SoFi Technologies (SOFI +2.36%) is making a name for itself in the competitive financial services industry. While investors might correctly view the market as being dominated by powerful mega-banks, this company has successfully found its place. It's an up-and-coming player that deserves attention from investors.
Should you buy this fintech stock, which has been hitting new all-time highs in recent months, while its price is below $30?
Shares aren't so cheap anymore
In the past six months, SoFi stock is up a whopping 132% (as of Sept. 29). The market is demonstrating just how bullish it has become on the digital banking powerhouse. SoFi's market cap sits at $33 billion. This makes the business more valuable than well-known companies like Estée Lauder, United Airlines, and Kraft Heinz. It's hard to believe SoFi isn't even 20 years old yet.
But the stock's huge run-up presents a possible issue for value investors. Shares trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 50.8. That multiple, which many investors use to gauge a stock's valuation, has expanded in the past six months. This won't present too enticing of a proposition for Warren Buffett-style investors, who care about buying at cheap prices. But there are reasons to remain optimistic about SoFi.
Members' needs are always first
It's such a basic principle. But businesses in any industry would benefit from obsessing over their customers. This is the simple playbook that has transformed Amazon into one of the world's most dominant and valuable businesses. And I believe SoFi operates with a similar DNA.
After adding 846,000 net new customers, which management calls members, to the mix in Q2 (ended June 30), SoFi now has over 11.7 million people on its platform. That's a nearly tenfold bigger user base than the figure exactly five years ago in the second quarter of 2020.
If a company is growing its customer count in a jaw-dropping manner like this, it's clearly succeeding. This growth has come in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, inflationary pressures, rapidly rising interest rates, tariff uncertainty, and now shifting monetary policy.
SoFi operates a digital-first model. By prioritizing the use of technology, which is one very obvious reason SoFi is winning over customers, it is able to provide a wonderful user experience. This isn't what you'd expect from a banking entity.
Innovation is also part of management's growth strategy. SoFi seems to always introduce new products and services to cater to its customers' needs. For instance, the company plans to enable cryptocurrency trading this year. And it's partnering with payments firm Lightspark to offer fast and cheap cross-border money transfers that utilize the Bitcoin network. This is a very forward-thinking move.
NASDAQ: SOFI
Key Data Points
Pay attention to SoFi's earnings trajectory
In the short term, changes to valuation can have a profound impact on stock returns. However, over longer periods of time, what really matters is how much a company's earnings grow. SoFi's thriving in this regard.
The company finally generated positive generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023. Since then, the bottom line has expanded at an impressive rate. SoFi reported adjusted net income of $227 million in 2024. And this year, executives believe that figure will reach $370 million. Should this trend continue, it makes the current valuation looks more compelling.
Wall Street analysts think SoFi's earnings per share will increase 138% between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2027. This seems like a wildly bullish outlook at first glance. However, when you consider the earnings trajectory SoFi has been on, it's not a crazy view to have. SoFi is showing that its digital model can scale up in a very profitable way.
It's a smart move for investors who can take on a higher degree of risk and have a long time horizon to buy SoFi below $30 per share.
