Best Fintech Stocks to Buy in 2026

Sezzle reported Q1 subscriber growth of 48.4% year over year, revenue growth of 29.2%, and a 37.9% net profit margin, reinforcing its momentum in BNPL. SoFi also posted record revenue, members, and product growth, with revenue up 43% and net income more than doubling, though shares fell more than 15% after it kept guidance unchanged amid fewer expected Fed rate cuts. The article argues both fintech names remain attractive long-term, with SoFi's dip framed as a buying opportunity.

Analysis

The market is still underestimating how much of fintech’s near-term P&L is being driven by balance-sheet duration rather than just top-line growth. In this setup, SoFi is the cleaner quality comp: a digital lender with operating leverage that benefits if funding costs stay sticky while credit remains benign, because every incremental revenue dollar should drop through faster than at legacy banks. Sezzle is the higher-beta expression of the same theme, but its upside is more cyclical and more exposed to consumer stress than the headline numbers imply.

The second-order read-through is that easing expectations matter more for SoFi than for Sezzle. A “no cuts” regime does not kill the thesis; it can actually support net interest income if asset yields reprice slower than deposit costs, but it compresses the multiple if investors were paying for a faster Fed-driven rebound. For Sezzle, a stronger consumer and higher take rates can keep momentum intact, yet BNPL is the first fintech category to get hit if delinquencies turn up, so the market should assign less durability to current margin expansion than the earnings print suggests.

Consensus is probably too focused on the post-earnings price reaction and not enough on path dependence. SoFi’s rerating likely requires one of two triggers: a material guide raise in the next quarter or evidence that credit quality remains stable through a prolonged higher-rate backdrop. Sezzle’s move looks more tactical; the stock can continue to work as long as member growth stays above revenue growth and underwriting holds, but that same spread will reverse quickly if macro conditions soften. The article is mildly bullish, but the better asymmetry is in buying strength in SoFi and fading complacency in Sezzle rather than extrapolating both equally.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Long SOFI on a 3-6 month horizon into the next earnings cycle; use the recent drawdown as entry, with upside to a sharp rerating if management raises guidance or shows deposit-cost leverage.
• Sell out-of-the-money SEZL calls against a core long or use call spreads; the stock has momentum, but the risk/reward skews worse if BNPL credit metrics deteriorate over the next 1-2 quarters.
• Pair trade: long SOFI / short a basket of traditional regional banks over 6-12 months to express digital operating leverage versus funding-heavy incumbents.
• If you want pure event risk, buy SOFI call spreads rather than outright stock; the catalyst window is the next 1-2 earnings prints, and implied downside is easier to manage than in SEZL.