Upstart Holdings, the AI lending marketplace, reported Upstart Q3 2026 results on 3 November 2026 with $4.1 billion of originations, up 44% year on year, a record 574,089 loans and net income of $36.6 million, according to Upstart’s results release. Fintechbits compared the outlook with Upstart’s second-quarter release of 4 August 2026: full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance has fallen from about $294 million (a 21% margin) to about $260 million (19%), and total revenue guidance from about $1.4 billion to about $1.35 billion. Chief executive Paul Gu said “macro is putting pressure on our near-term outlook.”

The Upstart Q3 2026 numbers

Upstart Q3 2026 total revenue rose 34% to $371 million, and revenue from fees hit a record $364 million, up 41%. Income from operations was $36.0 million, against $23.7 million a year earlier. Net income rose 15% to $36.6 million, or $0.33 a diluted share, from $0.23.

Contribution profit, the measure Upstart uses for profit after variable costs, reached an all-time high of $218 million, up 48%. Contribution margin widened to 60% from 57%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 26% to $89.3 million, but its margin slipped to 24% from 26%.

Within that, unsecured lending did the heavy lifting: $330 million in fee revenue, up 30%, and a 64% contribution margin. Secured products, meaning auto and home, turned a positive 17% contribution margin, up from negative 179% a year earlier and negative 35% in the second quarter. Upstart says that came one quarter ahead of target.

Volume growth is slowing

The year-on-year comparisons flatter the trend. In the second quarter, Upstart originated $4.2 billion across 558,014 loans, up 50%. The Upstart Q3 2026 total of $4.1 billion is slightly lower in dollars, even as the loan count rose, which means the average loan got smaller. Growth slowed from 50% to 44%.

That fits Gu’s warning on macro. Upstart’s funding depends on banks, credit unions and capital-markets buyers wanting its loans, and those buyers price in the economy. The release says Upstart supported growth “with proportionately less equity capital,” meaning less of its own balance sheet.

By volume Upstart is larger than Pagaya, its closest listed peer. Pagaya reported $3.6 billion of third-quarter network volume, Fintechbits reported on 31 October, and guided its fourth quarter lower too.

What the new outlook says

For full-year 2026 Upstart now expects revenue from fees of about $1.32 billion, total revenue of about $1.35 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of about $260 million, a 19% margin. In August it guided fees to about $1.3 billion, so the fee line moved up slightly while the total revenue and EBITDA lines came down. Because total revenue is fees plus net interest and other income, the gap points to lower income outside fees, and the deeper EBITDA cut points to higher costs.

Fintechbits analysis

Why Upstart Q3 2026 is a good quarter with a worse year

The quarter itself was strong: record loans, record contribution profit and a secured book that finally earns money. The outlook is the part investors should weigh more heavily. Cutting EBITDA guidance by about $34 million between August and November while fee guidance rises says Upstart is spending more, or earning less on its own balance sheet, to keep volume moving. Consumer lenders that sell loans to third parties are exposed when those buyers turn cautious, and SoFi’s results, which Fintechbits covered on 28 October, show how a lender with its own bank charter and deposits is faring by comparison.

Frequently asked questions

What were Upstart Q3 2026 originations?

Upstart originated $4.1 billion of loans in the third quarter of 2026, up 44% year on year. It made a record 574,089 loans, up 34%.

What is Upstart’s guidance for full-year 2026?

Upstart expects about $1.35 billion in total revenue, about $1.32 billion in fee revenue and about $260 million in Adjusted EBITDA. In August it had guided to about $1.4 billion and $294 million on the first and last of those.

Are Upstart’s secured loans profitable?

In the Upstart Q3 2026 results, secured auto and home products reached a positive 17% contribution margin. That compares with negative 179% a year earlier, and Upstart said it arrived one quarter ahead of target.

What to watch next

The next marker is Upstart’s monthly originations disclosure, which shows whether volume holds into year end. The fourth-quarter result will then show whether the $260 million EBITDA guide set with Upstart Q3 2026 holds or needs another cut, and how much funding came from partners rather than Upstart’s balance sheet.