São Paulo, May 20, 2026, 12:04 (BRT)
- Nu Holdings shares added around 2.3% in late-morning trading in New York. The stock ended Tuesday at $12.29.
- Nubank posted first-quarter revenue of more than $5 billion for the first time, with net income at $871 million, the company said last week.
- Credit is now the key issue. Growth is still strong, but loss allowances and early-stage delinquencies climbed.
Nu Holdings shares traded higher Wednesday, rebounding after last week’s earnings stumble. Investors weighed the digital bank’s record profit against increased credit-loss charges.
The stock gained roughly 2.3% to trade at $12.58. It touched $12.72 at the intraday high and $12.32 at the low. More than 21 million shares changed hands. Market value for the company sat around $60 billion, according to market data.
That’s important now as the focus shifts from growth to credit. Nu is still adding customers and growing its loan book fast. But investors are eyeing the riskier lending in Brazil and Mexico and whether it can drive profit without bigger losses.
Nu reported last week that first-quarter revenue topped $5 billion for the first time. Net income landed at $871 million and return on equity hit 29%. Customer count was over 135 million as of March, with more than 115 million in Brazil and around 15 million in Mexico.
Founder and CEO David Vélez put the focus this quarter on artificial intelligence and credit expansion. “We are not adding AI to banking, we are rebuilding banking around AI,” Vélez said. Nu’s AI Private Banker features now reach over 15 million monthly active users, he added. Nu International
Nu’s total credit portfolio jumped 40% from a year earlier to $37.2 billion, outpacing AI buzz in the market. Deposits climbed to $42.4 billion. The loan-to-deposit ratio came in at 58.3%, higher than the fourth quarter’s 49.1%.
Credit quality is showing stress. Credit loss allowances jumped 33% from the previous quarter to $1.79 billion. Risk-adjusted net interest margin dropped to 9.5% from 10.5%. Early-stage non-performing loans moved up to 5.0%.
Nu CFO Guilherme Lago told analysts on the earnings call the company isn’t making provisions due to a shift in the macro outlook. “Nothing has changed,” Lago said. He said Nu’s underwriting is based on the idea that “the future will be worse than the past.” Investing.com
But analysts kept asking about it. Tito Labarta at Goldman Sachs pointed to Nu’s “relative exposure to the lower income segment.” Jorge Kuri at Morgan Stanley said the disclosure on delinquencies, credit losses and expenses would let investors see more of the picture. Investing.com
Brazilian financial names traded higher as well. Shares of PagSeguro, Banco Bradesco, and Itaú Unibanco ADRs gained in U.S. trading. Some of Nu’s rise was likely due to better sentiment for the sector, not just buying focused on the company.
Nu’s growth comes with a catch: if loans grow faster than underwriting holds up, investors could stop rewarding customer growth and start worrying about losses. Its move into the U.S. brings a new factor. The company expects the upfront investment to stay under 100 basis points of its consolidated efficiency ratio in both 2026 and 2027.
Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 Class A shares on May 15 at a weighted average of $12.2401, a U.S. filing signed Tuesday showed. Sands now holds 162,150 shares, counting unvested restricted share units.
Nu is still trading far under its 52-week high of $18.98, even with Wednesday’s gain. The stock’s next move probably hinges less on Nubank’s ability to bring in new customers—something it’s kept up—and more on whether credit losses hold steady as the loan book expands.
