Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $296.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.54 million. Upstart had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Upstart’s conference call:

• Founder-led succession announced: Paul Gu will become CEO on May 1 with Dave Girouard shifting to Executive Chairman and several senior leadership moves (new CFO Andrea, Grant as CTO, Sanjay as President & Chief Capital Officer), signaling an orderly, continuity-focused transition.
• Strong 2025 financials and profitability: Upstart delivered >$1.0B in total revenue (up 64% YoY), full-year net income of $54M and Adjusted EBITDA of $230M (22% margin), with Q4 revenue ~$296M and net income ~$19M.
• Rapid product expansion and de‑risking of the balance sheet: Auto and home originations accelerated (auto +340% YoY, home +350% YoY), ~70% of Q4 funding for those products came from third parties, and loans held on the balance sheet fell ~20% sequentially as external capital relationships scale.
• Tech and data moat strengthening: Rolled out Model 24/25, crossed 100M borrower repayment events, and reported material gains in separation accuracy, automation and verification (e.g., 24% more channel originations, 0.8% lower defaults), reinforcing their proprietary AI advantage.
• Guidance and margin strategy: Management targets ~35% CAGR for 2025–2028 and 2026 revenue of ~$1.4B with ~21% Adjusted EBITDA, while warning contribution margins will intentionally moderate as the company prioritizes larger secured markets and customer lifetime value for long-term growth.

Upstart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPST traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.68. The company had a trading volume of 9,760,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,022,015. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 73.05 and a beta of 2.38. Upstart has a twelve month low of $29.61 and a twelve month high of $89.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.95 and its 200-day moving average is $52.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Upstart in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Upstart from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Upstart from $80.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upstart presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upstart

In other news, CFO Sanjay Datta sold 13,624 shares of Upstart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total value of $498,365.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 284,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,398,962.40. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Natalia Mirgorodskaya sold 762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.91, for a total transaction of $29,649.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 26,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,146.18. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 16,707 shares of company stock worth $633,080 over the last ninety days. 16.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Upstart by 29.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Upstart by 5.3% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 0.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Upstart by 20.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

About Upstart

Upstart Holdings, Inc operates a cloud-based lending marketplace that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess borrower creditworthiness. The company partners with banks and credit unions, providing its proprietary AI models and underwriting platform to facilitate consumer credit products. By focusing on non‐traditional data points—such as education, employment history and other real‐time indicators—Upstart seeks to improve approval rates and lower loss rates compared with conventional credit scoring methods.

Upstart’s core offering centers on unsecured personal loans, which borrowers can use for purposes such as debt consolidation, home improvements or major purchases.