Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST – Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.46), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $308.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.30 million. Upstart had a return on equity of 5.58% and a net margin of 4.34%.Upstart’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS.
Here are the key takeaways from Upstart’s conference call:
- Q1 showed strong demand and the company reiterated full‑year targets—originations +61% y/y, revenue +44% y/y, and management reaffirmed ~$1.4B revenue and ~$294M adjusted EBITDA for 2026.
- Upstart emphasized its AI underwriting advantage and will prioritize growth of its core personal loan business—model accuracy lead improved and new post‑default recovery prediction added, enabling ~3.5% more originations at equivalent risk.
- Capital markets support is robust—management secured >$4B of committed capital (including a 24‑month deal), completed ~$1B of securitizations that were oversubscribed, and reports a 100% renewal rate with partners.
- New products are scaling quickly—auto originations +300% y/y, home +250% y/y, and the new revolving product (CashLine) launched broadly—management is now shifting focus from pure growth to improving unit economics for these products.
- Profitability and margins were pressured in Q1 by seasonality and deliberate investments—contribution margin fell ~3 percentage points, variable and fixed OpEx stepped up, and GAAP net loss was about $7M.
Upstart Price Performance
Shares of UPST stock opened at $28.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 75.53, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.17. Upstart has a one year low of $23.97 and a one year high of $87.30.
Insider Activity at Upstart
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPST. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Upstart by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upstart by 29.1% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upstart by 5.3% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Upstart by 0.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upstart by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Upstart News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:
- Positive Sentiment: New funding and distribution deals expand capacity and address funding risk — Upstart announced a forward‑flow agreement with Fortress (up to $1.25B) and a partnership with Justice Federal Credit Union to expand use of its AI lending platform, which should support originations and diversify funding sources. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $43 price target, signalling at least one institutional view that the company’s long‑term opportunity in AI‑driven lending remains intact. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: B. Riley kept a Buy rating while trimming its target to $54 — the firm still sees upside despite lowering near‑term assumptions. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Needham and Piper Sandler trimmed price targets (to $37 and $46 respectively) while maintaining positive/overweight stances — these cuts reflect conservative near‑term margin/EBITDA assumptions but not a wholesale change in conviction. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Management engagement: CEO will appear at the J.P. Morgan Global TMC conference (fireside chat), giving investors an opportunity for updated color on strategy, bank charter progress and scaling lending products. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Q1 results disappointed on profitability: Upstart reported a wider net loss and missed EPS/adjusted‑EBITDA expectations (revenue grew but profitability fell short), which triggered the initial selloff and fueled investor concern about near‑term margins and scaling costs. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑class action filings and law‑firm solicitations have been announced (Pomerantz, Rosen, Faruqi, Bernstein Liebhard, Schall, etc.), creating legal and reputational risk and a June 8 lead‑plaintiff deadline that could produce litigation-related expenses or settlements. Article Title
Upstart declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Upstart from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Upstart in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Upstart in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Upstart from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.93.
Upstart Company Profile
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.
Further Reading
Receive News & Ratings for Upstart Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Upstart and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
