CEO Anthony Noto Just Bought 28,900 Shares of SoFi Stock. Should You Back Up the Truck?

SoFi Technologies (SOFI) CEO Anthony Noto recently bought 28,900 shares of SOFI stock, but investors shouldn't back up the truck just yet. First, given Noto's huge net worth, he himself arguably did not “back up the truck.” Secondly, as short-selling firm Muddy Waters points out, the company is facing meaningful risk from the AI revolution. Other macro trends could significantly damage SoFi, while earlier this week the firm was accused of some noteworthy accounting irregularities.

In light of all of these factors, SOFI stock appears quite risky at this point.  

About SoFi Technologies Stock

Based in San Francisco, California, SoFi primarily provides student loans and personal loans via its consumer-focused fintech platform. In the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue jumped 40% year-over-year (YOY) to $1.02 billion. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA soared 60% YOY to $317.6 million.

With shares changing hands at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 28.3 times, SoFi has market capitalization of $21.2 billion.

Did Noto Really Back Up the Truck?

Before becoming the CEO of SoFi, Noto was a partner at Goldman Sachs and later the Chief Operations Officer of Twitter. According to one website, his estimated net worth is “at least $261 million.” With that in mind, in my view, Noto's decision to buy about $500,000 worth of SOFI stock does not come close to equating to “backing up the truck.”

Noto now reportedly owns a hefty 11.7 million shares of the company. However, much of this stake may have been acquired at low prices through stock options. So, he's also not necessarily taking such a big risk by holding onto shares.

SoFi Faces Macro Dangers

In a recent report on SoFi, I noted that the company receives much of its revenue from student loans, although Noto has said that the percentage of revenue derived from such loans has now dropped below 50%. I also noted that a February 2026 report found that “roughly a million borrowers defaulted on their federal student loans late last year, with millions delinquent on their payments and sliding toward the same fate.”

According to one report, the large amount of personal loans issued by the firm appears quite risky, while the proliferation of AI and high oil prices could meaningfully raise unemployment. The latter trend, in turn, could potentially cause default rates on both student and personal loans to climb for SoFi.

Short-selling firm Muddy Waters believes that AI could also indirectly harm the company. The short-selling firm attempted to quantify the risk, as it contended that “AI could replace up to 15% of knowledge workers in the near term,” potentially reducing SoFi's repayment rates.

Muddy Waters Accuses SoFi of Misleading Accounting Practices

That's not the only warning about SoFi from Muddy Waters. According to the firm, SoFi sometimes counts “borrowed funds” as “loan sales” and finds buyers for its loans a short time before they would become chargeoffs. As a result of the latter maneuver, Muddy Waters alleges that SoFi's chargeoff rates are higher than they appear.

SoFI denied the allegations, saying that Muddy Waters does not understand its finances. The company added that its financial reports comply with all laws and applicable rules.

Whether Muddy Waters' claims prove to be accurate remains to be seen. Still, the allegations make SOFI stock — which was already quite risky — look even more dangerous.