As the Q3 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the personal loan industry, including Dave (NASDAQ: DAVE) and its peers.

Personal loan providers offer unsecured credit for various consumer needs. The sector benefits from digital application processes, increasing consumer comfort with online financial services, and opportunities in underserved credit segments. Headwinds include credit risk management in unsecured lending, regulatory oversight of lending practices, and intense competition affecting margins from both traditional and fintech lenders.

The 9 personal loan stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 5.8%.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 5.1% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q3: Dave (NASDAQ: DAVE)

Named after the biblical David fighting financial Goliaths, Dave (NASDAQ: DAVE) is a digital financial services platform that helps Americans living paycheck to paycheck with cash advances, banking services, and tools to improve their financial health.

Dave reported revenues of $150.7 million, up 63% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 12.9%. Overall, it was an incredible quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates.

“We delivered another record quarter in Q3, reflecting the continued strength of customer demand and the scalability of our platform. Revenue grew over 60% year-over-year for the second consecutive quarter and Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled for the fourth straight quarter,” said Jason Wilk, Founder and CEO of Dave.

Dave achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 20% since reporting and currently trades at $192.01.

Is now the time to buy Dave? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

FirstCash (NASDAQ: FCFS)

Offering a financial lifeline to the unbanked and credit-constrained since 1988, FirstCash (NASDAQ: FCFS) operates pawn stores across the U.S. and Latin America while also providing retail point-of-sale payment solutions for credit-constrained consumers.

FirstCash reported revenues of $935.6 million, up 11.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 9.3%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 5.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $155.71.

Is now the time to buy FirstCash? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Slowest Q3: Enova (NYSE: ENVA)

Pioneering online lending since 2004 with a massive database of over 65 terabytes of customer behavior data, Enova International (NYSE: ENVA) provides online financial services including installment loans and lines of credit to non-prime consumers and small businesses in the United States and Brazil.

Enova reported revenues of $802.7 million, up 16.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Still, its results were good as it locked in an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Enova delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 4.8% since the results and currently trades at $119.49.

Read our full analysis of Enova’s results here.

Nubank (NYSE: NU)

With nearly 94 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia through its viral member-get-member referral program, Nubank (NYSE: NU) is a digital banking platform that offers financial services including spending, saving, investing, borrowing, and protection products to millions of customers across Latin America.

Nubank reported revenues of $4.17 billion, up 41.8% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. It was a strong quarter as it also put up a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.

The stock is down 2.1% since reporting and currently trades at $15.32.

Read our full, actionable report on Nubank here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM)

Founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin with a mission to create honest financial products, Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) provides a payment network that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them over time with transparent, flexible installment loans.

Affirm reported revenues of $933.3 million, up 33.6% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 5.5%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $65.49.

Read our full, actionable report on Affirm here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

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