Morning Read: Nubank clears $1 billion as futures hold steady

Snapshot: 14 August 2026, 03:58–04:09 ET. U.S. index futures were close to unchanged: S&P 500 futures added 0.02%, Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.03%, and Dow futures slipped 0.09%. Oil supplied the stronger cross-asset move, while the official U.S. calendar offered no major BLS or BEA release today. Within the live portfolio universe, Nu Holdings delivered the clearest new company event: quarterly net income exceeded $1 billion for the first time.

Macro overnight

Asia finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.59% to 68,713.80, and Shanghai was nearly flat at 3,927.176, up 0.01%. Hong Kong moved the other way: the Hang Seng fell 1.09% to 25,119.25. Europe also lacked one direction in early trade. Germany's DAX rose 0.69% and the Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.15%, while the FTSE 100 declined 0.26%.

September WTI traded at $82.81, up 1.92% from its prior settlement. The U.S. Dollar Index eased 0.23% to 99.733. Gold was near $4,400; differing prior-close references made its point change less informative than the level. Cboe's delayed VIX reading was 14.64, virtually unchanged from 14.63. Together, those readings describe a quiet equity-volatility backdrop with firmer oil rather than a broad risk-off move.

The Treasury's official 13 August close put the 2-year yield at 4.15% and the 10-year at 4.63%, a positive 48-basis-point slope. The BLS schedule shows no release on 14 August; its next listed event is July import and export prices on 18 August at 08:30 ET. BEA likewise lists no release today; its next scheduled publications are the second Q2 GDP estimate and July personal income and outlays on 26 August at 08:30 ET. Rates and oil therefore provide the cleaner macro checkpoints before the opening bell.

Your tickers

NU: Nu Holdings reported 138.9 million customers at Q2's end, up from 135.2 million in Q1 and 122.7 million a year earlier. Monthly activity reached 83.5%. Purchase volume was $43.4 billion, up 6% sequentially and 16% year over year on the company's FX-neutral basis. The geographic base reached almost 118 million customers in Brazil, 15.8 million in Mexico and more than 5 million in Colombia.

Growth arrived with a larger balance sheet. The credit portfolio reached $39.4 billion, up 37% year over year and 5% sequentially, while deposits rose to $45.3 billion, up 18% and 6%, respectively. Credit quality was mixed: early-stage 15–90 day non-performing loans improved by 16 basis points to 4.8%, but 90+ day non-performing loans increased by 35 basis points to 6.9%. The combination makes funding growth and later-stage delinquencies as important as the profit milestone.

The report also showed operating leverage alongside continued investment. Monthly average revenue per active customer reached $17.1, versus $15.9 in Q1 and $12.5 a year earlier. The efficiency ratio was 19.5%, compared with 17.6% in Q1 and 21.3% a year earlier. That sequence suggests the platform is monetizing a larger active base, but quarter-to-quarter spending and international expansion can still move the cost ratio.

What to watch today

• 09:30 ET — market breadth: test whether nearly flat S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures translate into balanced participation after the cash open.
• NU reaction: weigh the first $1.0611 billion net-income quarter against the rise in 90+ day delinquencies to 6.9%.
• Oil and inflation sensitivity: WTI at $82.81 is the clearest overnight macro move even though no major BLS or BEA release is scheduled today.
• The curve: compare any equity move with the latest official 4.15% / 4.63% Treasury curve rather than reading index futures alone.
• Next data dates: July import and export prices arrive on 18 August at 08:30 ET; the second Q2 GDP estimate and July income and outlays follow on 26 August at 08:30 ET.

The morning setup is restrained at the index level but not empty. Oil is firmer, overseas markets are split, and Nubank has paired rapid customer and balance-sheet growth with its first billion-dollar profit quarter. For NU, the durable question is whether monetization and deposit growth continue to outrun funding costs and later-stage credit deterioration. This article is educational information, not personalized financial advice or an order recommendation.