Better Growth Stock: SoFi vs. Robinhood

Key Points

• SoFi has expanded its customer base and has impressive sales and earnings growth.

• Robinhood's trading platform is booming thanks to a surging stock market.

• While both stocks trade at a premium, Robinhood's shares are priced for perfection.

• 10 stocks we like better than SoFi Technologies ›

Optimism in the market and the U.S. economy's resilience over the past few years have resulted in a share price surge for some financial stocks. Two stocks that have posted impressive gains over the past three years are SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD), which have gained over 280% and more than 1,000%, respectively.

Both of these growth companies have carved out important niches in their respective markets, giving investors a unique way to invest in financial products. But of the two, which one is the better growth stock over the long term? Let's take a look.

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SoFi has rapidly expanded its financial services

SoFi's growth has been nothing short of impressive over the past few years. The company boasts 11.7 million members now, an increase of 34% from the year-ago quarter. That amount of growth doesn't just happen by accident and shows SoFi's management has successfully rolled out financial services that resonate with customers.

SoFi offers a variety of services, from personal loans to credit cards and bank accounts, and has attracted a loyal following among younger customers. The results financially speak for themselves, with sales rising 44% in the second quarter to $858 million and adjusted earnings skyrocketing 7 times to $0.08 per share.

Part of the company's success has come from its fee-based revenue, like credit card fees, which rose 73% in the quarter to $378 million. The company's financial performance was so strong in the second quarter that management raised SoFi's full-year revenue guidance to about $3.4 billion -- a 31% jump from 2024.

Robinhood is benefiting from a surging market

Robinhood has benefited from an explosion of stock-buying interest over the past few years. The company's easy-to-use trading app is popular among younger investors, and the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, along with stocks, in the app allows Robinhood to appeal to a wide group of investors.

It's easy to see just how popular Robinhood's platform is based on its Q2 results alone, in which revenue rose 45% to $989 million and earnings surged 100% to $0.42 per share. Much of these gains were fueled by Robinhood's transaction-based revenue, which rose 65% in the quarter and showed that investors are eager to continue using the app to invest.

What's more, Robinhood's funded customer accounts rose 10% in the quarter to 26.5 million, and the company's total platform assets nearly doubled to $279 billion. Both are indicators of Robinhood's impressive momentum.

Which growth stock is the better buy right now?

While Robinhood and SoFi are both growing at a healthy clip and attracting new customers, it's important to take a look at each stock's valuation, especially in light of their massive share price gains over the past few years.

SoFi's stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 50, which is expensive when compared to the S&P 500's average P/E ratio of 28. But it's still cheaper than Robinhood's P/E ratio of 56.

While Robinhood certainly has lots of momentum right now, its higher valuation and its astronomical share price gains over the past few years mean there's very little room for error. For example, despite Robinhood's strong quarter in which sales and earnings beat Wall Street's consensus estimates and users increased, its share price fell during the quarterly earnings call because investors didn't like some of the costs associated with the company's recent acquisitions.

Whenever a stock has gained so much in such a short time, investors can begin to expect near-perfection in its quarterly results. For that reason, and the stock's higher valuation relative to SoFi's, I think SoFi stock looks like the better buy right now.

Should you invest $1,000 in SoFi Technologies right now?

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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.