Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST – Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.46), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $308.21 million during 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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 Stock Down 7.9%
UPST traded down $2.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.70. 9,766,807 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,475,403. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.17. Upstart has a 12-month low of $23.97 and a 12-month high of $87.30. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.26.
Insider Buying and Selling
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPST. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upstart during the 4th quarter valued at about $752,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Upstart by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 45,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,975,000 after buying an additional 13,205 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Upstart by 191.4% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20,046 shares in the last quarter. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
UPST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $40.00 price objective on Upstart in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Upstart in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Upstart from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Upstart from $66.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Upstart from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.93.
Key Upstart News
Here are the key news stories impacting Upstart this week:
- Positive Sentiment: CEO visibility — Upstart’s co?founder and CEO will appear in a fireside chat at the J.P. Morgan Global TMT Conference, providing management a platform to discuss strategy and respond to investor questions. Business Wire: CEO Fireside Chat
- Positive Sentiment: Partnership momentum — Upstart announced a partnership with Justice Federal Credit Union to expand use of its lending platform, a sign of commercial traction that can support revenue growth. Yahoo Finance: Partnership
- Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts still constructive despite cuts — B. Riley trimmed its target to $54 (from $66) but kept a buy rating, and other firms reaffirmed buy/overweight stances, signaling that some investors view current weakness as a buying opportunity. MarketScreener: B. Riley target cut
- Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler lowered its target to $46 from $56 but kept an Overweight rating — the cut reflects concern after an adjusted?EBITDA miss but the maintained rating tempers the sell signal. 247WallStreet: Piper Sandler note
- Negative Sentiment: Q1 earnings shortfall — Upstart reported a Q1 EPS miss (company reported a loss vs. consensus) and an adjusted EBITDA miss that triggered selling; revenue grew but the profitability miss and widening loss hurt near?term sentiment. Business Wire: Q1 Results
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities?class?action filings and law?firm notices — Several firms (Pomerantz, Rosen, Faruqi, Bernstein Liebhard, Levi & Korsinsky, etc.) have announced suits or investor notices covering the May–Nov 2025 class period and a June 8 deadline for lead?plaintiff applications, increasing legal and headline risk. GlobeNewswire: Pomerantz filing GlobeNewswire: Rosen notice
- Negative Sentiment: Broader analyst target cuts after earnings — Beyond Piper, coverage notes that Morgan Stanley and Goldman previously cut targets (cited in industry alerts), adding to downward pressure as sell?side models are repriced lower. GlobeNewswire: Analyst target coverage mention
Upstart announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
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
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