ITUB vs NU Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Itaú Unibanco and Nu Holdings both serve the Brazilian financial services market, but Itaú Unibanco is Brazil's largest traditional bank with an established, diversified branch-based franchise, while Nu Holdings is a digital-native challenger bank built around a mobile-first platform with rapid customer growth across Latin America.
ITUB offers exposure to an established, profitable traditional bank with a diversified financial services franchise, while NU offers exposure to a fast-growing digital banking challenger with lower-cost customer acquisition. The decision depends on whether you prefer established banking stability or digital-native growth potential.
ITUB holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ITUB leads on both 1-year return (+26.97%) and forward P/E quality (8.39x vs 13.43x for NU), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. NU leads on both revenue growth (52.10%) and operating margin (50.15%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for NU (+21.96%) than for ITUB (+7.06%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to Brazil's largest, most established traditional banking franchise
- Value a long track record of consistent profitability and return on equity
- Believe diversification across retail banking, insurance, and asset management supports stable earnings
- Prefer an established bank over a digital-native growth challenger
- Want exposure to a fast-growing digital banking challenger across Latin America
- Value a mobile-first platform with significantly lower customer acquisition costs
- Believe expansion into Mexico and Colombia provides additional long-term growth avenues
- Are comfortable with a credit portfolio that is still relatively young and developing
| Metric | ITUB | NU |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 42.9 | 32.9 |
| AI ranki | #908 | #2077 |
| Latest closei | $8.29 | $13.84 |
| 1M returni | +14.07% | -3.55% |
| 6M returni | +4.18% | -2.26% |
| 1Y returni | +26.97% | -13.28% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ITUB | NU |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.72K (+37.2%) started 2025-09-17 | $8.66K (-13.4%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $43.9K (+339.0%) started 2021-09-17 | $13.4K (+34.0%) started 2021-12-09 |
| 10Y ago | $68.48K (+584.8%) started 2016-09-19 | $13.4K (+34.0%) started 2021-12-09 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ITUB | NU |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $91.37B | $74.39B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 10.11 | 21.10 |
| Forward P/Ei | 8.39 | 13.43 |
| Price/Salesi | 0.64 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 5.10 | 7.18 |
| Analyst targeti | $8.88 | $18.78 |
| Target upsidei | +7.06% | +21.96% |
| Metric | ITUB | NU |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 17.50% | 52.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 8.10% | 66.30% |
| EPS growthi | +8.10% | +66.30% |
| FCF margini | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margini | 39.07% | 50.15% |
| Profit margini | 32.58% | 42.73% |
| ROIC proxyi | 21.48% | 31.63% |
| Return on equityi | 21.48% | 31.63% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.06% | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 73.54% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | 4 yrs | N/A |
| Betai | 0.14 | 0.94 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | N/A |
| Current ratioi | N/A | N/A |
| Quick ratioi | N/A | N/A |
Over the past year, ITUB and NU have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.64), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ITUB | NU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +26.97% | -13.45% |
| CAGRi | +26.99% | -13.46% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.62% | 38.24% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.77 | -0.30 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.14 | -0.42 | |
| Max drawdowni | 23.55% | 38.17% | |
| Current drawdowni | 11.58% | 26.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.72% | 16.39% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.89% | 19.91% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.44% | 9.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.77% | 14.55% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +201.09% | +33.98% |
| CAGRi | +24.67% | +6.32% | |
| Volatilityi | 32.53% | 57.44% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.71 | 0.32 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.03 | 0.46 | |
| Max drawdowni | 31.60% | 72.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 11.58% | 26.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.22% | 29.50% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.66% | 36.17% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.86% | 18.89% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 16.75% | 36.05% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +215.29% | +33.98% |
| CAGRi | +12.18% | +6.32% | |
| Volatilityi | 37.53% | 57.44% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.38 | 0.32 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.53 | 0.46 | |
| Max drawdowni | 62.13% | 72.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 11.58% | 26.23% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 21.05% | 29.50% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 26.68% | 36.17% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.44% | 18.89% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 28.38% | 36.05% |
| Category | ITUB | NU |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (ADR) | Nu Holdings Ltd. |
| Sector | Banking | Financial Services |
| Industry | Banks - Regional | Banks - Regional |
| Core business | One of the largest traditional banks in Brazil and Latin America, providing a full range of retail and commercial banking, insurance, and asset management services through an extensive branch and digital network. | A digital banking company operating primarily in Brazil, along with expansion into Mexico and Colombia, offering credit cards, personal loans, deposit accounts, and other financial products through a mobile-first platform. |
| Investor focus | Net interest margin and credit quality trends across its loan portfolio, return on equity sustainability, and digital banking initiatives aimed at defending market share against fintech competitors. | Customer growth and activation rates across its Latin American markets, average revenue per active customer trends, and credit portfolio quality as the loan book matures. |
- Established, diversified franchise across retail banking, commercial banking, insurance, and asset management supports multiple revenue streams
- Long track record of consistent profitability and return on equity within the Brazilian banking sector
- Extensive existing customer relationships and brand trust support cross-selling of additional financial products
- Digital-native, mobile-first platform supports significantly lower customer acquisition and operating costs relative to traditional branch-based banks
- Rapid customer growth across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia has built a large base for potential cross-selling of additional financial products
- Data-driven underwriting approach aims to expand access to credit for underserved populations while managing credit risk
- Brazilian macroeconomic conditions, including interest rates and credit cycles, directly affect loan growth and credit quality
- Faces increasing competitive pressure from digital-first fintech banks offering lower-cost alternatives to traditional banking services
- Legacy branch network infrastructure carries higher fixed costs relative to digital-native banking competitors
- Expansion into newer markets like Mexico and Colombia requires building brand recognition and regulatory relationships from a smaller base
- Credit portfolio remains relatively young, meaning long-term credit quality trends across full economic cycles are still developing
- Faces increasing competition from both traditional banks investing in digital offerings and other fintech challengers across Latin America
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