3 Catalysts That Could Send Nu Stock Soaring This Year

Nu is getting full bank charters in Brazil and Mexico, enhancing its capabilities while providing greater stability.

It's using AI to identify good borrowers without increasing risk.

Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) is an exciting digital bank based in Brazil. Although the stock soared last year, it's dropped in 2026 and is down 22% year to date.

However, it might have bottomed out for the year, and it has several tailwinds that could send it higher. Here are three catalysts for Nu stock in 2026.

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Nu operates a financial app in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. It has 135 million users as of the end of the first quarter, 115 million of them in its home country, Brazil, where it's the largest private financial institution. It has become popular among mass users who are often closed out of the banking system in Brazil, which has high barriers to entry. It has released several products targeting more affluent consumers, and that segment is also growing.

It has achieved this level of engagement and popularity, with more than half of the adult population in Brazil using the platform, without a full bank charter. Instead, it has operated as a payments, credit, financing, and investment company. Obtaining a full bank charter, which it has applied for, will let it offer more products and achieve greater stability, as it can operate all of its services under one umbrella instead of applying for various licenses and permits in different areas. Since it's getting closer to saturation among new users, this opens up an opportunity to cross-sell and deepen engagement with its existing user base.

It's also getting a bank charter in Mexico, where it still has just a fraction of the adult population at 15 million users.