Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.

Nu Holdings Ltd. provides digital banking platform in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, the Cayman Islands, and the United States. The company provides spending solutions comprising Nu credit and prepaid card, a digitally enabled card that acts as a credit and a prepaid card; Nubank+ Tier, an evolution of the Nu experience; Ultraviolet credit and prepaid card, a premium metal credit card; mobile payment solutions for NuAccount customers to make and receive transfers, pay bills, and make everyday purchases through their mobile phones; and Nu Shopping, an integrated marketplace that enables customers to purchase goods and services from various ecommerce retailers. It also offers transactional solutions, such as Nu Personal Accounts, a digital account solution for personal financial activities; Nu business accounts for entrepreneur customers and their businesses; and Nu business prepaid and credit card. In addition, it offers savings and investing solutions, including Money Boxes, a solution for goal-based investing; investing solutions, an attractive investment product with customized and conflict-free guidance; and NuCrypto, a solution for buying and selling cryptocurrencies through the Nu app. Further, the company provides borrowing solutions comprising personal unsecured and secured loans; Pix financing that enables credit card and digital account customers to make free and instant peer-to-peer transfers; Boleto financing, which enables credit card and digital account customers to make payments; purchase financing; cash-in financing; and NuPay to make online purchases and pay for services through Nu app. Additionally, it offers protection solutions, such as NuInsurance protection solutions, including life, mobile, auto, home, and financial protection insurance policies; and beyond financial services solutions, including NuTravel, a travel portal; and NuCel, a mobile phone service. Nu Holdings Ltd. was founded in 2013 and is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. provides various financial products and services to personal and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail Business, Wholesale Business and Activities with the Market + Corporation. The company offers current accounts; funds management; payments and collections; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending and financing services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services. The company also provides non-life insurance products covering loss, damage, or liability for objects or people, as well as life insurance products covering death and personal accidents. It serves retail customers, account and non-account holders, individuals and legal entities, high income clients, microenterprises, and small companies, as well as middle-market companies and high net worth institutional clients. The company was formerly known as Itaú Unibanco Banco Múltiplo S.A. and changed its name to Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. in April 2009. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is a subsidiary of IUPAR - Itaú Unibanco Participações S.A.

Latest Banks and Nu Holdings Ltd., Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Nu Holdings Ltd. had a $69.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $730.8 million. Nu Holdings Ltd.’s stock is down 8% in 2026, up 1.5% in the previous five trading days and down 2.3% in the past year.

Currently, Nu Holdings Ltd.’s price-earnings ratio is 19.7. Nu Holdings Ltd.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.4 billion with a 42.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 52.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.896 per share for the current fiscal year. Nu Holdings Ltd. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 1, 2026, Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. had a $88.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 96th percentile of all stocks. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s stock is up 12.8% in 2026, up 6.2% in the previous five trading days and up 10.79% in the past year.

Currently, Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s price-earnings ratio is 9.5. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $27.7 billion with a 32.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 23.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.891 per share for the current fiscal year. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Nu Holdings Ltd.	NU	D
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.	ITUB	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Nu Holdings Ltd. has a Growth Score of 29, which is Weak. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a Growth Score of 43, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Nu Holdings Ltd.	NU	F
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.	ITUB	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Nu Holdings Ltd. has a Quality Score of 9, which is Very Weak. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a Quality Score of 6, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Nu Holdings Ltd.	NU	C
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.	ITUB	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Nu Holdings Ltd. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 51, which is Neutral. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 44, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Nu Holdings Ltd. or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Stock?

Overall, Nu Holdings Ltd. stock has a Growth Score of 29, Estimate Revisions Score of 51 and Quality Score of 9.

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. stock has a Growth Score of 43, Estimate Revisions Score of 44 and Quality Score of 6.

Comparing Nu Holdings Ltd. and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.