SoFi Looks Cheaper, But the Market Wants Bank-Level Proof

SoFi is not a “last chance to buy cheap” story. It is a cleaner but harder question: has the market started valuing SoFi as a real digital bank before it has fully stopped judging it like a volatile fintech story?

At around $16, the stock is no longer priced like pure euphoria. But it is not an obvious bargain either. The company is growing fast, profitable, and increasingly funded by a large deposit base. That is the bullish case. The catch is that investors are now asking for bank-like proof: credit quality, durable margins, and fewer surprises in the parts of the business that used to carry the fintech premium.

The first-quarter numbers were strong. SoFi reported about $1.1 billion in adjusted net revenue, up 41% year over year. Net income reached roughly $167 million. Members climbed to 14.7 million, products reached 22.2 million, and total loan originations hit $12.2 billion.

That is not a weak company being rescued by a good headline. It is a business that has crossed into scale.

The more important detail is funding. Deposits reached about $40.2 billion, and average deposits made up more than 90% of average liabilities. That matters because SoFi’s bank charter is no longer just a strategic talking point. It is lowering funding costs and giving the lending business more room to compound.

This is where the bull case gets real. SoFi is not merely adding users. It is turning more users into multi-product customers, pushing financial services products higher, and using deposits to support a more profitable lending engine. If that loop keeps working, the business can grow into a valuation that still looks demanding on today’s earnings.

But there is a reason the stock fell after good results.

Management did not raise full-year guidance. For an ordinary company, reaffirming guidance after a strong quarter is fine. For a high-expectation stock, it can feel like a warning label. Investors heard: yes, the quarter was excellent, but not enough has changed for management to promise more.

The second issue is the technology platform. Revenue in that segment fell 27% year over year after the loss of a large customer. That business was supposed to help SoFi look less like a lender and more like fintech infrastructure. Instead, at least for now, it weakens the “platform” part of the story.

That distinction matters for valuation. A fast-growing digital bank can be valuable. A fast-growing digital bank plus a scalable technology platform can deserve a much richer multiple. If the platform business remains soft, SoFi has to earn more of its valuation the old-fashioned way: deposits, lending spreads, credit discipline, and operating leverage.

Then there is the Muddy Waters overhang. SoFi rejected the short-seller’s allegations and defended the integrity of its financial reporting. The market has not treated the report as fatal, but it did change the tone of the debate. Once accounting quality and loan marks enter the conversation, every quarter gets inspected more aggressively.

That does not mean the short thesis is right. It means the burden of proof has gone up.

At roughly the mid-$15 range, SoFi trades around the high-20s multiple if you use management’s 2026 adjusted EPS outlook of about $0.60. That is not crazy for a company still growing revenue around 30%, but it is not deep-value territory. The market is offering a discount from the highs, not a free pass.

So the cleanest view is this: SoFi looks attractive only if you believe the deposit-funded banking model keeps scaling and credit losses stay contained. The stock can work from here if management keeps proving that member growth turns into profit, not just activity.

What I would not buy is the “last chance” framing. Stocks with this much sensitivity to rates, credit, guidance, and sentiment usually give investors more than one uncomfortable entry point.

SoFi is cheaper than it was. It is also more proven than it used to be. But the next leg higher needs more than another record quarter. It needs evidence that the company can grow like a fintech while being examined like a bank.

Backstage verification, not part of the article: checked the original Motley Fool piece, SoFi’s Q1 2026 investor release, the Q1 2026 SEC 10-Q, and SoFi’s March 2026 response to the Muddy Waters report.