131 million customers after adding 17 million in 2025, with an 83% activity rate and ARPAC rising to $15 (+27% YoY), indicating stronger engagement and monetization potential.
Using a new Managerial P&L, Nu reported Q4 $4.9 billion revenue (+45% YoY), $895 million net income (+50% YoY) and record 33% ROE, while its efficiency ratio improved to 19.9%.
Total portfolio reached $32.7 billion (+40% YoY) with deposits of $41.9 billion, Nu’s nuFormer AI is in production for credit decisioning and the company is preparing U.S. expansion after conditional OCC approval, but management warned 2026 will be an investment year that could temporarily pressure efficiency.
NU (NYSE:NU) executives highlighted strong customer growth, higher monetization, and record profitability during the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, while also outlining a 2026 agenda centered on core-market execution, groundwork for U.S. expansion, and broader use of artificial intelligence.
Founder and CEO David Vélez said 2025 “was a fantastic year” and pointed to continued momentum in Q4 as evidence of the company’s operating model. Nu ended the year with 131 million customers, adding 17 million net new customers, while maintaining an 83% activity rate.
Engagement and monetization improved, with ARPAC (average revenue per active customer) reaching $15, up about 9% quarter-over-quarter and 27% year-over-year, which management attributed to deeper monetization across the platform. Vélez also noted Nu’s ARPAC remains materially below incumbent competitors, which he said provides runway for additional cross-sell and product expansion.
CFO Guilherme Lago introduced a new Managerial P&L and related indicators, describing the change as a structural reorganization of IFRS line items intended to “enhance comparability and better reflect economic contribution.” He emphasized that the framework does not change net income, cash flow, equity, or regulatory capital and is fully reconciled to IFRS, with a detailed reconciliation report posted to the company’s investor relations site.
Gross profit of nearly $2.0 billion, up 38% year-over-year
Net income of $895 million, up 50% year-over-year
Record ROE of 33%
The company also reported an efficiency ratio of 19.9% under its updated methodology, falling below 20% for the first time. Lago said this reflected operating leverage, as net revenues grew faster than operating expenses even with typical fourth-quarter seasonality in marketing and transaction costs.
Nu ended the quarter with a total portfolio of $32.7 billion, up 40% year-over-year, driven primarily by credit cards and unsecured lending. Lago said credit card balances rose 12.2% quarter-over-quarter, marking the strongest quarterly growth since the end of 2023, supported by limit expansion in Brazil and typical fourth-quarter seasonality.
Unsecured lending surpassed $8 billion, with record originations of $4 billion in Q4. Secure lending grew 3.8% quarter-over-quarter, but management said changes to FGTS regulations reduced new originations by more than half, with limited impact on the outstanding portfolio due to longer loan durations. In Q&A, Lago said the new FGTS rules became effective Nov. 1, 2025, and the drop in FGTS originations had been “more than offset” by growth in public payroll lending; he also indicated that without the FGTS headwind, sequential portfolio growth would have been about 13%-14% rather than roughly 11% (FX neutral).
On funding, deposits reached $41.9 billion, up 29% year-over-year, with growth across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Lago said consolidated funding costs improved, with the cost of deposits declining to 87% of the interbank rate by quarter end. He attributed deposit dynamics to a mix of seasonality in Brazil and resumed growth in Mexico after third-quarter pricing and product adjustments.
Net interest income rose 13% quarter-over-quarter, driven by portfolio growth and improved funding costs, “especially in Mexico.” Credit loss allowance increased largely due to portfolio growth and accounting treatment, as provisions were described as mechanically higher due to front-loaded origination accounting even as underlying credit quality remained stable.
Lago also cited a one-time Mexico-related item: Nu recorded an extraordinary approximately $25 million contribution to PROSOFIPO (a sector-wide Sofipo deposit insurance fund), reflected in interest expenses. He said it was a “non-recurring regulatory levy” and “not a reflection of the credit quality or the financial health” of the Mexico operation. Risk-adjusted net interest margin ended at 10.5% and would have been “broadly stable” quarter-over-quarter excluding the PROSOFIPO contribution.
On delinquencies, Nu began presenting consolidated NPL metrics given its multi-country growth. Early-stage delinquencies (15-90 days) improved for the fourth consecutive quarter, declining 20 basis points to 4.1%. The 90+ day NPL ratio declined 10 basis points to 6.6%. Management said it typically expects a seasonal uptick in 15-90 day NPLs in the first quarter.
Vélez said Nu launched more than 100 products and features across markets during the year, with initiatives spanning payments, credit, and customer segmentation. He highlighted Pix enhancements with AI-enabled features, instant payments in Colombia, and expansion of Mexico’s cash-in/cash-out network to more than 30,000 physical points. On the technology front, Vélez said Nu’s foundation model, nuFormer, is in production for credit decisioning in Brazil and being tested for additional use cases, and that Pix with AI surpassed 10 million monthly active users.
In Q&A, Vélez characterized AI as both a disruption risk and an opportunity, arguing that business models primarily “moving bytes from point A to point B” face greater risk, while credit-oriented models may be more defensible due to capital intensity, regulation, and proprietary data. He also emphasized AI’s potential to raise ARPAC through cross-sell and to reduce costs in areas such as service, compliance, and anti-money-laundering processes.
For 2026, Vélez described an “inflection year” with three pillars:
Winning in core markets, with Brazil and Mexico receiving the majority of capital and management attention; in Mexico, finalizing the banking license process was described as critical to unlocking the next phase of credit growth.
Strengthening foundations for international expansion, including operational groundwork for the U.S. opportunity following conditional approval from the OCC for a national bank charter received in January.
AI as a “superpower,” including expanding nuFormer use cases and moving toward an AI-powered personal banker concept.
Management cautioned that 2026 will be an investment year that could pressure efficiency in the near term. Lago said expected upward pressure over the next 4-6 quarters would be driven by return-to-office preparation, increased AI-related hiring and computing investments, and spending to support global expansion. He estimated return-to-office could increase the efficiency ratio by 80 to 100 basis points, all else equal. Nu also recorded approximately $22 million of provisions tied to the transition, which becomes effective in mid-2026.
Finally, Lago reviewed one-off items affecting quarter results, including a $58 million positive impact from remeasurement of deferred tax assets following a CSLL rate increase in Brazil, as well as the PROSOFIPO levy and return-to-office provisions. He said the DTA remeasurement reduced the quarter’s effective tax rate, while noting that the underlying tax environment is expected to become a headwind starting in 2026 as corporate income tax rates for fintechs rise.
Nu ended the quarter with $8.9 billion of total capital at the holding level, including $3.0 billion as unrestricted cash and equivalents at Nu Holdings. Lago said available funding of $38.8 billion represented about twice the company’s $19 billion net credit portfolio, providing headroom to scale credit while pursuing balance sheet optimization.
Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NU), commonly known by its consumer brand Nubank, is a Latin American financial technology company that provides digital banking and financial services through a mobile-first platform. The company’s core offerings include no-fee digital checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payments and transfers, and a range of savings and investment products. Nubank emphasizes a streamlined customer experience delivered via its smartphone app, combined with data-driven underwriting and automated customer service tools.
Founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, Nu grew rapidly by targeting underbanked and digitally savvy consumers in Latin America with low-fee, transparent products.
