The Smartest Growth Stocks to Buy With $100 Right Now

If you think $100 isn't enough to buy great growth stocks, think again. A $100 investment in Nvidia 10 years ago is worth more than $25,000 today. It won't be easy to identify the next Nvidia, but that's just an example to illustrate the power of investing. The earlier you start, the more you can give your money the chance to compound over time. If you have $100 to invest every month, you will be well on your way toward creating a powerful retirement portfolio.

SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) and Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) are two excellent growth stocks to consider if you have $100 to invest, whether as a one-time buy or for monthly investments.

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1. SoFi: Becoming a top-10 U.S. bank

SoFi has big ambitions of becoming a top-10 U.S. bank, and considering its growth rates as compared to traditional, large players, it could break into this exclusive group of banks.

Image source: Getty Images.

Adjusted net revenue rose in the 2025 first quarter by 33% year over year, driven by a rebound in the core lending business and skyrocketing financial services sales. Financial services sales more than doubled year over year, and this low-cost, fee-based segment is also driving robust net income, with a 299% increase in contribution profit and a 49% contribution margin, up from 25% last year.

SoFi has primarily been a lending company, having started out as a loan co-op for college students and graduates. While it still maintains that target market, it has expanded into a broad assortment of financial services and has a robust cross-selling strategy that generates higher engagement and revenue. Non-lending segments are growing faster, but as loan growth is accelerating again, they remain less than half of the total business. Lending segment revenue increased 25% year over year in Q1, and contribution profit was up 15%.

SoFi's all-digital business, with its easy-to-use interface, is attracting customers, especially from its young professional target base. These younger customers are using SoFi's platform to power their financial journeys, and as they increase their earnings and become more financially engaged, they're driving SoFi's growth. Membership increased 34% year over year in Q1 to a total of 10.9 million.

SoFi stock has been up and down as interest rates fluctuate, and that's to be expected as a bank. It's up 91% during the past year, and it's likely to thrive under improved economic conditions, offering shareholders incredible long-term potential.

2. Nu: Digital banking in Latin America

Nu is similar to SoFi, but it operates out of Brazil and also serves Mexico and Colombia. It's reporting rapid growth and rising profits, and it has ambitions to built out its platform and enter new markets. It's nowhere near done expanding in its home country of Brazil, and all these growth drivers should keep its business increasing comfortably for the foreseeable future and beyond.

It added 4.3 million customers to the platform in Q1 alone, reaching a total of 118.6 million. Those are still primarily in Brazil, where it already has 59% of the country's adult population as members. It has 11 million customers in Mexico and 3 million in Colombia, both regions where it has limited operations. It recently got approved to operate a digital bank in Mexico, and as it adds services in that market, it should enjoy accelerating growth.

Nu has a similar cross-selling and upselling strategy to SoFi. It offers many financial services, like credit cards and investing tools, and it has an engagement rate of 83%, indicating customer satisfaction. It also continues to increase its average revenue per active customer (ARPAC), implying that customers are buying more and higher-priced products. That's doubly impressive because that figure includes the new members, which could sometimes dilute the average revenue per user. Management said that played a role in the first quarter's growth, which was lower than usual. For the incumbent banks, ARPAC exceeds $40, and Nu's average was $11.20 in Q1.

Scale, technology, and efficient management are leading to lower costs and rising profitability. Costs have decreased by more than 80% over the past few years, and cost to serve was $0.70 in the first quarter. Net income improved from $378.8 million last year to $557.2 million.

Nu stock has been volatile over the past year as investors consider various factors affecting its business, such as high inflation in Brazil and a low exposure to tariffs because it's not a U.S.-based company. It's up 16% this year, and there's a huge opportunity for this stock to keep gaining.

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Jennifer Saibil has positions in Nu Holdings and SoFi Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.