NU Holdings after the sell-off: The price is attractive for me again. And Monzo could open the door to Europe $NU
Shares of Nu Holdings (NU) are falling significantly today following reports of a possible acquisition of British digital bank Monzo. The market is clearly spooked by the potential transaction price, possible shareholder dilution, and costs associated with such a large acquisition.
However, I see the whole situation a bit differently.
I already hold NU in my portfolio, and at the current price of around $12–13, the position is starting to look very attractive to me again. Moreover, I also like the strategic idea of buying Monzo. Not at any price, of course. But if the deal can be structured sensibly, I think it could significantly accelerate the next phase of Nubank's growth.
First, Nubank itself
With today's price movement, I think it's important not to forget what we're actually buying.
Nu ended the second quarter of 2026 with 138.9 million customers, up 13% year over year. The company generated approximately $5.88 billion in revenue in Q2, up 39% year over year, and net income reached $1.06 billion, up 49% YoY.
ROE reached a very strong 33%. At the same time, Nu held approximately $45.3 billion in deposits, and its loan and credit portfolio reached $39.4 billion.
Those are not the numbers of a company whose growth story is ending.
On the contrary. Nubank is no longer just a "fintech story". It is a massive, profitable digital bank that can still grow at a very high pace.
And that's exactly why today's decline seems interesting to me.
Valuation is becoming very interesting again
Analyst consensus currently expects EPS of about $0.89 for 2026. At a price around $12.4, where the stock traded today, we're talking about roughly 14x expected 2026 earnings.
And that's for a company where analysts expect EPS growth of around 40% in 2026 and further strong growth in the following years.
Of course, a bank can't be valued solely on P/E, and NU has its risks. But the combination of growth, profitability, and today's valuation is much more appealing to me than at the higher prices where NU traded before.
So for me, today's drop doesn't change the thesis. It improves the price at which I can buy that same thesis.
And then there's Monzo
I think this is the most interesting part of the whole situation.
According to Sky News, preliminary talks are underway between Nu Holdings and British bank Monzo. The potential valuation ranges roughly between £8 and £10 billion, with any deal likely to combine cash and shares. However, it's important to emphasize that talks are still at an early stage and no transaction has been agreed yet.
And Monzo is no small startup.
In its last fiscal year, it generated roughly £1.7 billion in revenue, up 39%, gross profit of £1 billion, and adjusted profit before tax of £172.6 million. Deposits grew by 55% to £25.7 billion, and at the end of the fiscal year Monzo had 15.2 million customers.
According to more recent data, its customer base has already exceeded 16 million.
And that's where I see the point of the whole acquisition.
Nubank + Monzo = potential path to Europe
Nubank today dominates primarily Latin America – Brazil, Mexico, Colombia.
Monzo would bring it a strong brand in the UK, existing banking infrastructure, millions of customers, a large deposit base, and above all a platform for further European expansion.
Monzo has already obtained a banking license in Ireland and is preparing expansion to other European markets; it has already opened a waiting list in Spain.
And this is exactly what I like about this transaction.
Nubank doesn't have to come to Europe, start completely from scratch, spend years building a brand and gradually acquiring its first millions of clients.
It can buy a ready-made entry point.
And then apply to it what it has proven in Latin America: technological infrastructure, low customer service costs, cross-selling, credit products, investments and its entire digital ecosystem.
Moreover, global expansion is no longer just a theory. On September 10, Nu officially launched its operations in the US and also introduced Nu Global, a multi-currency digital account.
It's starting to paint an interesting picture for me:
Latin America → USA → potentially UK and Europe.
From a regional fintech, it can gradually become a global digital financial platform.
So why are the shares falling?
Because a good company can still be bought at a bad price.
And that's exactly what the market fears, in my opinion.
Monzo was valued at approximately £4.5 billion back in 2024. Now we're talking about £8–10 billion. At £10 billion, Nubank is definitely not buying cheap.
If, in addition, a large part of the transaction were paid with new NU shares, it would dilute existing shareholders.
Therefore, I will mainly watch the final price and the financing method.
I like the idea of the acquisition.
I like Monzo.
I like expansion into Europe.
But I don't want Nubank to acquire Monzo at any price. I want it to acquire it at a price where the transaction will create value for existing shareholders as well.
What am I doing with my position?
I don't plan to sell NU. On the contrary.
At current prices, I want to gradually increase my position, and with my next deposit I will likely add another approximately $400.
However, I don't want to catch the bottom with a single purchase. If the price keeps falling and the fundamentals remain unchanged, I'll have room to add further.
My thesis remains fairly simple:
139 million customers. Nearly $6 billion in quarterly revenue. Over $1 billion in quarterly profit. 33% ROE. Still high growth. And a potentially huge new market opening up for the company.
In the short term, the Monzo acquisition may be unpleasant for the stock.
But in the long term, it could be exactly the step that moves Nubank from a dominant Latin American digital bank to a global player.
And at a price around $12, I currently like this risk/reward.
NU remains one of the positions I want to gradually build in the coming months.
This is my personal view and not investment advice.
