By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) stock surged 14% in premarket Wednesday after the company grew its revenue by 54% in the fourth quarter and posted a much narrower loss.
The management is also assuming contribution from SoFi Bank to start flowing in from the second quarter. The stock is also getting a bounce from those plans for banking operations that will reduce its cost of funds. SoFi expects to be a bank soon.
Chief Executive Anthony Noto said the company, focused on the young, reached all-time highs in adding members, products, and increased engagement. It added a record 523,000 members in the fourth quarter to close December at 3.5 million members, up 87%.
The company now expects to generate $280 million-$285 million of adjusted net revenue in the current quarter, up 30%-32%. The company is assuming the moratorium on federal student loan payments will expire on May 1.
Had the moratorium expired in January as per the earlier timeline, management estimates first quarter adjusted revenue would have been between $310 million and $320 million.
Contribution from core banking platform Technisys, a business it acquired last month, is expected from the third quarter. With Technisys, SoFi has the back-end technology that allows customers to bank from anywhere and helps lenders to provide end-to-end services. SoFi offers home and auto loans, stock and cryptocurrency trading, and wealth management services.
For the full year, SoFi expects to grow adjusted net revenue 55% to $1.57 billion.
Adjusted loss per share of 15 cents on revenue of $285 million was better than estimated in the fourth quarter.