LC vs UPST: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
LC (LendingClub Corporation) and UPST (Upstart Holdings) share investment themes but are different businesses. The right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme.
LC vs UPST: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 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 | LC | UPST | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.22B | $2.63B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 8.35 | 8.15 | 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. |
| Trailing P/E | 12.81 | 66.93 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 1.97 | 2.27 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 75% of range | 6% 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 | 1.46 | 3.58 | 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 LC and UPST 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. LC and UPST 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 LC and UPST 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 LendingClub Corporation (LC) do?
LendingClub Corporation is a digital marketplace bank that built its business originating unsecured personal loans and then, through its 2021 acquisition of Radius Bank, added a deposit-funded balance sheet and a national bank charter. That hybrid model is the core of the story: the company can hold loans on its own books to earn net interest income, or sell them to banks and institutional investors through its marketplace to earn fee income, giving it a capital-light lever alongside a traditional bank. In 2025 it deepened its debt-management push by acquiring the technology behind Tally (alongside Pagaya) and the AI-powered spending-intelligence platform Cushion, feeding its DebtIQ experience.
What does Upstart Holdings (UPST) do?
Upstart Holdings operates an AI lending marketplace. Rather than holding most loans itself, it uses machine-learning models to assess borrower risk and then connects applicants with a network of bank and credit-union partners and capital-markets investors who fund the loans. The platform began in unsecured personal loans and has expanded into auto lending, home-equity lines of credit (HELOC), and small-dollar loans, positioning Upstart as a technology layer that aims to approve more borrowers at lower loss rates than traditional FICO-based underwriting. The company argues its model improves with more data, creating a feedback loop between volume and accuracy.
LC vs UPST: 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.
- LC drivers: Marketplace plus balance-sheet model; Originations growth and guidance.
- UPST drivers: AI underwriting accuracy and scale; Funding diversification.
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 central risk is consumer-credit quality: LendingClub's borrowers are largely unsecured personal-loan customers, so a weakening job market or rising delinquencies can push charge-offs and loan-loss provisions higher and compress earnings quickly. For UPST, upstart is highly sensitive to macro and interest-rate conditions: originations, fee revenue, and profitability can contract sharply when rates rise or credit tightens, as they did in 2022 and 2023.
LC or UPST: which should you pick?
LC vs UPST: the full fundamentals
LC. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting, especially since the company now reports and trades as Happen, Inc. under the ticker HAPN. For a lender, earnings quality hinges on credit trends, so watch charge-off and provision figures alongside origination growth. Improving results from a low base can make year-over-year growth rates look dramatic, so weigh the trajectory against where the consumer-credit cycle sits rather than headline percentage jumps alone.
UPST. Upstart's results are cyclical and volatile. Origination volume, fee revenue, and adjusted EBITDA can move dramatically year over year with interest rates, credit conditions, and funding availability, and the company swung from a 2024 loss back to profitability in 2025 before guiding to renewed growth in 2026. Its valuation reflects high expected growth, which makes the multiple sensitive to any slowdown. The stock has seen large drawdowns and rallies within a single year. All figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and move with results and the share price; verify current numbers before relying on them.
Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): LC shows revenue trend Total net revenue rose about 16% year over year in Q1 2026 to roughly $252 million, with net interest income at an all-time high, profitability Solidly profitable; Q1 2026 diluted EPS of about $0.44 more than quadrupled year over year as margin expanded and credit costs fell, valuation framing Trades in the low-to-mid $20s as HAPN, valued more on book value and forward earnings than a high growth multiple; sensitive to credit-cycle expectations, analyst sentiment Consensus leans Buy, with average 12-month targets clustered in the mid-$20s; verify live before acting; UPST shows revenue (q1 2026) ~$308 million, up ~44% year over year; FY2026 guidance ~$1.4 billion, origination volume (q1 2026) ~$3.4 billion, up ~61% year over year; ~425,000 loans, adjusted ebitda (q1 2026) ~$40.5 million (~13% margin); FY2026 guidance ~$294 million, net income (fy2025) ~$54 million, swinging back to profit from a loss in 2024.
The bottom line: LC vs UPST
LC and UPST 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 LC and UPST exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how LC or UPST 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 LendingClub Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how LC 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 LC and UPST?
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LendingClub Corporation is a digital marketplace bank that built its business originating unsecured personal loans and then, through its 2021 acquisition of Radius Bank, added a deposit-funded balance sheet and a national bank charter. Upstart Holdings operates an AI lending marketplace. 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 LC or UPST the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. 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, LC or UPST?
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On forward P/E (as of July 2026), LC trades at 8.35x and UPST at 8.15x, so UPST 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 LC and UPST?
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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 LC vs UPST?
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LC: The central risk is consumer-credit quality: LendingClub's borrowers are largely unsecured personal-loan customers, so a weakening job market or rising delinquencies can push charge-offs and loan-loss provisions higher and compress earnings quickly. Interest rates cut both ways, affecting funding costs, loan demand, and the value of marketplace loan sales; a sharp rate move or a pullback by loan buyers can slow originations. As a smaller bank, it faces regulatory, capital, and deposit-competition pressures against far larger institutions. The Happen Bank rebrand and recent acquisitions add execution and integration risk, and the move to Nasdaq under a new ticker can create confusion for holders. Results have been improving from a low base, so the market may already price in continued growth, leaving the stock sensitive to any guidance miss. UPST: Upstart is highly sensitive to macro and interest-rate conditions: originations, fee revenue, and profitability can contract sharply when rates rise or credit tightens, as they did in 2022 and 2023. Funding availability is a structural risk, since the marketplace only works if banks, credit unions, and capital-markets investors keep buying the loans it originates. Loans held on Upstart's own balance sheet expose it to credit losses and fair-value swings. The model's underwriting edge is unproven across a severe downturn, and a spike in unemployment or defaults could exceed its projections. Competition from other fintech lenders, banks, and incumbents is intense, and the stock has historically been extremely volatile, with large multi-month drawdowns and rallies.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell LC or UPST; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.