NU (NYSE:NU) reported record third-quarter 2026 net income of $1.1 billion as customer growth and higher revenue per active customer helped lift gross revenue to $6.3 billion. The digital banking company also raised its full-year efficiency outlook while continuing to expand lending and invest in new markets.
Net income rose 31% from a year earlier, and gross revenue increased 37%, both on a foreign-exchange-neutral basis. Nu ended the quarter with 143 million customers after adding 3.7 million, while average revenue per active customer reached $18.
Founder, CEO and Chairman David Vélez said the company grew across its markets while launching Nu U.S. and Nu Global. The overall customer activity rate increased sequentially to 83.6%.
Nu said the financial metrics discussed on the call use its managerial profit-and-loss framework, which is not defined under IFRS. Unless otherwise noted, the company presented growth rates on a year-over-year, foreign-exchange-neutral basis.
Credit growth and rising delinquency
Nu’s consolidated credit portfolio reached $41.6 billion, up 33% from a year earlier and 6% from the preceding quarter. Credit cards accounted for $27.2 billion, unsecured lending for $11 billion and secured lending for $3.4 billion.
In Brazil, unsecured personal loan originations reached a quarterly record of 22.1 billion Brazilian reais, up 28% year over year. Vélez said September was the company’s strongest month for those originations.
Delinquency also rose on a total-portfolio basis. Loans 15 to 90 days past due represented 4.9% of the portfolio, compared with 4.8% in the second quarter, while the ratio of loans more than 90 days past due increased to 7.3% from 6.9%.
CFO Rob Livingston said part of the increase in headline delinquency reflected a shift toward interest-earning balances, where delinquency is concentrated. Those balances accounted for 61% of the portfolio, up from 59% in the previous quarter. Measured against the interest-earning portfolio, the 15-to-90-day delinquency ratio improved to 8.0% from 8.2%, while the 90-plus-day ratio rose to 12.1% from 11.6%.
The allowance for credit losses increased to $7.1 billion from $6.6 billion. Livingston said portfolio growth was the largest driver of the increase, while deliberate expansion into riskier segments added $135 million.
Reported risk-adjusted net interest margin declined to 12.1% from 12.4% in the prior quarter. Excluding a second-quarter benefit from the Desenrola program and a third-quarter charge on receivables acquired from payment institutions placed under extrajudicial liquidation, recurring risk-adjusted margin rose to 12.7% from 11.9%, Livingston said.
Livingston said he expected the underlying strength of risk-adjusted margin to continue into the fourth quarter. He declined to give guidance for 2027, noting that the first quarter typically has a higher seasonal cost of risk and that faster portfolio growth could require additional upfront provisions.
Efficiency outlook improves
Gross profit rose 35% to $2.6 billion, while net revenue reached $4.4 billion, up from $4.1 billion in the preceding quarter. Operating expenses were $846 million, producing an efficiency ratio of 19.3%, compared with 20.3% a year earlier.
Livingston said personnel costs were lower than planned as Nu hired carefully amid capacity gains from artificial intelligence and other factors. Some expenses, including costs associated with a new in-office working model, shifted into the fourth quarter, partly offset by higher technology costs.
The company expects its efficiency ratio to increase sequentially in the fourth quarter but now forecasts a full-year ratio of 19% to 19.5%, below its previous guidance of approximately 20%. It also expects its effective tax rate to settle in the low- to mid-20% range in 2027, after reaching 19.2% in the third quarter.
Expansion across markets
Brazil remained Nu’s largest market, with approximately 120 million customers and an activity rate of 86.3%. The company said its Croma offering for Super Core customers was approaching 1 million customers after launching in late July.
Mexico ended the quarter with 16.6 million customers, up 27% year over year, in Nu’s first quarter operating there as a bank. Vélez said the change increased deposit insurance coverage to approximately $195,000 per customer from about $12,000 and opened opportunities to offer payroll accounts.
In Colombia, customers increased 62% to 6.1 million. Vélez said Nu had 3 million credit cardholders in the country and was the largest issuer by number of cardholders.
Nu began rolling out its U.S. offering on September 10, including an account with a 3.5% annual percentage yield, fee-free transfers to Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and a credit card with no annual fee and unlimited 1.5% cash back. Nu Global, a multicurrency account built on stablecoin infrastructure, went live on October 15 and had customers in 37 countries, Vélez said.
Vélez said Nu would scale investment in the two initiatives as it validates product-market fit, unit economics and regulatory and risk requirements. Together, the initiatives remain within the company’s plan for an efficiency-ratio impact of up to 100 basis points in each of 2026 and 2027.
Asked about acquisitions, Vélez said Nu would consider opportunities but that its strong preference remained organic growth. The bar for a full acquisition would be “extremely high,” he said.
Nu plans to host its first Investor Day on December 8 to discuss its long-term strategy and growth opportunities.
About NU (NYSE:NU)
Nu Holdings Ltd., which operates under the Nubank brand, is a digital financial services company founded in Brazil in 2013. It provides banking and related services through mobile apps and other digital channels, with a focus on simplifying access to financial products. Its offerings include digital accounts, payment cards, credit products, personal loans, and investment services. The company also provides services to small businesses, with products and availability varying by country. Nu serves customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
