A Brazilian fintech simply leapfrogged the nation’s oil champion. Nubank’s market worth has climbed to roughly $77.3 billion, edging previous Petrobras at about $74.7 billion and putting Nubank second in Latin America behind MercadoLibre (round $115.7 billion).
The swap displays a easy, telling shift: buyers are paying extra for companies constructed on software program, information, and client belief than for these tied to commodity cycles.
As of late October, Nubank’s shares are up greater than 50% this yr; Petrobras is down greater than 17% amid oil-price swings and debate over dividends and funding plans.
The story behind the story is adoption at huge scale. Nubank now serves 122.7 million clients throughout Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, with an exercise price close to 83%.
It reported quarterly web earnings of $637 million and an adjusted return on fairness of about 31%, supported by a mortgage e book close to $27.3 billion and deposits round $36.6 billion.
Brazil stays the bottom—with greater than 60% grownup penetration—whereas Mexico has handed 12 million clients and Colombia has roughly 1.4 million energetic bank cards, round 10% grownup penetration.
These usually are not vainness metrics; they underpin decrease prices, quicker product rollouts, and a widening moat in day-to-day banking.
Nubank’s U.S. Push Marks Latin America’s Shift From Rigs to Apps
There can be a frontier. Nubank has utilized for a U.S. nationwide financial institution constitution, a course of that may take months and even years. If accepted, it may serve clients nationwide beneath federal oversight, however the United States is a crowded market the place buying customers is pricey.
The query now’s whether or not Nubank can prolong its development with out compromising credit score high quality, particularly in newer markets, and whether or not U.S. regulators will grant the license.
For outsiders making an attempt to learn Latin America, this crossover issues. It alerts a area much less beholden to grease booms and extra pushed by client know-how that cuts charges, raises transparency, and widens entry to credit score.
In quick: the middle of gravity is transferring from rigs to apps—and households and small companies stand to learn first. All figures above are primarily based on publicly reported firm information and broadly used market valuations; nothing right here is fabricated.
