Upstart, a company that uses artificial intelligence to help make lending decisions online, saw its stock skyrocket by 46% on Friday—its biggest jump in over three years. Meanwhile, Toast, which provides payment systems for restaurants, also had a great day, climbing 14% to hit its highest stock price since 2021.
Both companies posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, which fueled their stock rallies.
Upstart’s revenue for the third quarter increased by 20%, reaching $162 million—much higher than analysts predicted. CEO David Girouard expressed optimism during the company’s earnings call, stating that they are now in “growth mode.”
Toast, while still far from its pandemic-era highs of 2021, has seen its stock more than double in value this year. The company also gave an impressive adjusted earnings forecast for the current quarter, projecting between $90 million and $100 million, surpassing market estimates.
These two stocks were part of a broader surge on Wall Street this week, spurred by Donald Trump’s election win on Tuesday night. All three major U.S. stock indexes reached record highs, with the Nasdaq—a tech-heavy index—up 5.7% for the week, marking its second-best week of the year.
In the world of fintech, companies with ties to cryptocurrency stood out as top performers. This came after several crypto-backed candidates won key elections. Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, saw its stock soar by 48% this week, its best performance since January 2023. Coinbase was also a major corporate contributor during the election cycle, donating over $75 million to pro-crypto political action committees (PACs), including a recent $25 million pledge to back crypto-friendly candidates in future elections.
Trump’s victory could be positive news for companies like Coinbase that are currently battling the SEC over regulatory issues. Trump has pledged to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler, which could lead to more favorable outcomes for crypto firms in ongoing legal disputes.
Robinhood, the online brokerage that allows users to trade digital currencies, also had a strong week, with its stock rising 27%. However, Robinhood is still dealing with scrutiny from the SEC after receiving a Wells Notice earlier this year—a signal that formal charges could be coming.
Bitcoin hit a new intraday high of over $77,300 and ended the week up by 11%. Other major cryptocurrencies like Ether, Solana, and Dogecoin performed even better than Bitcoin.
Not every fintech company joined the rally, though. Block, the parent company of Square, reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of expectations, causing its stock to dip slightly on Friday. For the week, Block’s shares rose by 3.3%, underperforming compared to other tech stocks.
Affirm, a company offering “buy now, pay later” loans, exceeded expectations on both revenue and earnings. However, its stock still fell by 4.7% on Friday, though it remained slightly ahead of the Nasdaq for the week overall.