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Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST)

Financial Services Out of favour

Upstart is a technology company that uses artificial intelligence to help banks decide who to lend money to, aiming to make credit more accessible.

$27.44

Is Upstart Holdings, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Upstart is a technology company that uses artificial intelligence to help banks decide who to lend money to, aiming to make credit more accessible.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+8.0%
Priced in USD - as a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, on top of the share price itself.
52-week range-64% past year
$27.44
Low $23.96High $85.31
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put $1,000 into Upstart Holdings, Inc.
$1,080+8%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$2.63B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
4.46M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$26.20 – $27.69
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$23.96 – $85.31
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
65.3
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
0.0%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
2.27
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 2.27
Calm
Wild
Bumpier than the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▼ -5% past week · ▼ -64% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Upstart becomes a standard tool for the majority of US banks

The bear case

Regulatory changes limiting the use of AI in lending

What does Upstart Holdings, Inc. do?

Upstart acts as a digital middleman, using clever software to analyse loan applicants beyond just their traditional credit score. They charge banks a fee for every loan processed through their platform. What really matters is how well their AI performs when the economy gets bumpy, since that dictates whether banks keep using their service.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and value, and weakest on momentum.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 44Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 38Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 91Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 6Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 16
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Growth screens high (91/100)
  • High gross margins suggest a scalable software business model
  • Strong revenue growth indicates high demand for their technology
  • Uses modern AI to potentially improve financial inclusion
What to watch
  • Momentum screens low (6/100)
  • Income screens low (16/100)
  • Sensitive to interest rate changes which impact loan demand
  • Regulatory scrutiny regarding the use of AI in financial decisions
  • Dependence on a limited number of banking partners

What do Upstart Holdings, Inc.'s numbers mean?

P/E
77.0
This shows how much investors are paying for every pound of profit, and a high number often suggests people expect significant growth in the future.
Gross margin
82.7%
This indicates that for every pound of revenue, the company keeps over 82 pence after paying the direct costs of providing its service.
Beta
2.3
This measures how much the share price tends to swing compared to the wider market, with a number above 1 meaning it is typically more volatile.
Revenue growth
44.6%
This shows how quickly the company's total sales are increasing compared to the same time last year.

How much money does Upstart Holdings, Inc. make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$77.05M$154.11M$231.16M$308.21MQ1 25Q2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26
Gross margin
82.7%
Net margin
4.2%
Return on equity
7.0%

Does Upstart Holdings, Inc. pay a dividend?

No - Upstart Holdings, Inc. doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.

More in Financial Services

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What are the scenarios for Upstart Holdings, Inc.?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

$55$27$17today · $27▲ Bull · $33• Base · $27▼ Bear · $21in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+15% to +25%Stronger than expected quarterly loan volume
Base
-5% to +5%Steady adoption by partner banks
Bear
-15% to -30%Higher interest rates reducing demand for new loans

What are the pros and cons of Upstart Holdings, Inc.?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • High gross margins suggest a scalable software business model
  • Strong revenue growth indicates high demand for their technology
  • Uses modern AI to potentially improve financial inclusion
The catch3
  • High volatility as shown by the beta of 2.3
  • No dividend payments for those seeking regular income
  • Low net margin suggests high operating costs relative to profit
Key risks3
  • Sensitive to interest rate changes which impact loan demand
  • Regulatory scrutiny regarding the use of AI in financial decisions
  • Dependence on a limited number of banking partners
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: earnings_growth · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.