Earnings: Brazil
StoneCo, a Brazilian company that offers payments, banking and loans to small merchants, reported on Thursday 12 November 2026 that its adjusted profit for the third quarter fell 15.5% from a year earlier. Higher loan-loss provisions and higher operating costs outweighed higher revenue.
For US investors, StoneCo trades on Nasdaq under the ticker STNE. Revenue rose 3.3%, but profit fell because provisions for bad loans more than doubled.
Key Facts
—Profit. Adjusted net income, the company’s own profit measure, was R$542.1 million (about US$96 million), down 15.5%.
—Revenue. Total revenue and income rose 3.3% to R$3,686.1 million (about US$654 million).
—Credit. Loan book hit R$4,090.1 million (about US$725 million), up 78.0%; loan-loss provisions rose 128.6%.
—Payments. Pix QR Code volume, Brazil’s instant-payment method, rose 45.3% to R$33.1 billion (about US$5.9 billion).
—Not given. The company published no numerical guidance for the coming quarters.
StoneCo grew sales and its loan book in the third quarter of 2026, but the cost of lending to small merchants pulled adjusted profit down 15.5% to R$542.1 million (about US$96 million).
What StoneCo Reported
In its earnings release filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 12 November 2026, StoneCo said total revenue and income reached R$3,686.1 million (about US$654 million) in the quarter ended 30 September. That is 3.3% more than the R$3,566.8 million of the third quarter of 2025 and 2.8% more than the second quarter of 2026.
Adjusted net income from continuing operations fell to R$542.1 million (about US$96 million), against R$641.5 million a year earlier, and was down 7.0% on the second quarter. Adjusted earnings per share were R$2.33 (about US$0.41), down 2.5% year on year, a smaller fall that reflects a lower average share count.
On the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) basis, net income from continuing operations, meaning excluding businesses it has sold, was R$530.7 million (about US$94 million), down 20.6% year on year but up from R$449.9 million in the second quarter. All dollar figures here use a rate of R$5.64 per US$1, the market rate on 13 November 2026, not the rate of the reporting date.
Why Lending Cut Into Profit
Adjusted gross profit, what is left after the direct costs of the business, fell 8.0% to R$1,475.9 million (about US$262 million). The adjusted gross margin dropped to 40.0% from 45.0% a year earlier and 43.6% in the second quarter.
The main reason is credit. StoneCo’s loan book grew 78.0% year on year to R$4,090.1 million (about US$725 million), most of it lent to merchants, and credit revenue more than doubled to R$395.7 million (about US$70 million).
Provisions for expected credit losses, money set aside for loans that may not be repaid, rose 128.6% to R$197.4 million (about US$35 million). The picture on repayment is mixed.
Loans overdue by 15 to 90 days fell to 4.49% of the book from 6.00% in the second quarter, yet loans overdue by more than 90 days rose to 9.92% from 8.60%. The company said its cost of risk, the yearly loss charge as a share of loans, eased to 20.1% from 21.5%, in line with its expectation for the year.
Pix Grows While Cards Shrink
StoneCo processed R$147.4 billion (about US$26 billion) of payments in the quarter, up 5.1% on a year earlier. Volume on cards fell 2.7% to R$114.3 billion (about US$20 billion), while Pix QR Code payments jumped 45.3% to R$33.1 billion.
Pix is Brazil’s instant-payment system, created and run by the central bank. It lets a shopper pay by scanning a code instead of using a card.
Balance Sheet and Buybacks
Adjusted net cash fell to R$421.1 million (about US$75 million) from R$1,350.0 million (about US$239 million) at the end of June. The company bought back R$212.0 million (about US$38 million) of its own shares in the quarter, down from R$739.0 million in the second quarter, and paid no dividend.
Retail deposits, money customers keep with StoneCo, rose 26.3% to R$11,388.9 million (about US$2.0 billion). Its managerial Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of its financial cushion, stood at 27.0%.
What It Means for Investors
The numbers show a loan book growing faster than profit. For a US investor in STNE, how well small Brazilian merchants repay is now a bigger part of the story, and loans overdue by more than 90 days are the figure to follow.
The company’s ratio of provisions to overdue loans, called the coverage ratio, slipped to 195.6% from 203.6%. If overdue loans keep rising, further provisions would weigh on profit again, while a continued fall in the 15-to-90-day group would point the other way.
What Is Not Known
StoneCo gave no numerical guidance for the fourth quarter or for 2027, and we could not confirm a consensus analyst forecast for the quarter from a published source. The release also did not say whether a new share buyback programme will follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did StoneCo earn in the third quarter of 2026?
StoneCo reported adjusted net income of R$542.1 million (about US$96 million) for the third quarter of 2026, down 15.5% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were R$2.33 (about US$0.41).
Why did StoneCo’s profit fall while revenue rose?
Revenue rose 3.3%, but provisions for loan losses rose 128.6% and the adjusted gross margin fell to 40.0% from 45.0%. Lending to small merchants grew faster than the profit it produced.
What is Pix and why does it matter for StoneCo?
Pix is Brazil’s instant-payment system run by the central bank. StoneCo’s Pix QR Code volume rose 45.3% to R$33.1 billion (about US$5.9 billion), while card volume fell 2.7%.
Did StoneCo give guidance or pay a dividend?
The release gave no numerical guidance and no dividend was paid in the quarter. StoneCo bought back R$212.0 million (about US$38 million) of shares.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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