Nubank, a Brazilian fintech company, presents a compelling yet complex investment case, described as operating outside the usual "Buffett playbook" despite Berkshire Hathaway's multi-year investment. Pitched as a digital bank, Nubank has achieved phenomenal growth, serving over 100 million customers, with 90 million in Brazil alone, representing 60% of the adult population.
Its success stems from a disruptive digital-first model in a market historically dominated by a few complacent, high-cost incumbent banks. These legacy institutions, often charging exorbitant fees and interest rates (e.g., 400% APR on credit cards), left a massive portion of Brazil's rapidly developing, highly online population unbanked or underserved. Nubank's founder, David Vélez, experienced this frustration firsthand, leading him to build a customer-centric alternative. The company started with fee-free credit cards, leveraging a regulatory loophole, and rapidly expanded into a full suite of banking services. A testament to its customer loyalty, when incumbents attempted to crush Nubank via regulatory changes, a widespread public outcry saved the company, cementing its position. Vélez himself has demonstrated dedication by sacrificing significant personal compensation to benefit the company, aligning with Charlie Munger's ideal of founders committed to their mission.
Nubank's primary competitive advantage is its extreme cost efficiency. As a digital-native entity, it operates without physical branches and with a fraction of the employees, leading to operating costs up to 85% lower than traditional peers. This allows it to offer more attractive products and pass savings to customers, fueling a powerful flywheel effect. The company also benefits from a data advantage, using customer insights to improve underwriting, and a strong brand reputation, with 80% of customer acquisition through word-of-mouth referrals. A unique Brazilian regulation also provides Nubank with a 30-day "float" on card transactions, further boosting its deposits and financing capabilities.
Future growth is eyed through geographic expansion into similarly large, underserved markets like Mexico and Colombia, where Nubank already has a significant foothold (9 million customers in Mexico). Vélez envisions a single, efficient multi-country platform with one codebase, allowing for low-cost expansion across Latin America. Product diversification, including offerings for higher-income segments like the Ultraviolet program and payroll finance, also provides runway.
However, significant risks accompany this rapid growth. As a fast-growing financial institution, there's concern about hidden risks in its loan book. Nubank's 90-day non-performing loan (NPL) ratio recently hit 7%, higher than the wider Brazilian banking sector's 5.5%, while loan loss provisions reportedly declined – a yellow flag. There's debate on whether Nubank is underpricing risk or simply addressing a previously ignored market efficiently. Other risks include currency depreciation (the Brazilian Real has halved against the USD since 2015), political interference, and potential commoditization as legacy banks improve their digital offerings or regulators cap interest rates (already done for credit cards at 100% APR).
Despite these risks, Nubank's financial metrics are outstanding: a 28% Return on Equity (versus 10-15% for global peers), a 17% Net Interest Margin (compared to a global average of 3-5%), and a relatively low Loan-to-Deposit ratio of 40% (suggesting conservative lending or ample room for growth). Average Revenue Per Active Customer (RPAC) also shows strong growth potential as customers deepen their engagement.
Valuing such a company is challenging. A higher 12% discount rate was used to account for emerging market, currency, and financial sector risks, along with a 25% margin of safety. Conservative growth and margin assumptions, coupled with a 22x exit multiple, led to a wide target buy range of $10-$12.50 per share. While current prices hover around the top of this range ($12.50), the estimated implied annual return at $11 is around 16%.
Given the wide range of potential outcomes—from spectacular success to a financial blow-up—a cautious approach is recommended. An initial small position (e.g., 2% of a portfolio) would allow investors to monitor its progress and deepen their understanding, potentially building the position over time. While acknowledging the potential for long-term commoditization, Nubank's significant growth runway over the next five to ten years makes it a compelling, albeit high-risk, opportunity.