Nu Holdings Hits Record $1.1 Billion Profit as Delinquencies Edge Up
Latin America's digital banking giant posts a 31% jump in net income, but rising overdue loans signal a tougher credit environment.
American retail investors holding shares of the world's largest digital banking platform saw a complex picture of rapid growth and emerging credit risks this week. On November 12, 2026, New York-listed Nu Holdings—widely recognized by consumers and investors as Nubank—released its third-quarter financial results, delivering a massive headline profit that was partially offset by a rise in customer defaults.
The São Paulo-headquartered digital bank reported a record quarterly net income of $1.1 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, representing a 31% increase year-over-year on a foreign-exchange neutral basis. Gross revenue for the period scaled to a record $6.3 billion, a 37% jump compared to the same period in 2025. Under founder and CEO David Vélez, the branchless fintech has successfully converted its massive scale into immense profitability, posting a stellar 32% return on equity.
However, the rapid expansion of Nubank's credit book is testing the limits of its underwriting models in a high-interest-rate environment. The bank's credit portfolio grew 33% year-over-year to $41.6 billion, driven by aggressive expansions in credit cards and unsecured personal loans. This rapid lending pushed the company's 90-day non-performing loan (NPL) ratio up to 7.3% in the third quarter, compared to 6.9% in the preceding quarter.
Balancing Scale and Credit Risk
For global investors, the rise in delinquencies represents the primary risk to Nubank's highly profitable model. Because the bank funds its high-yielding loan portfolio using its own low-cost retail deposits—which rose 19% year-over-year to $47.5 billion—it enjoys an exceptional net interest margin of 22.5%. Yet, with nearly half of its profit structure directly exposed to consumer credit economics, any sustained deterioration in borrower solvency could quickly erode these margins.
Despite the credit headwinds, the bank continues to show remarkable operational efficiency. Its efficiency ratio improved to 19.3% in the third quarter, prompting management to lower its full-year 2026 efficiency guidance to a range of 19% to 19.5%. Nubank is also actively diversifying its geographic footprint, adding 3.7 million customers in the quarter to reach a global total of 143 million. While Brazil remains its core engine with nearly 120 million customers, the bank is growing rapidly in Mexico and Colombia, and recently launched initial digital banking products in the United States.
In your brokerage app
For retail investors tracking international growth through their brokerage accounts, Nu Holdings Ltd. is listed in New York on the NYSE under the ticker NU. The stock is also a prominent holding in emerging market and fintech-focused exchange-traded funds, such as the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF.
