Upstart Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UPST) is a leading AI (artificial intelligence) lending platform that grew by 25% in share price after announcing its full-year and fourth-quarter financials for 2021. The company reported $0.89 EPS in the fourth quarter, beating the $0.51 analyst estimate by 38 cents. In addition, total revenue in the fourth quarter came to about $304.8 million, beating the $263.84 million as well.
Management statements
Upstart’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Dave Girouard said:
“With triple-digit growth and record profits, Q4 was an exceptional finish to a breakout year for Upstart. 2021 will be remembered as the year AI lending came to the forefront, kicking off the most impactful transformation of credit in decades,”
The CEO continued to say:
But AI lending isn’t a one-category phenomenon. I’m also happy to report that, with help from an epic push by our team in the last few weeks of the year, auto loan originations on our platform are now ramping quickly and will provide growth opportunities to Upstart for years to come.
Financial results
The company reported $305 million in fourth-quarter revenue, representing 252% increase from the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. In addition, total fee revenue came to $287 million, representing a 240% year-over-year increase.
Bank partners facilitated around 495,205 loans across the whole platform, totalling around $4.1 billion. This represented a 301$ year-over-year increase compared to the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year.
It recorded $68.9 million in GAAP net income in the fourth quarter, a growth of $1 million from the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Accordingly, Upstart recorded $0.61 in diluted earnings per share and $0.89 in diluted adjusted earnings per share.
Adjusted EBITDA grew from $15.5 million to $91 million in the fourth quarter of the 2021 financial year. The 30% adjusted EBITDA margin of total revenue recorded in the fourth quarter represented an 18% increase from what they got in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. Contribution profit increased by 261% coming in at around $149.5 million in the fourth quarter of the 2021 financial year.
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