By Fintech, or financial technology, has become an integral part of everyday life, and many US fintech stocks are seeing success.
Firms like Boston Consulting Group and Silicon Valley Bank are projecting growth in the market, and since the fintech umbrella covers such a wide range of companies, diverse businesses can profit as the industry develops.
Read on for a look at the NASDAQ’s best-performing fintech stocks of the year. Data was gathered using TradingView’s stock screener on January 8, 2025, and companies with market caps of at least US$50 million were considered.
1. Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL)
Year-over-year gain: 1,241.19 percent
Market cap: US$1.39 billion
Share price: US$248.12
Sezzle is a buy now-pay later (BNPL) fintech company that launched in 2016. Its digital payment platform provides an alternative for millions of consumers with limited access to traditional credit.
Sezzle offers a full-suite of interest-free installment plans at online stores and select in-store locations across the US, Canada and Australia. It is the only BNPL platform in North America to offer credit reporting optionality through its Sezzle Up program, allowing users to build credit.
As of September 2024, Sezzle had an estimated 529,000 active subscribers. Since its inception it has generated US$8.1 billion in underlying merchant sales, and 15 million completed sign ups. The company achieved its first quarter of profitability in November 2022.
Sezzle’s stock increased in value gradually in the first half of 2024 to reach over US$78 per share in early August. After the company released its positive Q2 2024 financials, its share price shot up to US$106.50 on August 8. The report showed that total revenue (less transaction related costs) reached a record high for the quarter, up 71.7 percent year-over-year to US$32.2 million.
The company’s share price continued to climb, hitting US$170.59 by the end of the third quarter. After releasing its stellar Q3 2024 financial report on November 7, which showed total revenue growth up 71.3 percent year-over-year, its stock value skyrocketed from US$250.47 to US$431.48 in one day.
Shares in Sezzle reached their yearly peak of US$464 on November 25, before pulling back to the US$260 range by the end of the year following a critical short report released by Hindenburg Research on December 18.
2. Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE)
Year-over-year gain: 859.06 percent
Market cap: US$1.09 billion
Share price: US$85.26
Dave is a US-based neobank and a pioneer in the fintech space. The company offers digital banking services through its mobile banking app, launched in 2017. Its offerings include the Dave Debit Card through a license from Mastercard, and its ExtraCash cash advance program. Dave partners with Evolve Bank & Trust, an FDIC member.
Dave’s share price has benefited greatly over the past year from the company’s record-setting growth quarter after quarter. In May 2024, its Q1 2024 financial report highlighted record revenue of US$73.6 million, up 25 percent year-over-year. The company’s share price jumped over 12 percent in one day to US$52.30 on May 7.
But it was the company’s Q3 2024 financial report that really rallied the stock. Dave saw its revenues for the quarter rise by 41 percent year-over-year to US$92.5 million, the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth. In response, the value of the fintech stock surged from US$62.80 to US$90.43 per share. Shares in Dave hit their yearly peak of US$103.96 on December 17.
3. Root (NASDAQ:ROOT)
Year-over-year gain: 600 percent
Market cap: US$1.17 billion
Share price: US$77.42
Founded in 2015, Root is the parent company of Root Insurance Company, which through the Root app brings data science and technology to the auto insurance market. Currently operating in 34 states, it is the largest insurtech company in the United States.
Like the other tech stocks on this list, Root’s share price over the past year has been driven in large part by its excellent quarterly financial performance. After posting its Q4 2023 financials, which included the best bottom-line quarterly results in the company’s history, Root’s share price grew by more than 350 percent from February 21 to US$39.11 on March 1, 2024. The following month, Root’s stock value had more than doubled to US$82.90 on April 5.
The company’s Q3 2024 financials report was also a significant catalyst for the stock. Root achieved net income profitability for the first time in its history on both a quarter-to-date and year-to-date basis. Shares in Root grew by nearly 69 percent from US$40.49 on October 30 to US$68.39 on October 31. The stock reached its yearly peak of US$109.40 on November 21.
4. Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Year-over-year gain: 233.14 percent
Market cap: US$36.08 billion
Share price: US$40.81
Robinhood Markets is a California-based fintech company that offers commission-free stock trading and emphasizes “democratizing access to the markets for millions of investors.” On its digital platform, users can trade stocks, options, commodity interests and crypto. In June, the company said it will acquire global cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp.
Robinhood’s stock had its best quarter of 2024 in Q4. On October 30, the company released its Q3 2024 financials, highlighting its second highest revenues on record (up 36 percent year-over-year to US$637 million). Additionally, its year-to-date net deposits of US$34 billion and year-to-date revenues of US$1.94 billion were both higher than any prior full year period.
In its October 2024 operating data report released on November 11, Robinhood reported funded customers at the end of October were 24.4 million, which was up over 1 million year-over-year. Additionally, assets under custody totaled US$159.7 billion, up 5 percent from September 2024 and up 89 percent year-over-year. The following month, the company reported its November 2024 operating data, which showed funded customers had grown to 24.8 million and assets under custody hit US$195 billion.
Shares in Robinhood grew by more than 66 percent over the fourth quarter to US$37.26 on December 31, 2024. The company’s highest yearly peak came on December 16 at US$43.20.
5. Priority Technology Holdings (NASDAQ:PRTH)
Year-over-year gain: 215.79 percent
Market cap: US$880.06 million
Share price: US$11.40
Priority Technology Holdings is a payments and banking fintech firm that provides services to more than 1.1 million active customers spanning small to medium businesses, business to business and enterprises. Its platform allows for the collecting, storing, lending and sending of money.
Priority is another fintech stock on this list that had a great fourth quarter in 2024. Shares in the company rose 88 percent over the period to reach US$11.75 per share on December 31.
In its Q3 2024 financials, Priority’s reported revenues were up 20.1 percent year-over-year to US$227 million. Adjusted gross profit grew by 18.9 percent to US$86 million over the same period, and its operating income rose 62 percent to US$38.1 million.
Priority’s stock value reached its highest yearly peak of US$12.29 on January 3, 2025.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
