Strong Q3 earnings beats across payment networks, neobanks, and crypto brokerages, along with multiple target price hikes, were seen during the week ending Oct.30.

  • Visa, Mastercard and PayPal delivered solid Q3 earnings beats.
  • SoFi Technologies rallied over 14% this week after posting record quarterly revenue, double-digit net income expansion, and an upgraded full-year outlook. 
  • Coinbase returned to quarterly profitability, while Robinhood faced multiple price-target cuts. 

Domestic card networks and payment processing hubs dominated market headlines during the week of Oct. 26 to Oct. 30, driven by a heavy slate of Q3 earnings reports, while the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, was hacked. 

Moreover, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its October meeting, aiding lending stocks. However, elevated inflation levels, mostly from higher energy prices, have pushed several Fed officials to call for a gradual uptick in interest rates until the inflation target hits the desired 2%. 

Infrastructure Shifts Across Mastercard, Visa, PayPal

Mastercard Incorporated (MA): Mastercard reported Q3 financial results that topped consensus earnings-per-share estimates, bolstered by resilient cross-border consumer transaction volume and expanding commercial payment rails.

Its shares ended the week about 2.3% higher, marking its fourth straight week of gains. Meanwhile, most of the top Wall Street brokers hiked their share price target on the stock following its strong quarterly earnings performance. 

BofA raised its target price to $775 from $735 a share, Morgan Stanley hiked to $712 from $681, and JPMorgan increased its target to $755 from $720. Apart from these, 12 other brokerages also hiked their share price target on Mastercard. 

Visa Inc. (V): Visa delivered strong bottom-line performance for its fiscal fourth quarter, leading a series of financial sector earnings beats driven by sustained domestic credit and debit spending.

The Mastercard rival also received multiple price target hikes from Wall Street after its strong quarterly performance, with Wells Fargo and Mizuho raising their target prices to $463 and $440, respectively.

PayPal Holdings Inc. ( PYPL): PayPal reported Q3 earnings on Oct. 27, posting adjusted EPS of $1.45, beating estimates of $1.31, on revenue of $8.58 billion. Management highlighted steady total payment volume growth near $487.1 billion.

Lending Volumes And Merchant Networks For SoFi, Affirm 

SoFi Technologies Inc. (SOFI): SoFi shares surged 16% post-earnings, climbing to $16.82 after reporting third-quarter results on Oct. 27. The digital bank delivered adjusted EPS of $0.18 on $1.39 billion in revenue—beating analyst forecasts—while total deposits expanded by $5.8 billion to reach $51.3 billion.

Scotiabank raised the price target on SoFi Technologies to $26 from $25 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Scotiabank said that the fintech company had posted a "record quarter," with revenue growth accelerating and adjusted EBITDA up. Credit has improved, and management noted demand has not slowed for borrowing, spending, saving, or investing products.

Meanwhile, StoneX analyst Mark Palmer also hiked the price target on SOFI stock to $27 from $25 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. The analyst said that an earlier-than-usual release of 2027 guidance caps a "solid" Q3 report that "looks like" an inflection point. 

Affirm Holdings Inc. (AFRM): Affirm stock gained about 5% this week as investors evaluated broader consumer point-of-sale spending data ahead of the upcoming holiday shopping season.

Robinhood’s Earnings Disappoint, Coinbase Returns To Profitability

Robinhood (HOOD) share price dropped for the sixth consecutive week and ended its worst month since 2022 following posting earnings that missed expectations. Robinhood posted record third-quarter revenue of $1.42 billion, though it missed Wall Street estimates. The brokerage firm posted adjusted earnings of $0.60 a share. 

Robinhood's transaction-based revenue grew about 19% to $867 million, while prediction markets revenue jumped more than sixfold to $173 million and options revenue surged 31%. 

However, Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) purchased 69,604 shares of HOOD worth about $6.4 million. The ARK Next Generation Technology ETF (ARKW) bought 17,699 HOOD shares worth $1.6 million, while the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) bought 12,115 HOOD shares worth $1.1 million this week. 

Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN): Coinbase released Q3 results on Oct. 29, returning to profitability with $719 million in net income and $333 million in adjusted EBITDA. Revenue was boosted by $590 million in transaction fees, $307 million from USDC stablecoin reserves, and rapid expansion in its prediction markets and combined international derivatives exchange. 

Meanwhile, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, was hacked allegedly by North Korea, affecting about $6 billion in crypto funds. The exchange said Friday that it has begun recovering affected assets and is continuing to work with law enforcement and blockchain intelligence firms to trace additional funds. 

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