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Nubank

Three growth vectors, Long-term growth

Our mission is to fight complexity to empower people in their daily lives by providing accessible, affordable, and easy-to-use financial products
Nubank’s mission, annual report for 2025

Three growth vectors

Nubank began in Brazil in 2013 as a bank with no branches, then went to Mexico and Colombia. It now serves 139 million customers, and in September 2026 it launched in the United States. Its strategy has three growth vectors, built on what it calls a self-reinforcing model: more customers, more of each customer’s financial life, and a low cost to serve each one.

9:41100%

Grow the Nu ecosystem

138.9m

customers

83.5%

active each month

+13%

customers in a year

Grow the Nu ecosystem

Ecosystem01
  1. 1Customer acquisitionKeep acquiring customers through loyal customers who refer others, digital content, and targeted marketing.
  2. 2Share of financial livesTake a larger share of customers’ financial lives by growing with them, cross-selling, and upselling across their “Five Financial Seasons”.
  3. 3MarketplaceGrow a marketplace of partners’ offers, from retailers to insurance and travel, inside the Nu app.

Nubank had 138.9 million customers at the end of June 2026, up 13% in a year, and 83.5% of them were active each month.

Nubank launched Croma in July for its wealthier Super Core customers in Brazil.

Nubank opened in the United States in September 2026

Nubank had 138.9 million customers at the end of June 2026, up from 122.7 million a year earlier. Brazil is still most of them, and Nu became a bank in Mexico in August.,

  • 118mBrazilAlmost 118 million, most of the mass market; activity above 86%
  • 16mMexico16 million as of July, 16.5% of adults; a bank since August 2026
  • 5mColombiaMore than 5 million
  • NewUnited StatesLaunched 10 September 2026, through a partner bank
EquatorBrazilMexicoColombiaUnited States

Bubble areas are to scale with customers, placed at each country’s rough centre.

Each active customer brings in about $17 a month and costs about $1

Nubank earns about $17.1 a month from each active customer and spends about $1.0 serving them. Revenue per customer has grown faster than the cost to serve, and the efficiency ratio was 19.5% in the second quarter of 2026.

Revenue per active customer
$0.0
Cost to serve
$0.0

Monthly averages per active customer, in US dollars, in each quarter.

$17.1a month, Q2 2026

The ring is a full turn at the highest revenue; grey is the cost to serve.

Net income passed $1 billion in a quarter for the first time

In the second quarter of 2026 Nubank made $2.4 billion of gross profit, from lending, from the float on its deposits, and from fees, all three growing. Return on equity was 33%.

CreditFloat, on depositsFees41%34%25%
Gross profit of $2.44 billion in the second quarter of 2026, by source.
Net income, $ millions
637Q2 2025
871Q1 2026
1,061Q2 2026

Up 49% on a year earlier, the first quarter over $1 billion.

  1. Write the mission against an enemy.

    Nubank’s mission names what it fights, complexity, and what it offers instead: accessible, affordable, and easy-to-use financial products. We recommend naming what a plan is against as well as what it is for, so every team can test its work against both.

  2. Say which markets come next, and when.

    Nubank moved from Brazil to Mexico and Colombia, then filed for a US charter in 2025 and launched there through a partner bank in September 2026 while the charter is decided. We recommend a plan that names its next market and the step that gets there first.

  3. Measure the model, not just the growth.

    Each quarter Nubank reports revenue and cost to serve per active customer, $17.1 and $1.0 a month in the second quarter of 2026. We recommend reporting the unit a plan’s economics rest on, so growth that costs too much shows up early.

Sources

  1. 1. Nu Holdings Ltd. (2026). Annual report on Form 20-F for 2025. SEC filing, 8 April 2026. sec.gov
  2. 2. Nu Holdings Ltd. (2026). Nu Holdings Ltd. reports second quarter 2026 financial results. Form 6-K, 13 August 2026. sec.gov
  3. 3. Nu Holdings Ltd. (2026). Nubank to add a banking licence in Brazil through the acquisition of Banco Porto Real. Form 6-K, 20 July 2026. sec.gov
  4. 4. Nu Holdings Ltd. (2026). Notice to the market: operations in the United States and Nu Global. Form 6-K, 10 September 2026. sec.gov

Headwater is not connected with Nu Holdings or Nubank. Nubank, Nu, NuFormer, and Croma are trade marks of their owners. Updated 29 September 2026.

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