In the first nine months of 2025, StoneCo Ltd.’s (STNE) deposit growth was fueled by rising Pix (Brazilian instant payment ecosystem) usage, strategic bundling and its cash sweep strategy. Pix transaction volume surged 64% year over year, significantly outpacing card transaction growth. This shift was driven by Pix cannibalizing debit and cash usage. Higher Pix usage boosts client deposit flows, supporting broader financial service engagement and funding strategies. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, total client deposits reached R$9 billion, up 32% year over year. Deposits represented 7.1% of micro, small and medium-sized businesses’ total payment volume, and continued to grow faster than payment volumes
StoneCo advanced its cash sweep strategy, converting retail deposits into on-platform time deposits. The cash sweep migration began in early 2025. At the end of the third quarter of 2025, time deposits represented 84% of retail client deposits. Going forward, the cash sweep strategy is expected to yield 75-125 bps annual net benefit per R$1 billion converted going forward. The strategy supports reduced funding expenses, helping offset interest rate volatility and fueling credit portfolio growth. This shift supports improved margins and a stronger capital structure.
Together, these efforts in deposit scaling enhance client retention, enable cost-effective funding of the credit portfolio and contribute positively to profitability.
Key Competitors of STNE
Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU) accelerated deposit growth by the end of the third quarter of 2025, reaching $38.8 billion, up 34% year over year. This performance demonstrates Nu Holdings' ability to scale deposit volumes while simultaneously improving efficiency, reinforcing the strength of our funding model, and supporting the continued build-out of a scalable and sustainable deposit franchise across Latin America. Growth was broad-based across Latin America, with steady expansion in Colombia, strong inflows across all segments in Brazil, and resilient balances in Mexico despite lower deposit yields, highlighting the strength and sustainability of NU Holding’s deposit franchise.
Another fintech player, MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI), is leveraging Pix to drive deposit scaling and financial engagement. MercadoLibre is driving deposit growth by offering attractive remuneration on balances to deepen user engagement and position Mercado Pago as a primary financial account. This boosted monthly active fintech users to 72 million, up more than 20% year over year, by the end of the third quarter 2025. High-yield accounts increased user loyalty, spending, and ecosystem activity, while strategic branding tied Mercado Pago closer to the broader MercadoLibre platform, reinforcing financial integration.
STNE’s Stock Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
In the past year, shares of StoneCo have surged 76% compared with the industry’s growth of 3.9%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
STNE’s valuation looks attractive. The stock trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) of 7.2X, lower than the industry average of 32.91X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STNE’s earnings for 2025 and 2026 has been unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
STNE stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpNu Holdings Ltd. (NU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
StoneCo Ltd. (STNE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
