SoFi boosts profit forecast again amid financial services push

Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

SoFi Technologies Inc. raised its profit guidance for a third time this year as the fintech benefited from efforts to diversify beyond the student-lending business that made its name.

The company forecast earnings per share of 11 cents to 12 cents for 2024, after lifting that range for a second time just three months ago, to 9 cents to 10 cents. It also raised its guidance for adjusted net revenue to $2.535 billion to $2.55 billion, up from an earlier range of $2.425 billion and $2.465 billion, it said in a statement Tuesday.

The San Francisco-based company reported record adjusted net revenue of $689 million for the third quarter, fueled by a 64% jump in financial services and tech platform segments, or its non-lending businesses. Fee-based revenue of $174 million for the period accounted for about a quarter of its adjusted net revenue, it said.

"It's official, we're not just a lender anymore," Anthony Noto, SoFi's chief executive officer, said in an interview. "We feel really good about the environment we're entering —- it's actually the best environment we've ever operated in."

Shares of the company rose 1.8% in early New York trading.

Noto has expanded the company beyond student-lending into a financial services one-stop shop, with savings, investing, lending and other offerings. He's seeking to build a more diversified, less capital-intensive business and secured a bank charter in 2022.

SoFi announced earlier this month an agreement to use $2 billion of Fortress Investment Group's funds to originate personal loans, sending shares rising at the time. While not an uncommon relationship for financial-technology companies, the sum was noteworthy for the loan-platform business SoFi aims to build out.

The company said its loan-platform business also posted record results, fueled by $1 billion of personal loan volume for third parties, it said. Net income was $60.7 million for the period, according to the statement.