SoFi Technologies (SOFI) has rapidly become one of the most polarizing stocks on Wall Street. Ask ten analysts for an opinion, and you may hear everything from emphatic buy recommendations to urgent calls to sell. Today, the investment community remains sharply divided, with no clear consensus on how to value this digital banking disruptor.
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Despite a double-digit pullback over the past month, the stock is still up nearly 73% year-to-date. For long-term investors willing to tune out short-term volatility, this turbulence may present an intriguing entry point—especially given SoFi’s recent streak of consistent, market-beating earnings.
At the heart of the valuation debate is a simple question: What exactly is SoFi? Is it a traditional bank deserving of a more conservative multiple, or a high-growth fintech platform worthy of a premium? Increasingly, the evidence points to the latter. SoFi has evolved well beyond its origins in student loan refinancing to become a full-fledged “financial super app,” and its key performance indicators suggest the company’s growth story is still in its early chapters. I remain stoutly bullish on SOFI despite its biggest selloff since January.
The Unstoppable Membership Machine
To understand the bullish thesis for SoFi Technologies’ stock, one needs only look at its user base. SoFi has successfully transitioned from a niche lender into a primary banking destination for millions of Americans. The company has reported record member counts for 27 consecutive quarters, a streak that speaks to the durability of its business model.
Between 2019 and September 2025, membership grew nearly eighteenfold. In Q3 2025 alone, SoFi added nearly a million new users, pushing its total unique member count past 12.6 million. This represents a staggering 34.8% year-over-year increase in user base. The following chart illustrates SOFI’s relentless member growth trajectory.
The financial services firm’s growth trajectory is more than a vanity metric because new members bring their money with them, exponentially expanding the business’s size and depositor base, enhancing client diversity, and improving earnings quality.
Since obtaining its banking charter in 2022, SoFi has amassed $33 billion in customer deposits. This is a critical competitive advantage because deposits provide a low-cost funding source for the growing loan book. While competitors like Ally Financial (ALLY) have struggled to realize significant direct deposit growth recently, SoFi is accelerating.
To be fair, SoFi’s $33 billion deposit base is still a tiny footprint compared to a mature Ally Financial’s $143 billion in deposits. However, this growth dynamic creates operating leverage, and SoFi’s revenue may grow faster than its expenses, supercharging its profitability.
SoFi’s Profitability and the Valuation Conundrum
The biggest weapon the bears use against SoFi stock is valuation. Critics may point out that SoFi trades at a forward Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of roughly 45x and a Price-to-Book (P/B) multiple of 3.6x. For context, the P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its net assets, and traditional banks usually trade at a multiple of roughly 1.2. By these valuation metrics, SoFi stock looks incredibly expensive and perhaps due for a correction.
However, valuing an online bank like SoFi as if it were a traditional brick-and-mortar bank misses the big picture. A more accurate comparison might be the Credit Services industry, where stocks often trade at average multiples of 4.8x due to their higher growth profiles. Viewed through this lens, SoFi’s 3.6x multiple actually looks discounted.
Most noteworthy, SoFi is just getting started on its earnings journey, and its accelerating margin expansion commands a premium valuation. SoFi turned GAAP profitable in 2024 and has now marked eight consecutive quarters of positive earnings. In its latest update, SOFI’s adjusted EBITDA margins hit 29%, up significantly from just 3% in 2021. Investors paying a premium today are pricing in an earnings growth outlook of nearly 60% for 2026. If SoFi hits those targets, the current valuation will look cheap in hindsight.
Navigating Risks and the Crypto Wildcard
The market’s skepticism surrounding SoFi stock is not entirely baseless, though. Traders have shorted roughly 9% of the bank’s float, betting that it will ultimately fall. Their primary concern is the macroeconomic environment. With interest rates forecast to decline, there is fear that SoFi’s net interest margin, which is the difference between what it earns on loans and pays on deposits, could shrink. SoFi’s aggressive customer-deposit growth strategy includes offering higher deposit interest rates, and its margins are already thin. Operating expenses are creeping up, too, especially in sales and marketing, according to TipRanks data.
There is also this question of credit quality. Bearish investors worry that SoFi’s rapid loan growth exposes it to consumers who might default if the economy sours. However, recent data contradicts this narrative. The 90-day delinquency rate on personal loans, at 0.43% in September, is significantly down from peaks seen earlier in the year. Provisions for credit losses were also considerably lower on a year-over-year basis. The bank’s credit quality remains resilient despite the bears’ warnings.
Looking ahead, SoFi has introduced a massive differentiator by becoming the only nationally chartered bank to offer direct crypto trading to consumers as of late 2025. This move creates a new revenue stream and solidifies its brand with younger, active investors. While this adds an element of volatility associated with crypto markets, it also serves as a unique customer acquisition tool that traditional banks simply cannot match, at least for now.
Is SoFi Technologies Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
SoFi Technologies stock attracts a Hold rating on Wall Street based on 16 top-tier analysts tracked by TipRanks. All in all, analysts have provided 5 Buys, 7 Holds, and 4 Sell ratings issued within the past three months. The average analyst stock price target of $27.21 implies ~2% downside over the next twelve months.
SOFI Emerges as a Volatile Fintech With Long-Term Upside
SoFi Technologies is a nuanced investment that requires looking well beyond traditional banking metrics. While its valuation appears lofty compared to legacy financial institutions, the company’s recent 38% revenue growth and rapidly expanding operating margins help justify the premium. For long-term investors like myself, the combination of accelerating member growth, improving profitability, and a steady cadence of innovative product launches makes SoFi a compelling—if volatile—growth opportunity worth considering for long-term portfolios.