What Happened?

Shares of aI-powered lending platform Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) jumped 32% in the afternoon session after the company reported an insanely good quarter. For starters, it demolished analysts' revenue, EPS, and adjusted operating income expectations. Growth was driven by a 68% increase in loan originations, reaching $2.1 billion, as the company benefited from improved demand and conversions​. On top of that, its revenue and EBITDA guidance for next quarter beat Wall Street's estimates by a huge margin. Additionally, the company will host "Upstart AI Day" on May 14, 2025, to showcase its latest artificial intelligence offerings, a timely move as AI remains one of the hottest trends in tech​. Overall, this was an impressive quarter for the company.

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What The Market Is Telling Us

Upstart’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 64 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Upstart and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business. 

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 6 months ago when the stock gained 48.9% on the news that the company reported second-quarter results. Revenue, adjusted operating income, and EPS all exceeded analysts' estimates. Upstart provided revenue guidance and a rosy outlook for the next quarter, which blew past analysts' expectations. Management attributed the improved sentiment to advancements in its AI models. Zooming out, this was an impressive quarter that should delight shareholders.

Upstart is up 45.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $88.50 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Upstart’s shares at the IPO in December 2020 would now be looking at an investment worth $3,003.

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