NU vs SOFI: How Nu Holdings and SoFi Technologies Compare (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
NU is the larger of the two ($65.10B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (11.62x forward earnings, beta 0.95). SOFI is the smaller challenger ($23.16B), actually pricier on forward earnings (22.21x): 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.
NU vs SOFI: 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 | NU | SOFI | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $65.10B | $23.16B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 11.62 | 22.21 | 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 | 20.60 | 40.12 | 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 | 0.95 | 2.15 | 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 | 28% of range | 18% 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 | 5.17 | 2.14 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: NU is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how NU 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. NU 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 NU 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 Nu Holdings (NU) do?
Nu Holdings is the parent of Nubank, a digital bank built entirely around a mobile app rather than branches. It earns money the way a bank does: net interest income from credit cards and personal loans, plus fees and interchange, increasingly funded by a large, low-cost deposit base. By March 2026 deposits had grown roughly 29% year over year to nearly $42 billion and the loan book had passed $30 billion, while the company kept its cost structure unusually lean, reporting an efficiency ratio under 18%. Growth comes from two levers stacked together: signing up new customers (over 135 million globally, with Brazil past ~115 million, Mexico past ~15 million, and Colombia approaching ~5 million) and raising how much each customer transacts and borrows over time.
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.
NU 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.
- NU drivers: Customer growth still compounding; Monetizing the existing base.
- 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 dominant risk is the consumer credit cycle. 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.
NU 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 NU 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 NU and SOFI guides.
NU vs SOFI: the full fundamentals
NU. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. NU trades at a premium to traditional banks on a P/E basis, which reflects its growth and high returns on equity rather than incumbent-bank multiples. The valuation already embeds continued customer growth and contained credit losses, so the figures matter most as a gauge of how much optimism is priced in.
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, 2026-06-26): NU shows revenue (q1 2026 quarterly) ~$5.0 billion, a record single quarter, customers ~135 million+ across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, net income (q1 2026) ~$871 million, a record first quarter, return on equity ~high-20s to ~30% (historical range); 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: NU vs SOFI
NU 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 NU and SOFI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Build a basket around NU with Walnut
Use Nu Holdings as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What is the difference between NU and SOFI?
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Nu Holdings is the parent of Nubank, a digital bank built entirely around a mobile app rather than branches. 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 NU or SOFI the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. NU is the larger incumbent; SOFI is the smaller challenger and looks pricier 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, NU or SOFI?
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On forward P/E (as of July 2026), NU trades at 11.62x and SOFI at 22.21x, so NU 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 NU 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 NU vs SOFI?
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NU: The dominant risk is the consumer credit cycle. Most of Nu's profit comes from unsecured lending in Brazil and Mexico, where inflation, currency moves, or a slowdown can push delinquencies up and force larger loan-loss provisions; 90-day-plus non-performing loans sat around 6.5% in Q1 2026, off a prior peak but still meaningful. Brazil's high Selic rate raises funding costs and has not fully repriced across the book. Because results report in US dollars, a weaker Brazilian real or Mexican peso drags reported revenue and earnings. Competition is intensifying as incumbents modernize and new neobanks enter, which can lift acquisition costs and pressure fees, and tighter fintech regulation across the region adds uncertainty. 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.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell NU or SOFI; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.