New York, Feb 26, 2026, 12:29 (EST) — Regular session
- Nu Holdings slid roughly 8% in New York after the company released its Q4 numbers the previous day.
- Nubank posted its highest-ever quarterly revenue alongside a jump in profit. Still, analysts pointed to rising costs and a bump in the tax rate as areas to watch.
- Credit losses, cost controls and that earnings update coming up May 14 are now in focus for investors.
Nu Holdings dropped roughly 8% to $15.31 on Thursday, as investors unloaded shares despite the Nubank parent posting a strong fourth-quarter profit jump.
Nu’s retreat is notable; the company has emerged as a key gauge for Latin American fintech stocks, and hopes have tracked its expanding user base and improving profits. But when a high-flying name stumbles, traders start zeroing in on the numbers that can move quickly—costs, tax charges, credit losses.
Nu occupies a slice of the market that’s unusually sensitive—minor changes in how borrowers act can flip the outlook. The company’s core remains credit cards, and that line shines until delinquencies start inching up and provisions begin to bite.
Nu posted net income of $895 million for the fourth quarter, with revenue landing near $4.9 billion. The company ended 2025 counting 131 million customers. Return on equity came in at 33%.
The company put monthly average revenue per active customer (ARPAC) at $15, with the monthly cost to serve each active customer around $0.8. The reported 90+ day non-performing loan (NPL) ratio landed at 6.6%. Credit portfolio? Up to $32.7 billion. Risk-adjusted net interest margin—what the firm makes on loans after accounting for funding and loss costs—came in at 10.5%.
Chief Financial Officer Guilherme Lago credited the boost in profit to a bigger customer base, higher revenue per active customer, and steady serving costs. “This brings positive leverage to revenue,” Lago said in an interview with Reuters. JPMorgan analysts, however, highlighted a lower-than-expected tax rate, while over at Citi, analysts argued that cost of risk and operating expenses “mud the picture.” Shares dropped 5.5% in post-market trade Wednesday, after a session marked by swings both ways. On the call, CEO David Velez noted the U.S. banking market remains a tough landscape, even as Nu pushes ahead with its entry plans. Reuters
Nu’s been adjusting its financial disclosures too. In a separate filing, the company rolled out an independent limited assurance report covering its new “Managerial P&L” reconciliation process—a move Nu says should make its numbers easier to compare as it grows.
This isn’t just a one-off quarter driving the selloff. Investors are weighing if the bump in profits holds up after tax and cost impacts settle out—and questioning whether the credit cycle remains calm with loan growth picking up.
Here’s the risk: as the loan portfolio grows, credit losses could climb, or perhaps costs could still outpace revenue, scale or not. In both cases, the “operating leverage” argument propping up the valuation comes under threat.
The real test comes May 14. That’s when Nu posts first-quarter results and fields questions on the investor call, per its IR site. Credit costs, expense growth, and how fast the business is scaling—those are set to be in focus.
