Nubank vs Visa: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Nubank reported $15.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $2.9B of net income. Visa reported $40B of revenue in FY2025 and $20.1B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Nubank
Nubank turned its first annual profit in 2023 ($1.03 billion on $8.03 billion revenue) and has scaled fast since. Under IFRS it reported FY2024 revenue of $11.52 billion and net income of $1.97 billion, then FY2025 revenue of $15.77 billion and net income of $2.87 billion. Using its newer managerial P&L, it reported Q4 2025 revenue of $4.9 billion and net income of $895 million with a 33% ROE. In Q2 2026, gross revenue rose 39% to $5.88 billion and net income reached $1.061 billion, up 49% FX-neutral, with a record 33% return on equity.
Visa
Visa's fiscal year ends September 30. Fiscal 2025 net revenue was USD 40.0 billion, up 11% from USD 35.9 billion in fiscal 2024, and GAAP net income was USD 20.1 billion. Growth continued in fiscal 2026: in the third quarter (April to June 2026) net revenue rose 14% to USD 11.6 billion, quarterly payments volume passed USD 4 trillion for the first time, and Visa returned USD 6.2 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. Fiscal 2026 full-year results are due in late October 2026.
Revenue and profit by year
Nubank
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $15.8B | $2.9B | 18.2% | +37.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | $11.5B | $2B | 17.1% | +43.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | $8B | $1B | 12.8% | +67.5% | Source |
| FY2022 | $4.8B | -$364.6M | -7.6% | +182.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $1.7B | -$165M | -9.7% | +130.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | $737.1M | -$171.5M | -23.3% | +20.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $612.1M | -$92.5M | -15.1% | — | Source |
Visa
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $40B | $20.1B | 50.1% | +11.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $35.9B | $19.7B | 55.0% | +10.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $32.7B | $17.3B | 52.9% | +11.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $29.3B | $15B | 51.0% | +21.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $24.1B | $12.3B | 51.1% | +10.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $21.8B | $10.9B | 49.7% | -4.9% | Source |
| FY2019 | $23B | $12.1B | 52.6% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $20.6B | $10.3B | 50.0% | +12.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $18.4B | $6.7B | 36.5% | +21.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $15.1B | $6B | 39.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Nubank
- Interest And Financial IncomeMajor
Interest and gains from credit cards, loans, securities, and other financial instruments.
- Fee And Commission IncomeMaterial
Interchange, payment, account, insurance, investment, and marketplace-related fees.
- Deposit SpreadMaterial
Funding and yield economics from Nubank's large deposit base.
- Cross-Sell ProductsGrowth
Insurance, investments, secured lending, payroll lending, merchant products, and new geographies.
Visa
- Service revenue
- Data processing revenue
- International transaction revenue
- Value-added services
- Visa Direct
- Fraud and risk tools
Business model and strategy
Nubank
How it makes money
Nubank earns revenue mainly from interest on credit card balances, personal loans, payroll and secured loans, and from yield on the securities it buys with customer deposits. Fee and commission income adds interchange on card spending, late fees, and commissions from insurance, investments and marketplace sales.
Growth strategy
Nubank is growing by deepening products for existing customers (secured and payroll loans, investments, insurance, small-business banking), scaling Mexico after its 2026 bank launch and Colombia, and entering the US through a sponsor bank while its national bank charter is finalized.
Competitive advantage
Nubank's edge is cost and scale. It runs without branches, reported a cost to serve below $1 per active customer per month and a record efficiency ratio of 19.9% in Q4 2025, and gains most new customers through referrals. Transaction and deposit data from more than 130 million customers feed its underwriting models, and that data advantage grows as more Brazilians use Nubank as their primary account.
Visa
How it makes money
Visa earns fees from the banks and other clients that use its network, not interest from cardholders. Its reported revenue lines are service revenue (based on payments volume), data processing revenue (based on transactions authorized, cleared and settled over VisaNet), international transaction revenue (cross-border and currency conversion activity) and other revenue, including value-added services such as fraud and…
Growth strategy
Visa's growth strategy is to expand credentials, increase digital acceptance, grow cross-border and e-commerce volume, sell more value-added services, scale Visa Direct, support tap-to-pay and tokenized commerce, and embed Visa capabilities inside fintech and banking platforms.
Competitive advantage
Visa's moat is a three-sided network effect. Consumers use Visa because merchants accept it, merchants accept Visa because consumers carry it, and banks issue Visa credentials because both sides already participate. The company also has fraud data, global rules, brand trust, dispute standards, token infrastructure, and bank relationships built across decades. A competitor cannot simply copy the software;
Questions about Nubank vs Visa
Which company has higher revenue — Nu Holdings Ltd. or Visa Inc.?
Nu Holdings Ltd. reported $15.8B (FY2025), while Visa Inc. reported $40.0B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Visa Inc. is the larger business, with Nu Holdings Ltd. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Nu Holdings Ltd. vs Visa Inc.?
Nu Holdings Ltd.'s market capitalisation stands at $66.3B, while Visa Inc.'s is $676.0B. Visa Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Nu Holdings Ltd..
Which is more financially efficient — Nu Holdings Ltd. or Visa Inc.?
Nu Holdings Ltd. generates $1.57M / employee in revenue per employee, while Visa Inc. generates $1.17M / employee. Nu Holdings Ltd. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Nu Holdings Ltd. and Visa Inc. make money?
Nu Holdings Ltd. and Visa Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Nu Holdings Ltd.: Nubank earns revenue mainly from interest on credit card balances, personal loans, payroll and secured loans, and from yield on the securities it buys with customer deposits. Visa Inc.: Visa earns fees from the banks and other clients that use its network, not interest from cardholders.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Nu Holdings Ltd. or Visa Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Nu Holdings Ltd. trades at 4.2x P/S and Visa Inc. at 16.9x P/S. Visa Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Nu Holdings Ltd.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Nu Holdings Ltd. bigger than Visa Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Visa Inc. ($40.0B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Nu Holdings Ltd. ($15.8B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Nubank vs Visa overview