3 Reasons to Buy Nu Stock Like There's No Tomorrow

Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) lost some of its cachet when Berkshire Hathaway sold it off last year. However, it remains a top, market-beating stock with incredible long-term potential.

Nu stock is up 49% this year, and smart investors should continue paying attention.

Here are three reasons to buy Nu stock right now.

Image source: Nu.

1. It's adding customers at a high rate

Nu is an all-digital bank based in Brazil. It added 4.3 million customers in the 2025 third quarter and ended the quarter with 127 million customers, a 16% increase year over year. It already has 61% of the adult population in Brazil on the platform, and from here, it's expecting to grow revenue in this region by monetizing its clientele with more services.

However, the company still has tremendous opportunities in its newer markets of Mexico and Colombia. It has 13 million customers in Mexico, or 14% of the adult population, and it's already considered a market leader. In Colombia, it has nearly 4 million customers, or 10% of the population. These, including Brazil, are the three largest countries in Latin America by population, and Nu is taking a leading position in the digital banking revolution.

Its original premise was to capture the mass market, customers who have been closed out of the banking space because of high barriers to entry. It has moved on from there to capture market share in the affluent space as well. It already has a high overall engagement rate of 83%, including 85% in Brazil. That rate has remained high despite an influx of new customers, which could potentially dilute engagement.

Average revenue per user is increasing

The strategy is to cross-sell and upsell more products and services, creating long-term opportunities and recurring revenue. Nu just released two new credit cards to help customers build credit history, for example, and it announced new partnerships with Amazon and Sea Limited's Shopee app to use its NuPay product in their marketplaces.

Average revenue per active customer (ARPAC) continues to grow every quarter, an impressive feat considering how many new customers there are every quarter. It topped $13 for the first time in the third quarter, up from $11 last year and $5 in 2021.

The newer regions are scaling even faster than Brazil's fast rise. ARPAC was $13.50 in Brazil in the third quarter and $12.50 in Mexico.

As the company makes more money per customer, it's becoming extremely profitable. It operates a low-cost platform with no physical branches, already cutting out a huge expense for most banks. Its cost to service has remained stable at $0.90 in the third quarter. Gross profit increased 34% year over year in the third quarter to $1.8 billion, and net income increased 39% (currency neutral) to $783 million. Total revenue also increased 39%.

It's planning to open in the U.S.

Perhaps the most exciting new update for Nu is that it's making some early plans to eventually open in the U.S. It's taking a step-by-step approach to growth, beginning with conquering Brazil, which it has already done successfully, and then moving into monetizing its customer base and branching out into new regions where it's easy to scale its model.

The next step is expanding into new regions, and it has its eyes on the U.S. as a new frontier. It applied for a U.S. bank charter a few weeks ago, stating that it will help serve its existing customers better, and "in the future, connect with those who share similar financial needs and could benefit from our products and services."

That's great news for the company and its shareholders. As Nu scales and expands, it's demonstrating phenomenal performance, and it has years of growth still ahead.

Jennifer Saibil has positions in Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and Sea Limited. The Motley Fool recommends Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.