SoFi's Q3 2025 Earnings Call: Contradictions in Student Loan Refinancing Growth, Loan Platform Strategy, and Deposit Funding Plans

Date of Call: October 28, 2025

Financials Results

• Revenue: $950 million, up 38% year-over-year
• EPS: $0.11 per share (quarter included a small benefit from a lower tax rate)
• Operating Margin: 29% adjusted EBITDA margin (record); adjusted EBITDA $277 million, up nearly 50% year-over-year

Guidance:

• Full-year 2025 members: add ~3.5M members (~34% YOY), above prior guide of 3.0M (30%).
• Adjusted net revenue: ~ $3.54B (~36% YOY), above prior guide $3.375B (30%).
• Adjusted EBITDA: ~ $1.035B (29% margin), above prior guide $960M.
• Adjusted net income: ~ $455M and adjusted EPS ~ $0.37 (prior $0.31); Q4 adjusted EPS ~ $0.12 assuming ~10% Q4 tax rate.
• Tangible book value growth: ~ $2.5B for 2025 (prior ~ $640M).

Business Commentary:

* Revenue Growth and Product Innovation: - SoFi Technologies reported adjusted net revenue of $950 million for Q3 2025, which is a record and up 38% year-over-year. - The growth was driven by strong product innovation and the introduction of new products such as SoFi Pay and crypto services.

• Member and Product Growth:
• The company added 905,000 new members in Q3 2025, increasing total members by 35% year-over-year to 12.6 million.
• Cross-buy rate reached its highest level since 2022, with 40% of new products opened by existing SoFi members.

• This growth was supported by new product launches and increased brand awareness.

• Strong Financial Performance and Profitability:

• SoFi's adjusted EBITDA was a record at $277 million, up nearly 50% year-over-year, and the adjusted net income was $139 million.

• The profitability was driven by cost management and increased revenue from non-lending and fee-based sources.

• Loan Platform Business Expansion:

• The loan platform business generated $168 million in adjusted net revenue, up 29% from the previous quarter.
• This growth was due to increased originations and partnerships with external financial institutions.

Sentiment Analysis:

Overall Tone: Positive

• Management called it an "excellent third quarter," reporting record adjusted net revenue of $950M (+38% YoY), record adjusted EBITDA $277M (+~50% YoY) and net income $139M; CEO: "I've never been more optimistic" and highlighted accelerating investments and new product launches.

Q&A:

• Question from Dan Dolev (Mizuho Securities USA LLC): Can you give an overview of consumer credit performance and FICO-differentiated trends across cohorts?
  Response: Credit is performing very well across products; net charge-offs improved vs prior quarter, underwriting prioritizes quality over volume, and life-of-loan loss target is 7–8% with current vintages tracking meaningfully below that.

• Question from John Hecht (Jefferies LLC): How will a lower rate environment affect lending volume mix and student refinance activity, and what do you expect for deposit beta and NIM?
  Response: Lower rates should meaningfully boost student refinance and home lending; company expects deposit beta around 65–70% and NIM to remain healthy (recent quarter 5.84% and management expects >5% going forward) while adjusting loan pricing as needed.

• Question from Kyle Joseph (Stephens Inc.): Is the raise in membership guidance driven by brand/marketing or easing competition?
  Response: Membership guidance upgrade driven by higher unaided brand awareness (9.1%), new product launches (crypto, SoFi Pay), efficient performance marketing and strong cross-buy — not primarily from weaker competition.

• Question from Andrew Jeffrey (William Blair & Company L.L.C.): As nonpersonal loans grow, how will funding mix evolve between deposits and the loan platform business?
  Response: LPB offers nonpersonal loan opportunities; reliance on deposits may decline over time as capital markets and new funding mechanisms (including blockchain-related options) diversify funding while capital-light revenue increases.

• Question from Kyle Peterson (Needham & Company, LLC): Was the loan platform growth broad-based across buyers or concentrated with existing partners?
  Response: Growth was across both new and existing partners; many existing partners upsized commitments (flight to quality), driving the $3.4B of LPB originations in Q3 and expected continued momentum into Q4.

• Question from Reginald Smith (JPMorgan Chase & Co): Can you frame number of buyers on the platform, capacity, and how partners upsize commitments?
  Response: Company won't disclose buyer count (noting partners like Fortress and Blue Owl), but partners commonly upsize intra-quarter when they have capacity; Q3 LPB originations were $3.4B and management expects growth into Q4.

• Question from Peter Christiansen (Citigroup Inc.): Where are you in the investment cycle and what are the capability investments (tech, crypto, clients)?
  Response: Investing aggressively while targeting at least a 30% incremental EBITDA margin; prioritizing product iterations (SoFi Plus, Smart Card), AI initiatives (Cash Coach/SoFi Coach), crypto offerings (buy/sell/hold, SoFi Pay) and a planned SoFi USD stablecoin leveraging bank advantages.

• Question from Moshe Orenbuch (TD Cowen): How does competitive dynamics in personal loans change after recent M&A, and how much will the business shift to capital-light (LPB) vs balance-sheet lending?
  Response: Personal loans remain attractive and a differentiated opportunity vs credit cards; originations are growing (PL originations +53% YoY) and company is adding loans to the balance sheet at a comfortable pace while scaling LPB to increase capital-light mix without current cannibalization.

• Question from Devin Ryan (Citizens JMP Securities, LLC): How do policy actions (e.g., potential government sale of student loans) and administration initiatives affect the student loan opportunity?
  Response: Management views policy moves as positive; would evaluate government-held portfolio if sold (customer acquisition and profitability opportunity) and expects to fill gaps if federal programs reduce availability, with in-school loans and other student products being attractive growth areas.

Contradiction Point 1

Student Loan Refinancing Growth

It involves differing perspectives on the growth and performance of the student loan refinancing segment, which is crucial for SoFi's financial outlook and investor expectations.

How are you driving membership growth, and is competition easing? - Kyle Joseph(Stephens Inc., Research Division)

2025Q3: Student loan refinancing has really just started its recovery. - Anthony Noto(CEO)

Will there be further growth in Q3 for the Loan Platform Business, or is Q2's performance sustainable? - Kyle David Peterson(Needham & Company)

2025Q2: Student loan refinancing has shown recent pickup, contributing to future growth. - Anthony Noto(CEO)

Contradiction Point 2

Loan Platform Business Funding and Growth

It highlights differing views on the funding sources and growth strategies for the Loan Platform Business, which is a significant component of SoFi's financial strategy.

Does the nonpersonal loan growth shift impact your balance sheet funding strategy? - Andrew Jeffrey(William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division)

2025Q3: We believe that the Loan Platform Business is capital-light for us. It allows us to participate in a market that we couldn't participate in if it was an asset we had to hold on our balance sheet. - Anthony Noto(CEO)

Can you outline the anticipated funding mix going forward, given strong origination and deposit growth? - Andrew William Jeffrey(William Blair)

2025Q2: The Loan Platform Business now extends beyond our credit box, offering a capital-light opportunity. Deposits will grow in line with loan growth on the balance sheet, with a target of 85% to 90% deposit funding. - Anthony J. Noto(CEO)

Contradiction Point 3

Deposit Growth and Funding Strategy

It involves the company's strategy for deposit growth and funding sources, which are crucial for its balance sheet management and financial sustainability.

How has SoFi reduced deposit costs while maintaining SoFi Money interest rates in a high-for-longer rate environment? - Kyle Peterson (Needham & Co.)

2025Q3: We're growing deposit demand and maintaining growth even if the deposit growth slows. Chris Lapointe adds that SoFi is close to its long-term funding target, and while deposit growth may be slightly less than last year, they can adjust based on member demand. - Anthony Noto(CEO), Chris Lapointe(CFO)

Does the shift in nonpersonal loan growth affect how you fund balance sheet growth? - Andrew Jeffrey (William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division)

2024Q4: Diversification of funding sources includes leveraging blockchain technologies in lending. The goal is to reduce dependence on deposits while maintaining strong diversification. - Anthony Noto(CEO)

Contradiction Point 4

Loan Platform Growth and Diversification

It addresses the growth and diversification strategy of the loan platform business, impacting revenue and market positioning.

好的，我现在需要处理用户的问题，他们希望我作为专业的金融文章作者，总结并精简来自美股上市公司财报电话会议中的问题。用户特别强调要简洁、精准，不改变原意，同时符合美式英语习惯，只输出简化后的问题，并且保留结尾的问号。首先，用户给出的例子是：“Have you seen any consolidation among loan buyers in the loan platform business?” 需要简化这个问题。原问题中的“consolidation”指的是并购或整合的情况，而“loan buyers”指的是贷款购买者，“loan platform business”是贷款平台行业。用户的问题是在问是否观察到贷款平台行业中贷款购买者的整合情况。接下来，我需要确保简化后的句子结构正确，使用更直接的词汇。比如，“consolidation”可以替换为“mergers or acquisitions”或者更简洁的“consolidation”本身，但可能已经足够简洁了。原问题中的“loan platform business”可以简化为“loan platform industry”或者“loan platforms sector”，但可能用户希望保持原意，所以可能不需要改变。另外，“loan buyers”是否可以用更简洁的词代替？比如“buyers in the loan market”可能更直接，但可能不够准确。然后检查是否符合美式英语习惯，比如用“Have you noticed any...”可能更自然，但原问题用的是“seen”，所以保持一致性。可能用户希望保留“seen”，但“noticing”也是常用的。不过原问题已经用了“seen”，所以应该保留动词的一致性。再考虑是否去掉冗余的词，比如“in the loan platform business”是否必要？可能可以简化为“in the loan platform industry”或者直接“in the loan platform sector”，但用户可能希望保留原意，所以可能不需要删减。例如，原问题中的“loan platform business”可能指的是贷款平台业务，所以可能需要保留。最后，确保问题以问号结尾，并且没有其他装饰词。例如，简化后的问题可能是：“Have you noticed any consolidation among loan buyers in the loan platform industry?” 或者更简洁的版本：“Have you seen any consolidation in the loan platform industry among loan buyers?”可能需要进一步简化，比如将“among loan buyers in the loan platform business”改为“among loan buyers in the loan platform industry”或者“within the loan platform industry”。但用户可能希望保持原意，所以可能不需要改变“business”到“industry”。因此，最终简化后的问题可能是：“Have you seen any consolidation among loan buyers in the loan platform business?”不过用户提供的例子中的问题已经很简洁了，可能用户希望进一步缩短，比如去掉“among”或者“in the loan platform business”，但这样可能会改变原意。因此，可能原问题已经足够简洁，不需要进一步简化。或者，可能可以合并成更简洁的结构，例如：“Have you observed any consolidation in the loan platform business involving loan buyers?” 但这样可能改变了原意，因为原问题问的是贷款购买者之间的整合，而不是整个业务中的整合。经过仔细考虑，原问题已经比较简洁，可能用户希望保持原结构，但去除冗余的词。例如，“loan platform business”可能可以简化为“loan platform industry”或者“loan platforms sector”，但可能用户希望保持原词。因此，最终简化后的问题应该是：“Have you seen any consolidation among loan buyers in the loan platform business?” 这可能已经是足够简洁的版本，不需要进一步简化。但用户可能希望更简短，比如：“Have you noticed any consolidation among loan buyers in the loan platform sector?” 但需要确保不改变原意。可能用户希望的是更直接的表达，例如：“Have you observed any mergers or acquisitions among loan buyers in the loan platform industry?” 但原问题用的是“consolidation”，所以可能需要保留这个词。因此，最终答案可能就是原问题本身，因为已经足够简洁。但用户可能希望更简短，比如：“Have you seen any consolidation in the loan platform industry?” 但这样可能省略了“among loan buyers”，改变了原意，因为原问题明确是关于贷款购买者之间的整合，而不是整个行业。因此，正确的简化应该是保持原问题的结构，但可能稍微调整用词，使其更符合美式英语习惯。例如，将“business”改为“industry”可能更常见，但需要确认是否改变原意。如果原问题中的“loan platform business”指的是该行业的业务，那么可能可以接受。因此，简化后的问题可能是：“Have you noticed any consolidation among loan buyers in the loan platform industry?” 这样既保持了原意，又更符合美式英语习惯，同时更简洁。不过，用户提供的例子中的问题已经非常接近简化后的版本，可能用户希望的是更简短，但必须确保不改变原意。因此，最终的简化问题应该是：“Have you seen any consolidation among loan buyers - Kyle Peterson (Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division)

2025Q3: Growth across both new and existing partners, with existing partners increasing their commitments, indicating a flight to quality. - Chris Lapointe(CFO)

Can the loan platform serve as a channel for higher-quality loans to partners? - Reginald Smith (JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division)

2024Q4: Our loan platform business includes loans that are both within and outside our credit box. Both are high quality, and the model allows us to serve more members without extra risk or capital while diversifying revenue. - Anthony Noto(CEO)

Contradiction Point 5

Deposit Funding and Diversification Strategy

It involves changes in the company's strategic approach to funding growth on its balance sheet, which impacts financial stability and growth prospects.

Does the shift in nonpersonal loan growth impact your balance sheet funding strategy? - Andrew Jeffrey (William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division)

2025Q3: Diversification of funding sources includes leveraging blockchain technologies in lending. The goal is to reduce dependence on deposits while maintaining strong diversification. - Anthony Noto(CEO)

Has client behavior in the tech platform segment changed due to recent market and macroeconomic conditions? - Kyle Peterson (Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division)

2025Q1: We have maintained a healthy deposit beta historically around 65% to 70%. We expect that to continue with this lower rate environment. - Anthony Noto(CEO)