CHYM vs SOFI: How Chime Financial, Inc. and SoFi Technologies Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
SOFI is the larger of the two ($21.04B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (20.08x forward earnings, beta 2.15). CHYM is the smaller challenger ($11.91B), priced similarly on forward earnings (19.41x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
CHYM vs SOFI: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | CHYM | SOFI | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $11.91B | $21.04B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 19.41 | 20.08 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 85% of range | 8% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 8.47 | 1.93 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how CHYM and SOFI affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CHYM and SOFI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CHYM and SOFI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Chime Financial, Inc. (CHYM) do?
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. It runs a mobile app that gives roughly 10.4 million active members a checking-style spending account, a savings account, a secured credit builder card, fee-free overdraft (SpotMe), early wage access (MyPay), small Instant Loans and, since 2026, a commission-free investing product (Chime Invest). The actual deposit accounts sit at two partner institutions, The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank, both small enough to be exempt from the Durbin Amendment's interchange caps. That exemption is the economic engine: Chime keeps a share of the interchange fee merchants pay every time a member swipes, which is why the company can charge no monthly fee, no minimum balance and no overdraft fee and still book an 89% gross margin. Payments revenue was about $430 million of the $670 million booked in the second quarter of 2026, with the remaining $240 million coming from platform-related products like MyPay and Instant Loans, and that second bucket is growing far faster (roughly 48% year over year against 17%).
What does SoFi Technologies (SOFI) do?
SoFi Technologies is a digital-first financial services company built around a mobile app that bundles lending, banking, investing, and credit cards, and it holds a national bank charter that lets it fund loans with lower-cost deposits. Its three reporting segments are Lending (personal, student, and home loans), Financial Services (checking and savings, SoFi Money, invest, credit card, and the Loan Platform Business that originates loans on behalf of partners), and the Technology Platform (Galileo and the Technisys core-banking stack, which provide payments and banking rails to other fintechs and brands). Total members reached roughly 14.7 million and total products about 22.2 million as of Q1 2026.
CHYM vs SOFI: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- CHYM drivers: Chime Prime lifting revenue per member; Platform products diversifying away from interchange.
- SOFI drivers: Member and product growth flywheel; Shift to fee-based, capital-light revenue.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The largest risk is regulatory and sits outside the company's control: Chime's economics depend on partner banks staying exempt from the Durbin Amendment's debit interchange caps, and any move to extend those caps to sponsor-bank arrangements would compress the majority of revenue quickly. For SOFI, soFi carries meaningful consumer-credit exposure, so a weaker economy or rising unemployment could lift charge-offs on personal and student loans and pressure earnings.
CHYM or SOFI: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CHYM if you believe its drivers more; SOFI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CHYM and SOFI guides.
CHYM vs SOFI: the full fundamentals
CHYM. Chime screens as a growth fintech rather than a bank, and the multiple reflects that: at roughly 4.5 times forward revenue and about 47 times forward earnings, it prices well above any deposit-taking institution and closer to a software company with mid-20s growth. The trailing price-to-earnings ratio is not meaningful because trailing net income is still marginally negative, distorted by stock compensation tied to the 2025 IPO. Investors comparing Chime to SoFi or Dave usually anchor on revenue multiples and ARPAM trajectory instead, since the reported margin structure (89% gross margin, 73% transaction margin) does not translate into bank comparables.
SOFI. SoFi trades at a clear premium to the consumer-finance industry, where forward P/E averages closer to 10x, reflecting expectations of continued 30-percent-range revenue growth. Full-year 2026 guidance points to adjusted net revenue of roughly $4.655 billion and adjusted EPS near 60 cents. The valuation embeds strong execution, so figures should be checked against the latest filings.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CHYM shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.46 billion, up ~26% year over year, q2 2026 revenue ~$670 million, up ~27%, with full-year 2026 guided to ~$2.73-2.75 billion, active members / arpam ~10.4 million (up ~20%), ~$260 average revenue per active member, adjusted ebitda ~$102 million in Q2 2026 (~15% margin), full year guided to ~$465-475 million; SOFI shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.9 billion, q1 2026 net revenue ~$1.1 billion (adj. +41% YoY), net income (ttm) ~$577 million, market cap ~$22 billion.
The bottom line: CHYM vs SOFI
CHYM and SOFI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CHYM and SOFI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how CHYM or SOFI fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Chime Financial, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CHYM fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between CHYM and SOFI?
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Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. SoFi Technologies is a digital-first financial services company built around a mobile app that bundles lending, banking, investing, and credit cards, and it holds a national bank charter that lets it fund loans with lower-cost deposits. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is CHYM or SOFI the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. SOFI is the larger incumbent; CHYM is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, CHYM or SOFI?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), CHYM trades at 19.41x and SOFI at 20.08x, so CHYM is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both CHYM and SOFI?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of CHYM vs SOFI?
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CHYM: The largest risk is regulatory and sits outside the company's control: Chime's economics depend on partner banks staying exempt from the Durbin Amendment's debit interchange caps, and any move to extend those caps to sponsor-bank arrangements would compress the majority of revenue quickly. Bank-as-a-service partnerships carry their own supervisory scrutiny, and Chime does not hold its own charter, so a problem at The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank becomes Chime's problem. Earned wage access rules have swung twice at the federal level and remain a patchwork at the state level, which makes MyPay's future treatment genuinely uncertain. GAAP profitability is new and thin (about $28 million on $670 million of quarterly revenue, with trailing twelve-month net income still slightly negative), so the valuation rests on forward estimates rather than a track record, and the stock trades near 47 times forward earnings. A consumer class action filed in April 2026 over a data breach that locked members out of accounts is pending, the chief financial officer departed on August 7, 2026, and the company cut about 10% of staff a week before reporting, all of which are execution questions rather than settled facts. Shares have moved more than 20% in a single session on results, so position sizing tends to reflect that volatility. SOFI: SoFi carries meaningful consumer-credit exposure, so a weaker economy or rising unemployment could lift charge-offs on personal and student loans and pressure earnings. The stock trades at a premium to consumer-finance peers (a trailing P/E in the roughly 40 range), which leaves little room for growth disappointment or margin compression. Technology Platform growth has at times been slower than hoped, and heavy reliance on lending revenue means interest-rate swings and funding costs matter. Regulatory scrutiny of fintech banking, competition from large banks and other neobanks, and execution risk on new partnerships round out the picture.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CHYM or SOFI; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.