SoFi Technologies, Inc. (SOFI)vs Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN)

Quick verdict

The cleanest dividing line between these two over the twelve months to June 2026 is the bottom line: SoFi earned $0.6bn of net income while Coinbase lost $1.0bn, or -$3.79 per share. That makes side-by-side earnings multiples impossible — Coinbase simply has no meaningful P/E — so the comparison has to run on sales, book value, cash generation and capital returns instead. Our factor scoring lands on ties across valuation, growth, quality, balance sheet and momentum, with the only clear separation on shareholder income, where Coinbase's 4.18% buyback yield beats SoFi's nil return of capital. Overall Coinbase edges it 3.5 to 2.5, tagged high-growth against SoFi's blend profile, but the margin is narrow and rests largely on buybacks and scale. At the 4 September 2026 close, Coinbase carried a $48.6bn market capitalisation against SoFi's $23.5bn.

At-a-glance comparison

Business model and revenue mix

Two very different routes into financial services sit behind these tickers. SoFi Technologies runs a digital bank — lending, savings, investing and credit cards — alongside Galileo, a technology platform serving other fintechs, and is classified under Credit Services. Coinbase Global operates a cryptocurrency exchange and custody business, earning transaction fees plus subscription and services revenue, and sits in Capital Markets. The structural consequence shows in the reported figures: SoFi's trailing revenue line of $0.6bn to June 2026 is narrower than its $0.6bn of net income, a pattern typical of a balance-sheet lender whose interest flows are presented differently from a fee-based platform's top line. Coinbase's $6.3bn of trailing revenue is a more conventional gross measure. Both are Nasdaq-listed US companies with December fiscal year ends, and both filed their latest accounts within weeks of each other in the summer of 2026.

Valuation

Valuation is scored a tie, and the reason is that the two resist a common yardstick. Coinbase's trailing loss leaves it without an earnings multiple; SoFi's 37.2x trailing P/E at the 4 September 2026 close exists but sits against a net income figure that exceeds its reported revenue line, so it should not be read as directly comparable. On sales, the gap looks stark — SoFi at 38.6x versus Coinbase at 7.7x — but SoFi's narrow revenue presentation inflates that ratio, and a like-for-like sales comparison between a lender and an exchange is of limited use. Price-to-book is the more even test for two balance-sheet-heavy financials: SoFi trades at 2.12x book against Coinbase's 3.72x, on shareholders' equity of $11.1bn and $13.1bn respectively as at 30 June 2026. Coinbase also carries an EV/EBITDA of 53.3x.

Growth profile

Both have compounded quickly, and neither pulls decisively ahead. Measured from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2025, Coinbase grew revenue at 31.0% a year against SoFi's 18.0%; stretched back to the fiscal 2020 base, the order narrows and reverses, with SoFi at 43.1% and Coinbase at 41.2% annually. That five-year window for Coinbase begins in a year that preceded an exceptional crypto cycle, so the compound figure reflects an unusually favourable starting point as much as steady expansion. Earnings growth cannot be used as a tiebreaker: Coinbase's five-year EPS CAGR was withheld as not interpretable, and with a trailing loss of $3.79 per share to June 2026 any percentage change would cross a sign. Our scoring records growth as a tie, though the style tags differ — Coinbase is flagged high-growth, SoFi blend — and Coinbase is named best-for-growth.

Profitability and quality

Here the two genuinely diverge, even if the quality factor scores level. SoFi turned $636.3m of net income in the twelve months to June 2026, equal to $0.49 per share, and posted a 7.09% return on equity. Coinbase, despite $619.4m of operating profit and a 9.86% operating margin, recorded a net loss of $987.8m, a net margin of -15.72% and a return on equity of -7.85% — the swing from operating profit to net loss sits below the operating line. Its return on invested capital of 4.47% remains positive, which is the more informative read given the loss at the bottom. SoFi's reported gross margin of -13.79% reflects the accounting mix of a lender rather than a conventional cost-of-sales calculation and should not be taken as a product economics signal. Profitable versus loss-making is the honest summary.

Balance-sheet risk

Neither balance sheet raises an obvious flag, and the factor is scored a tie. Coinbase held $8.6bn of cash against $6.5bn of total debt as at 30 June 2026, leaving net cash — reflected in a net debt to EBITDA figure of -2.44x — with a current ratio of 2.42 and interest cover of 6.92 times. SoFi held $3.1bn of cash and $11.1bn of shareholders' equity; the conventional leverage and liquidity ratios are not shown for SoFi, which is unsurprising for a deposit-funded bank where current ratios and net-debt multiples carry little meaning. The one figure that needs context is SoFi's free cash flow of -$8.8bn over the trailing year, a -37.37% yield on market capitalisation. At a lender, loan origination flows through cash from operations, so negative free cash flow here reflects balance-sheet growth rather than cash burn.

Price performance and shareholder returns

Shareholder returns produce the page's only outright factor win. Coinbase repurchased stock equivalent to a 4.18% buyback yield over the trailing twelve months to June 2026; SoFi returned nothing, with a buyback yield of zero. Neither pays a dividend — dividend yield and dividend per share are nil at both, and SoFi's payout ratio is zero — so any return of capital comes entirely through repurchases. That gives Coinbase the income verdict and the best-for-income tag despite its trailing net loss, since buybacks are funded from a balance sheet holding $8.6bn of cash. It is worth noting that Coinbase bought back shares in a period when it lost $987.8m, so the repurchases were not covered by trailing earnings. SoFi's retention of all capital is consistent with a growing lender funding its own loan book. Momentum is scored a tie.

Which stock fits which investor

An investor prioritising current profitability has one candidate: SoFi produced $636.3m of trailing net income and a 7.09% return on equity, while Coinbase lost $987.8m. An investor prioritising top-line scale and revenue compounding leans the other way — Coinbase's $6.3bn of trailing revenue is roughly ten times SoFi's reported revenue line, its three-year revenue CAGR to fiscal 2025 was 31.0%, and it takes the best-for-growth and best-for-income tags on the strength of that and a 4.18% buyback yield. Value-focused and quality-focused screens come out tied, which is the fair reading when one company has no usable P/E and the other's sales multiple is distorted by bank accounting. Book value is the most comparable anchor: 2.12x for SoFi, 3.72x for Coinbase. Overall scoring gives Coinbase 3.5 against SoFi's 2.5.

• Value: Too close to call
• Growth: COIN
• Income: COIN
• Quality: Too close to call

Frequently asked questions

Which company was profitable over the trailing twelve months?

SoFi. In the twelve months to 30 June 2026 it reported net income of $636.3m, or $0.49 per share, while Coinbase recorded a net loss of $987.8m, equal to -$3.79 per share.

Why is there no P/E comparison on this page?

Coinbase has no meaningful trailing P/E because it lost money. SoFi shows a P/E of 37.2x at the 4 September 2026 close, but its net income of $636.3m exceeds its reported revenue line of $610.2m, so the ratio is not directly comparable to a fee-based platform's.

How do the two compare on book value?

Price-to-book is the more even measure for two balance-sheet financials: SoFi trades at 2.12x and Coinbase at 3.72x, against shareholders' equity of $11.1bn and $13.1bn respectively as at 30 June 2026.

Does either pay a dividend?

No. Both show a nil dividend yield and no dividend per share over the trailing period. Coinbase returns capital via repurchases, with a 4.18% buyback yield; SoFi's buyback yield is zero.

Why is SoFi's free cash flow so negative?

SoFi's trailing free cash flow was -$8.8bn, a -37.37% yield on its $23.5bn market capitalisation. At a lender, loan origination runs through operating cash flow, so the figure reflects growth in the loan book rather than operating cash burn.

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