SoFi stock costs a lot… and may be worth it.
SoFi Technologies (SOFI -8.49%) stock tumbled 12.5% through 9:45 a.m. ET Tuesday despite beating on top and bottom lines in its earnings report this morning.
Heading into earnings, analysts forecast the online bank would earn $0.04 per share on $632.3 million. In fact, SoFi reported a profit of $0.05 per share, and its revenue exceeded expectations, at $697.1 million.
SoFi by the numbers
SoFi continued to post impressive growth in the third quarter, with members rising 35% year over year to 9.4 million, although revenue grew slower at 30%. CEO Anthony Noto called the company’s growth trends “durable,” and noted that Q3 “was the strongest quarter in our history.”
SoFi also noted increases in credit quality. Personal loan charge-offs declined 32 basis points to 3.52%, and delinquencies on personal loans fell 7 basis points to 0.57%. Both metrics should tend to boost profits at the company. Indeed, net interest income grew 25%.
Growth was fastest in the company’s financial services and tech platform segment, where sales rose 64% year over year. This segment now makes up nearly half — 49% — of SoFi’s business. And it’s apparently a very high-margin business for SoFi. Instead of losing $0.29 per share, as it did in Q3 a year ago, SoFi posted a $0.05-per-share profit this time around, its fourth straight quarterly net profit.
Is SoFi stock a buy?
Four quarters of positive profits, however, still leaves SoFi stock looking kind of pricey. In total, the company has racked up $0.12 per share over the past year. But relative to a stock price of almost exactly $10 per share, that works out to a P/E ratio of 83.
Is that a fair price?
Management says 2024 revenue will grow 22% or 23%, with membership rising 30%. Earnings will mimic the trailing-12-month number of $0.12 per share — but analysts see profits more than doubling to $0.25 per share next year. As strange as it sounds, paying 83 times earnings for a 100%-plus growth rate may actually make SoFi a cheap stock.
Rich Smith 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.
