What happened
The stock market was having a generally weak day on Wednesday, with all three major market indexes firmly in negative territory. However, fintech lender Upstart (UPST 5.51%) was a big exception. As of 10:30 a.m. EDT, Upstart's stock price had risen by more than 12% for the day.
So what
Since we're in the middle of earnings season, it probably won't come as a surprise that Upstart's latest results are responsible for today's move.
Image source: Getty Images.
To put it mildly, Upstart's key figures from the first quarter look very impressive. Revenue of about $121.4 million grew by 90% year over year and beat expectations by more than $5 million. Upstart's bank partners originated 169,750 loans on the fintech company's platform during the quarter, totaling $1.73 billion. This was more than double the partner originations in the first quarter of 2020. Conversions on interest rate requests increased sharply to 22% from just 14% a year ago.
In addition, margins were significantly improved from a year ago, and the company's adjusted earnings of $0.22 per share was higher than analysts had been expecting. And for the second quarter, Upstart is expecting revenue to grow by an impressive 28% sequentially. For the full year, the company increased its revenue guidance from $500 million to $600 million.
Now what
With results like this, it's not difficult to see why shares are reacting so positively. However, with Upstart just getting started in the massive auto lending space, it's entirely possible that the most exciting chapters in the company's growth story are still ahead of it.
