Nu Holdings (NU 0.23%) has established a dominant foothold in Brazil thanks to its rapidly growing customer base. The company leverages its digital banking model to disrupt incumbents and bring banking to millions of unbanked or underbanked citizens across the region.
Nu isn't stopping there. Its growth is picking up across Latin America, targeting underserved markets where legacy systems lag and mobile-first adoption is accelerating. Here are five reasons why Nu Holdings is a solid buy today.
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1. It has a dominant position in Brazil
Nu is the largest digital bank in Latin America, boasting nearly 123 million customers. The bank has established a particularly strong presence in Brazil, where it first introduced its product.
Taking on what some called a banking cartel, Nu has focused on financial inclusion, targeting the Latin American market where 96 million adults across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia were collectively unbanked as of 2024.
In early 2020, Nu had 23.5 million customers in Brazil. Today, the fintech boasts over 107 million customers in the country, or about 60% of Brazil's total population.
2. It looks to grow across Latin America
While Nu has established a significant presence in Brazil, it is still in the early stages of developing a large-scale retail banking platform in Mexico and Colombia. As of the second quarter, Nu had surpassed 12 million customers in Mexico and another 3.4 million in Colombia.
In April, Nu Mexico Financiera received regulatory approval to begin the process of converting into a bank. It had been operating as a Popular Financial Society (SOFIPO), which enabled it to offer basic financial services, including deposit accounts and personal loans.
With its upgraded banking license, Nu will have an opportunity to expand its portfolio of credit and other financial products in Mexico, including payroll loans and higher deposit limits.
3. It operates a low-cost business model and is profitable
Nu operates its bank as a fully digital, cloud-based platform without any physical branches. This eliminates the need for real estate, maintenance, and the other aspects of managing a physical branch. This structure allows it to scale and pass on benefits to customers and investors.
The model is efficient, evidenced by Nu's customer-to-employee ratio of approximately 13,400 customers per employee, which is multiple times higher than the average of incumbent banks in Brazil (1,100 customers per employee).
The company is also turning a profit. In the second quarter, its net income reached $637 million, up 42% year over year (foreign-exchange neutral), marking the highest quarterly result in Nu's history. This profit has almost tripled in the past two years and comes as the company continues to invest heavily in growth.
NU Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts
4. Its large scale allows for cross-selling opportunities
Nu built a powerful multi-product growth engine. As of last year, the average number of products per active customer had reached 4.1, demonstrating the success of the cross-selling strategy. Its strategy has been to launch sequential products across what it calls the "Five Financial Seasons" (spending, saving, investing, protecting, and borrowing).
It is also expanding beyond core financial services and providing platforms for cross-selling, further broadening the overall addressable market. This journey includes ventures into verticals like Nu Marketplace, NuTravel, and NuCel (mobile coverage).
5. Global tailwinds in digital financial services should benefit it
Nu has disrupted banking in Brazil and has its sights set on other regions in Latin America. This trend is fueled by a young population, a growing middle class, and high rates of smartphone adoption, especially in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Looking further down the road, Nu aims to expand its global presence. The company has taken important steps by building a strong foundation to support global-scale products and services. This requires a proprietary core banking platform that allows launches in new countries with relatively low investment. Positive tailwinds could persist, as forecasts indicate that global smartphone penetration could reach 92% by 2030, up from 76% in 2022.
Nu has done an excellent job of growing across Latin America and is pursuing additional growth avenues across various products and regions. With its strong foundation and aggressive growth strategy, Nu looks like a solid growth stock to add today.
