George Noble
Investment Writer, Former Fund Manager at Fidelity, Former Assistant to Peter Lynch
Better Home & Finance is a junk company, which was clear when it carried out massive layoffs over a single Zoom call years ago. Another investor noted the stock is down 62% about a year after being touted as a 350-bagger. x.comÂ
Upstart's earnings look very strong, so a continued selloff looks like a buying opportunity unless something serious was missed. Nearly all of the bottom-line miss came from heavy sales and marketing spending to drive adoption of its new home loans business, spending that serves long-term investors rather than impressing day traders. x.com x.comÂ
Better Home & Finance is now the favorite lending tech company, even over Upstart, though riskier because it is still very early. Its HELOC with a credit card turns home equity into a revolving credit line, making borrowers long-term customers and generating fees, and a Coinbase partnership lets borrowers use bitcoin or USDC as loan collateral. It grows at 40% yet trades at half Upstart's valuation, with fair value estimated at $40-50. x.comÂ