StoneCo Ltd
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Amber stands for a healthy business with an unclear measurement. On the friendly side are three years of rising revenue and profit, adjusted net cash of R$4,939.1 million as of March 31, 2026, a return on equity of 18.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and capital returns that reached R$3.0 billion through buybacks in 2025 alone. Against a green rating stand facts that are equally documented: free cash flow for fiscal 2025 was negative, loans more than 90 days past due rose from 4.57 percent to 6.98 percent within twelve months, the cost of risk doubled to 21.9 percent, and adjusted gross margin fell from 44.4 percent to 41.6 percent. A red rating has no basis at all: there is no going-concern paragraph, no negative equity, no broken covenant. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
StoneCo is not a balance sheet problem, it is a measurement problem. The business grows, earns money and returns a lot of capital: R$14,153.8 million of revenue and R$2,377.1 million of profit from continuing operations in 2025, plus R$3.0 billion of buybacks and a $2.53 per share extraordinary dividend in May 2026. The ratio that lifts the stock to No. 20 in the P/FCF ranking, by contrast, is built from two currencies and one quarter: in a single currency it is roughly 5.4, and full-year 2025 free cash flow was negative. Anyone looking here should watch the delinquency rate of the young credit book rather than the ranking. Not investment advice.
Earnings power of the core business
Revenue from continuing operations rose from R$10,761.2 million (2023) through R$12,049.6 million (2024) to R$14,153.8 million (2025), and net income from R$1,554.6 million to R$2,377.1 million. Total payment volume grew from R$438.3 billion to R$560.9 billion over the same period. Three consecutive years of rising revenue and rising profit are on the record (Form 20-F for 2025, Item 3.A).
The hook and the data behind it
No. 20 in the U.S. selection of our in-house P/FCF ranking at a value of 1.1, measured ourselves on July 27, 2026 (544 hits in the English list, 25 rows shown, list computed July 26, 2026). The arithmetic is correct, but it measures a dollar market value against a real-denominated cash flow. In a single currency the ratio is roughly 5.4 — still low, but a different finding.
Free cash flow
In fiscal 2025, R$676.6 million of operating cash inflow faced R$1,188.6 million of capital expenditure; nothing was left free. In 2024 operating cash flow was clearly negative at minus R$3,621.4 million. The positive trailing twelve-month figure comes almost entirely from the first quarter of 2026, in which the accounts receivable from card issuers line alone released R$3,901.1 million (Form 20-F; Form 6-K of May 14, 2026).
Credit quality
The credit book grew 122.5 percent within twelve months to R$3,224.9 million as of March 31, 2026. Over the same period loans more than 90 days past due rose from 4.57 percent to 6.98 percent, loans 15 to 90 days past due from 2.61 percent to 4.97 percent, and the cost of risk from 10.2 percent to 21.9 percent. Management itself cites "early signs of weaker performance in newer vintages" (Form 6-K of May 14, 2026).
Capital returns
R$3.0 billion of shares were repurchased in 2025 and the share count fell by 40.3 million; over the twelve months to March 31, 2026 the figures were R$2.7 billion and 32.4 million shares. On top came an extraordinary dividend of $2.53 per share on May 4, 2026 (about R$3.08 billion). Measured against a market value of roughly $2.6 billion that is an unusually high payout rate (Form 20-F Item 16E; Form 6-K of April 14, 2026).
Rates and currency
Brazil's SELIC policy rate peaked at 15.0 percent on June 18, 2025 and stood at 14.75 percent at the date of the annual report (April 23, 2026). High rates lift financial income, which at R$10,017.3 million was the largest revenue block in 2025, but they also raise funding costs and squeeze merchants. The real depreciated 21.8 percent in 2024 and appreciated 12.5 percent in 2025 (Form 20-F for 2025).
Worth Noting
Hook: in-house stock scanner, P/FCF ranking, U.S. selection No. 20 at a value of 1.1 — measured live on July 27, 2026, list computed July 26, 2026. The English list counted 544 hits and shows 25 rows. The lists are recomputed daily; the position is a snapshot, not a permanent state.
Data as of: business figures from the Form 20-F for 2025 (filed April 23, 2026) and from the Form 6-K interim report for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 (filed May 14, 2026). Price and valuation data as of July 24, 2026. All business figures are in Brazilian reais, all price figures in U.S. dollars; nothing is converted except where explicitly stated.
Do not confuse: StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNEX) is a U.S. commodities and FX broker with no connection to StoneCo — the two sat five rows apart in the same ranking on July 27, 2026. Nor is this the former name of the same CIK, DLP Payments Holdings Ltd. (until August 29, 2018).
Takeover check: there is no tender offer, no take-private and no merger agreement involving StoneCo. The live M&A event is a sale by StoneCo — Linx to TOTVS, closed February 27, 2026.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at STNE since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 9.10 $ to 19.50 $ · Last price: 9.80 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Software - Infrastructure
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StoneCo Ltd STNE | 2.4 | – | 3.1 | 71.6 | 44.3 | 11.1 | -38.0 |
| Microsoft Corporation MSFT | 3,632.6 | 30.8 | 17.6 | 67.9 | 46.3 | 14.9 | -1.6 |
| Oracle Corporation ORCL | 435.3 | 24.7 | 14.8 | 64.0 | 36.2 | 17.4 | -49.5 |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR | 432.5 | 199.0 | 147.5 | 84.8 | 46.2 | 56.2 | 4.7 |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW | 305.7 | 302.6 | 194.0 | 70.4 | -2.5 | 14.9 | 84.7 |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc CRWD | 248.2 | – | 490.1 | 75.2 | -2.2 | 21.7 | 120.6 |
| Fortinet Inc FTNT | 124.2 | 61.8 | 39.6 | 80.2 | 31.3 | 14.2 | 115.0 |
| Cloudflare Inc NET | 115.1 | – | 2,805.8 | 72.6 | -9.7 | 29.9 | 56.1 |
| Synopsys Inc SNPS | 73.0 | 77.0 | 22.3 | 82.9 | 10.4 | 15.1 | -10.4 |
| Median of companies shown | 248.2 | 69.4 | 39.6 | 72.6 | 31.3 | 15.1 | 4.7 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 423 | 134 | -120 | -0.58 | -493 | 529 | 3,839 |
| 2017 | 741 | 251 | -109 | -0.39 | -1,284 | 467 | 6,636 |
| 2018 | 1,530 | 703 | 301 | 1.09 | -2,416 | 5,093 | 13,293 |
| 2019 | 2,390 | 1,316 | 803 | 2.90 | -2,652 | 1,485 | 4,874 |
| 2020 | 3,167 | 1,378 | 854 | 2.91 | 56 | 14,853 | 31,749 |
| 2021 | 4,576 | 924 | -1,359 | -4.40 | 3,607 | 13,536 | 42,097 |
| 2022 | 9,016 | 3,501 | -519 | -1.67 | 1,684 | 12,894 | 42,245 |
| 2023 | 11,364 | 5,243 | 1,592 | 4.99 | 1,648 | 14,622 | 48,694 |
| 2024 | 12,739 | 5,881 | -1,515 | -5.02 | -3,621 | 11,776 | 54,813 |
| 2025 | 14,154 | 7,272 | 2,323 | 8.49 | 663 | 11,782 | 62,266 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | -9.98 | -587.90 | 3,491 | 12.70 | -83.70 | -301 | -507 |
| 2025: Q1 | 1.81 | 52.80 | 3,180 | 20.20 | 16.30 | 624 | 337 |
| 2025: Q2 | 2.19 | 38.10 | 3,286 | 17.50 | 18.30 | 388 | 69 |
| 2025: Q3 | 2.43 | 36.70 | 3,567 | 11.00 | 18.50 | -1,046 | -1,319 |
| 2025: Q4 | 1.83 | – | 3,540 | 1.40 | 14.10 | 721 | 553 |
| 2026: Q1 | 6.73 | 272.80 | 3,578 | 12.50 | 47.70 | 3,281 | 3,100 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 4 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 10.06 | 8.44 – 10.98 | 14,923 | 5.5% | 9 |
| 12/31/2027 | 11.71 | 9.80 – 13.51 | 15,693 | 16.4% | 10 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
With these assumptions (discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%), no growth rate between -20.0% and 60.0% per year explains today’s market value — the reverse calculation yields no meaningful figure here.
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $4.03B |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.39B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | – |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | – |
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
StoneCo bezeichnet sich im Jahresbericht 20-F für 2025 ausdrücklich als „AI-first company“ und setzt generative KI in Kundendienst, Vertrieb, Betrugserkennung und Kreditprüfung ein; ein eigenes „AI Gateway“ steuert Modellnutzung und Kosten.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„An important evolution of this process has been our focus on becoming an AI-first company, centered on three key pillars: productivity, product embedding and growth metrics."
Eine wichtige Entwicklung dieses Prozesses war unser Fokus darauf, ein KI-zuerst-Unternehmen zu werden — mit drei Säulen: Produktivität, Einbettung in die Produkte und Wachstumskennzahlen.
20-F · 2026-04-23 · View SEC filing
„Generative AI now supports a substantial portion of our Customer Service operations and parts of the end-to-end journey in digital sales for lower-tier segments."
Generative KI unterstützt inzwischen einen erheblichen Teil unseres Kundendienstes sowie Teile der gesamten Strecke im digitalen Vertrieb für kleinere Kundensegmente.
20-F · 2026-04-23 · View SEC filing
„To support scalability and governance, we developed our own AI Gateway as a central broker for model management and cost control."
Um Skalierbarkeit und Steuerung zu sichern, haben wir ein eigenes KI-Gateway als zentrale Vermittlungsstelle für Modellverwaltung und Kostenkontrolle entwickelt.
20-F · 2026-04-23 · View SEC filing
„Because we heavily rely on statistical and artificial intelligence methods in our risk management, we are dependent on data and models."
Da wir in unserem Risikomanagement stark auf statistische und Verfahren der künstlichen Intelligenz setzen, sind wir von Daten und Modellen abhängig.
20-F · 2026-04-23 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 20-F 2026-04-23 · 6-K 2026-05-14 · 6-K 2026-05-14 · 6-K 2026-04-14 · 6-K 2026-02-27 · 6-K 2025-12-22 · 20-F 2025-04-24
Rated on July 27, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 16.2%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 5.4%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -4.3%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 10.9%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 76.2%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 1.1%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 2.0 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years -3,710 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 33.2%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 3.0%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
10/10 Quality stockThe AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 47.7%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 5.3%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 55.8%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 17.4%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 1.6x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 33.0%
- Return on equity > 15% 23.7%
- ROCE > 15% 33.2%
- Expected return > 10% 16.0%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2026 | Morais Silvio Jose | Director | Sell | 21,000 | 9.91 | 208,110 |
The company
About the Company
StoneCo Ltd. bietet Finanztechnologie- und Softwarelösungen für Händler und integrierte Partner zur Abwicklung von E-Commerce über stationäre, Online- und mobile Kanäle in Brasilien an.
- Headquarters
- George Town, Cayman Islands
- Address
- Harbour Place, KY1-1002 George Town, Cayman Islands
- Phone
- 55 11 3004 9680
- Website
- stoneco.com.br
- IPO Date
- 10/25/2018
- ISIN
- KYG851581069
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Mateus Scherer Schwening | Chief Executive Officer | 1996 |
| Diego Ventura Salgado | CFO & Investor Relations Officer | 1985 |
| Sandro de Oliveira Bassili | Chief Operating Officer | 1970 |
| Raul Pierre Renteria | Chief Technology Officer | 1974 |
| Roberta Noronha | Head of Investor Relations | 1973 |
| Tatiana Malamud | Chief Legal & Compliance Officer | 1971 |
| Fabio Vieira Kapitanovas | Chief People Officer | 1978 |
| Natan Gorin | Head of Operations - Technology Platform | – |
| Thomas Gregor Ilg | Chief Risk Officer | 1968 |
| Joao Misko | Payments Platform Executive | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.