Nu reports USD1.1 billion profit; credit quality remains the test

A bigger profit, with a credit-quality caveat

Nu Holdings released third-quarter results on November 12 for the period ended September 30, 2026. The digital bank reported net income of USD1,091.6 million, versus USD782.7 million a year earlier; its headline 31% growth rate is currency-neutral, not the change between those reported dollar amounts. The distinction matters when exchange rates move. Company release; filed presentation.

There is also more than one revenue number. The presentation shows USD5,820.4 million of IFRS revenue and USD6,258.5 million under management’s complementary, non-IFRS presentation. The latter is the roughly USD6.3 billion gross-revenue headline, up 37% currency-neutral; it should not be relabelled as IFRS revenue or compared directly with a differently defined estimate.

What drove the quarter

Nu added 3.7 million customers during the quarter, taking its global total to 143 million. Its credit portfolio reached USD41.6 billion, up 33% year over year on a currency-neutral basis, while deposits reached USD47.5 billion. Those figures describe a larger lending and funding base, not a guarantee that every new loan will be repaid.

The efficiency ratio, which compares operating expenses with Nu’s defined income base, improved to 19.3% from 20.3% a year earlier. Management now expects 19%–19.5% for full-year 2026, versus its previous expectation of around 20%. Some expenses moved into the fourth quarter, so the improvement is not simply a permanent cost reduction; Nu expects a sequential increase in that ratio in Q4.

• Growth driver: a larger customer base and expanding credit portfolio supported the business.
• Cost driver: operating leverage helped, but expense timing also supported this quarter.
• Comparison rule: currency-neutral growth and managerial revenue are supplemental measures, not substitutes for reported IFRS figures.

Credit is the counterweight

The share of the portfolio more than 90 days overdue rose to 7.3% from 6.9% in the previous quarter. Early delinquency, covering 15–90 days, rose to 4.9% from 4.8%. These are different buckets, and a larger late-delinquency ratio is a reason to examine credit costs rather than treating customer growth alone as the investment case.

The margin picture needs the same care. Reported risk-adjusted net interest margin fell to 12.1% from 12.4%, but the company says the measure excluding non-recurring items improved to 12.7% from 11.9%. Both are annualized margins, not quarterly investment returns; neither version should be selected in isolation to make the quarter look uniformly better or worse.

The stock-market baseline

NU closed the November 12 regular session at USD11.83, down USD0.49, or 3.98%, from November 11. Yahoo’s saved daily snapshot showed 58,495,495 shares, about 0.68 times the preceding 20-session average of 85,730,065. These retrieval-bound figures may be revised; no after-hours price is being presented as a settled earnings verdict. NU market data.

Other Brazil-linked financial stocks also fell during the regular session: Itaú Unibanco’s US-listed shares lost 2.38%, and StoneCo lost 1.66%. They provide sector context, not identical business comparisons or evidence of a single cause for NU’s move. The chart deliberately separates that daytime tape from the newly released financial results. Itaú data; StoneCo data.

What it means for option sellers

Cboe displayed 30-day implied volatility of 53.50% in a delayed snapshot retrieved at 19:11 ET on November 12. Its equity fields mixed regular-session changes with a later price, so that snapshot is not an executable post-results stock or option quote. IV rank was not independently established, and no claim of an earnings-related volatility collapse is warranted. Cboe snapshot.

A cash-secured put brings an obligation to buy shares if assigned; a covered call caps the upside on shares already held. For a wheel strategy, a lower share price after assignment remains a real economic risk, even if another call can be sold. A USD11 put and USD13 covered call are educational strike illustrations only, with no validated premium, expiry or entry recommendation. Put mechanics; covered calls.

• Risk: rising delinquencies can increase the cost of growing the loan book.
• Review plan: compare subsequent credit costs with both reported and recurring margins.
• Contract check: rebuild live prices, spreads, collateral and the next confirmed earnings date before evaluating any expiration.

What to watch next

November 13 brings October US producer-price data at 8:30 a.m. ET, a macro checkpoint for rates-sensitive equities rather than a Nu-specific forecast. October US consumer prices, released November 10, rose 0.4% month over month seasonally adjusted, or 0.3% excluding food and energy. Those monthly rates are not annual inflation rates. BLS calendar; CPI release.

For Nu, the next quarterly earnings date was not confirmed in the sources checked. The next results should test the full-year efficiency outlook, fourth-quarter expense timing and whether overdue loans stabilize. No future result or post-announcement share-price direction is assured.

Photo: archival São Paulo skyline and Ibirapuera Park pond, not Nu’s premises or today’s event. “[2006] Sao Paulo Skyline” by Diego Torres Silvestre, via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons, is used under CC BY 2.0; JPEG recompression only.