Investors should consider finding which are the best bank stocks to buy amid this instability.
Banking and insurance segments are fast-tracking digital transformation efforts to meet the rising demand for more efficient, personalized financial services. Customers have become more demanding of a data-driven approach toward finance.
Therefore, banks across the globe are scampering towards improving their digital presence, which should have investors thinking about the best bank stocks to buy.
The management of a large proportion of financial services firms feels that digital transformation is imperative. A recently released report from Broadridge Financial Solutions showed the results of a study conducted by the firm on 500 C-suite executives.
Many believe that artificial intelligence and blockchain technology will play a massive role in building the infrastructure of financial markets. According to the firm, companies spend nearly 27% of their total IT budget on digital transformation.
Here are three bank stocks to benefit from the growing transformation trend.
| SOFI | SoFi | $5.45 |
| SQ | Block | $75.09 |
| GDOT | Green Dot Corporation | $16.34 |
SoFi (SOFI)
SoFi (NASDAQ:SOFI) is a leading digital bank and personal finance company.
Its focus on innovative, digital-first financial services has propelled it to the top ranks of the fintech industry. Though its business continues to move from strength to strength, its stock price has moved sideways ever since its listing in the summer of 2021.
It trades at just 2.6 times forward sales, a hefty bargain compared to its incredibly positive outlook.
Despite macro headwinds and the student loan moratorium expansion, SoFi notched up another solid quarter. Its top and bottom-line results were significantly ahead of analyst estimates, with total deposits of $7.3 billion during the fourth quarter, growing over 630% from its first-quarter levels.
Perhaps the highlight is SoFi Bank which reported a tremendous 11% GAAP net income margin, which helps narrow down company losses effectively.
The firm’s overall net loss of $40 million for the quarter is 64% from the prior-year period. As it effectively cross-sells its products and leverages its technology to create efficiencies, it won’t be long before SoFi turns a profit.
Block (SQ)
Block (NYSE:SQ) is one of the top fintech companies that has effectively scaled up two cash cows in Cash App and Square.
These ecosystems have helped generate a whopping 60.6% growth over the past five years, with stellar gross margins of roughly 34%.
The company has expanded its business into other profitable areas, including the highly lucrative “buy now pay later” space with Afterpay and an array of other long-term projects, including Bitcoin-focused Spiral.
It recently wrapped up another solid quarter, where revenues of $4.65 billion blew past analysts’ expectations by $60 million. Revenues improved by a remarkable 14% from the fourth quarter last year, and if we exclude Bitcoin’s impact, then sales improved by a tremendous 33% to $2.8 billion.
Its underlying business remains as robust as ever, with its gross profit at an amazing $1.66 billion, a 40% bump year-over-year in an extraordinarily tough macro environment.
Green Dot Corporation (GDOT)
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) is a unique fintech company registered as a traditional bank. It became popular over the years for its co-branded prepaid debit cards, including those with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Citigroup (NYSE:C).
In recent years, it has expanded its digital presence, leveraging its market position to offer unique products such as its “Banking as a Service” solution to companies such as Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). It also operates a digital bank called GO2 bank, which is part of the company’s robust B2B services.
In its most recent quarter, operating results came at the high end of its guidance range. Non-GAAP sales of roughly $342 million improved by 6.6%, while its EPS of 34 cents beat estimates by 12 cents.
Its fourth quarter results handily beat estimates on both lines. Despite a slowdown in its consumer services business, GDOT ended the year with aplomb with vigorous growth in its B2B segment. Businesses of its kind are mostly unprofitable, which gives GDOT an edge over its competition in the current investing environment.
On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.