SoFi Jumps 11% as Lending Boom Drives Earnings Beat and Raised Outlook; Robinhood and Affirm Edge Higher

A record lending quarter and a raised full-year outlook are giving one of fintech’s hardest-hit stocks a sharp respite. SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI | SOFI Price Prediction) stock is at $16.11, up 11% in morning trading, a move that signals fresh confidence in the company’s lending-led growth story.

Meanwhile, Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) stock is at $95, up 2%, a gain that leaves it far behind SoFi. Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) stock is at $71.04, up 2%, another modest advance that pales next to the SoFi rally. That wide spread between SoFi and its two fintech neighbors marks this as a company-specific earnings reaction.

The ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (CBOE:ARKF) is essentially flat, so the enthusiasm around SoFi isn’t spilling into fintech broadly. Checking in on the broader market, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up 0.4%, a stronger showing than the fintech fund.

Record Lending Quarter Powers SoFi’s Beat and Raised Outlook

SoFi reported Q3 2026 results before the market opened, beating expectations on revenue and profit with its lending business doing most of the work. Its total loan originations reached a record, and its personal loan charge-off rate fell from the prior quarter, a combination that shows growth and credit quality improving together. Management also raised its full-year adjusted revenue and earnings per share outlook.

That raise stands out because SoFi’s original outlook for the year assumed interest rate cuts, and rates have risen instead. Lifting the targets against a tougher rate environment suggests the company’s lending growth is outpacing the drag. Chief executive Anthony Noto stated, “We are adding more members, who are using more products, and generating more revenue per product to create the most value for our shareholders over the long run.”

SoFi’s Lending Engine Sets It Apart From Robinhood and Affirm

SoFi runs a lending and investing app with a bank charter, and its lending business now supplies most of its revenue. This structure ties SoFi’s results directly to loan demand and credit quality, with much of that lending funded through consumer deposits at SoFi Bank. A quarter with record originations and lower charge-offs hits both drivers at once.

Notably, even after the jump, SoFi stock is down 38% year to date (YTD), a slide that gives a clean quarter extra weight. Noto went on CNBC’s Mad Money in September. He argued that rate uncertainty has weighed on the stock, saying, “When they’re not certain about where the interest rates are going, we get less credit for our fundamentals because it creates more uncertainty about the future.”

Robinhood stock is down 16% YTD, and Affirm stock is down 5% YTD, both softer declines than the SoFi slide. Affirm funds point-of-sale installment loans, while Robinhood runs a trading and investing platform. Neither company’s results turn on SoFi’s personal, student and home lending.

The ARK fund held Robinhood at 5.4% and SoFi at 2.6% of net assets as of its July 31 holdings report, yet the fund is barely moving. That quiet reading shows how narrowly the market is crediting SoFi’s quarter.

SoFi’s Lending Growth Meets Rising Rates

SoFi’s bull case rests on its lending engine growing while credit quality holds, even as rates rise, and its record originations, paired with a lower personal loan charge-off rate and a raised outlook, give that argument real support. Deposit funding through SoFi Bank adds another edge, since it costs less than warehouse facilities.

Skeptics see more risk in a lending-heavy model like SoFi’s, since it carries more balance sheet exposure if borrowing costs keep climbing. Higher rates could also pressure the returns SoFi earns on the loans it keeps on its own books, and a fast-moving stock can give back gains just as quickly.

The next test for SoFi is whether its loan growth holds as borrowing costs rise. Shareholders can watch for whether the company’s charge-off rate keeps improving in coming quarters. It may be wise to keep position sizes modest until the rate outlook for SoFi’s lending resolves.

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