The holiday month brought fintech Chime Financial (CHYM 3.13%) one of the best gifts a stock can receive — a substantial bump higher in price. Across December, Chime’s shares rose by more than 19%, lifted by a set of factors that included a recommendation upgrade from a prominent bank and a positive research note by an analyst who’s now tracking the company.

Good as gold

The bullish tone was set by that upgrade, which was made before market open on Dec. 1 by Goldman Sachs pundit Will Nance. According to his new evaluation, Chime stock is now a buy, up from Nance’s previous tag of neutral. The new price target is $27 per share.

According to reports, the analyst’s move is based on the company’s new Chime Card, an innovative credit product that represents an evolution of the secured credit card (i.e., plastic that must be backed by a user’s actual funds).

In Nance’s estimation, as a next-generation credit product, the Chime Card should earn more “take” (i.e., fees derived from use) and thus higher revenue and profitability for the company than many anticipate. The prognosticator wrote that “attach” rates — i.e., Chime customer uptake — could also be notably above current expectations.

On Dec. 11, a new Chime bull emerged. This is B. Riley analyst Hal Goetsch, who initiated coverage of the company’s stock with a buy recommendation. This was accompanied by a price target of $35 per share, which is well higher than even Nance’s very optimistic assessment.

Goetsch waxed bullish about Chime’s high growth potential, according to reports. He opined that the company is doing well servicing its target segment of customers traditionally shunned by established banks due to poor credit histories, among other perceived flaws. It has also cleverly partnered with lenders and other financial services providers to offer attractive products such as the Chime Card.

Today’s Change

(-3.13%) $-0.87

Current Price

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$26.95

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$10B

Day’s Range

$26.50 – $27.95

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52wk Range

$16.17 – $44.94

Volume

1.9M

Avg Vol

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3.8M

Gross Margin

86.34%

Executive shifts

Finally, Chime promoted no less than three of its executives to new positions. It announced in the middle of the month that former chief operating officer Mark Troughton had been named president, and Janelle Sallenave replaced him as chief operating officer (from chief experience officer). Vineet Mehra, meanwhile, became chief growth officer; previously, he was chief marketing officer.

All three appointments, announced in the middle of the month, were effective immediately.

As the year came to a close, it was apparent that the company had executives who were eager to keep contributing to its success. That, combined with those bullish analyst notes and the somewhat under-the-radar success story that the Chime Card appears to be, makes this fintech’s stock well worth watching. This is one of the more innovative young businesses in the financial sector at present.

Carsten Höltkemeyer, the firm’s CEO, stepped down at the end of 2025, the company said in its announcement last week. Steffen Jentsch, chief information officer and chief process officer for FinTech flatexDEGIRO AG, will take his place.

“Jentsch brings a proven track record in scaling digital financial platforms, along with deep expertise in regulatory transformation and digital banking solutions,” the announcement said.

Höltkemeyer is set to stay on in an advisory role. The announcement adds that Ansgar Finken, chief risk officer and head of its finance and technology area, is also stepping down, but will remain on in an advisory capacity.

Finken will be succeeded by Matthias Heinrich, former chief risk officer and member of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG’s executive board.

“I’m truly excited to join Solaris and lead the next chapter — one defined by durable growth built on regulatory strength and commercial execution,” Jentsch said.

“Digital B2B2C platforms thrive when cutting-edge technology, cloud-native infrastructure, and strong compliance frameworks work seamlessly together. Solaris has been a first mover in embedded finance and has helped shape the market across Europe.”

The release notes that the leadership change follows SBI’s acquisition of a majority stake in Solaris as part of the 140 million euro ($164 million) Series G funding round last February.

The news follows a year in which embedded finance “moved from consumer convenience to business as usual,” as PYMNTS wrote last week.

During 2025, embedded payments, lending and B2B finance all demonstrated clear signs of maturity — especially when tied to specific verticals and workflows instead of being deployed as generic platforms. The most successful implementations were almost invisible, woven directly into the systems where users already worked, the report added.

“The embedded finance revolution that transformed consumer payments is now reshaping B2 commerce — with far greater stakes,” Sandy Weil, chief revenue officer at Galileo, said in an interview with PYMNTS.

“In 2025, businesses are embedding working capital, virtual cards and automated workflows directly into their platforms, turning financial operations into growth engines.”

It was a year in which “buy, don’t build” became the overriding philosophy, the report added. Research by PYMNTS Intelligence in conjunction with Galileo and WEX spotlighted the way institutions prioritized speed and specialization over ownership, “outsourcing embedded capabilities rather than developing them internally.”