff. Itaú Unibanco and Banco Bradesco ADRs each climbed, up 0.5% and 0.7%. PagSeguro bounced 3.4%. That points to Nu’s drop being driven mostly by questions around its earnings and credit story, rather than broad country risk.
The risk on the downside is clear. If Brazil consumer credit sours, provisions go up and risk-adjusted net interest margin doesn’t bounce back, loan growth could end up hurting earnings instead of boosting revenue. There’s also execution risk from U.S. expansion and AI infrastructure spending. Nu says first U.S. spending should keep to less than a point of its consolidated efficiency ratio across 2026 and 2027.
The stock isn’t acting like one that just broke a revenue record. Instead, it’s trading like a lender investors want to test. Up next: will buyers go with management’s line that the credit bump is seasonal, not the start of something bigger?
