Updated:
StoneCo
StoneCo is a Brazilian payments and software firm backed by Berkshire Hathaway, processing over $100B annually for SMBs across all 26 states.
StoneCo
StoneCo launched in 2012 as a merchant acquirer targeting Brazil's underserved small and mid-sized businesses. Co-founders André Street and Eduardo Pontes, veterans of the Brazilian payments industry, identified a structural gap: legacy incumbents charged high take rates and offered little technology. StoneCo built its own end-to-end acquiring platform, underwriting sub-scale merchants that Visa and Mastercard's traditional banking partners ignored. The company went public on the NASDAQ in October 2018 with a landmark anchor investment from Berkshire Hathaway, which purchased roughly 11% of the offering (per Berkshire Hathaway 13F filings, 2018). StoneCo's strategy rests on an integrated financial operating system for SMBs. The core payments engine captures transaction revenue across debit, credit, and Pix — Brazil's instant payment rail — while a proprietary banking platform offers deposit accounts, working-capital loans, and merchant cash advances. The software segment, anchored by the Linx acquisition completed in 2021 (per the firm, 2021), provides ERP, point-of-sale, and e-commerce tools to roughly 200,000 retail clients. Asset-light distribution — more than 1,500 hubs and 10,000 service partners across all 26 Brazilian states — supports physical terminal deployment without branch overhead. Confirmed partnerships include integration with WhatsApp for in-app payments and a joint venture with Banco Inter for credit solutions (per the firm's official communications). The public company structure makes StoneCo unusual in Latin American fintech: it is not a captive subsidiary of a banking conglomerate and does not rely on a single-family wealth source. Its investor base is dispersed, though the co-founders and Berkshire Hathaway represent significant voting power. Philanthropic or family-office structures tied to the founders are not publicly disclosed. In March 2024, the firm appointed Pedro Zinner, a former Eneva and Banco BV executive, as CEO, signaling a succession move as the co-founders transition to board roles (per Reuters, 2024). StoneCo's structural differentiator is its economics: it owns the full technology stack from acquiring terminal to merchant dashboard, capturing the payment spread plus software subscription revenue. This dual-revenue model creates a lower cost of capital for lending than a standalone neobank, while the merchant POS network provides distribution that a pure SaaS company cannot replicate. The company's listed equity also gives it a currency for acquisitions that privately-held Brazilian fintechs lack.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2012
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Latin America
Country
Brazil
City
São Paulo
Corporate office
São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Principals
Pedro Zinner
CEO
André Street
Co-Founder and Chairman
Eduardo Pontes
Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at StoneCo?
StoneCo's capital allocation is overseen by CEO Pedro Zinner and the board of directors, which includes co-founders André Street as Chairman and Eduardo Pontes. Unlike a family office or private investment firm, corporate strategy — including M&A, credit underwriting policy, and banking product design — is executed through a management committee reporting to the board. No single family or individual controls investment decisions independently.
How does StoneCo source proprietary deal flow?
StoneCo's deal flow originates from its installed base of roughly 200,000 retail and SMB merchants using the company's POS terminals, ERP software, and banking services. Transaction data from the acquiring platform generates leads for merchant cash advances and working capital loans, which are algorithmically priced based on real-time sales volume. This closed-loop data advantage is distinct from lenders who rely on bureau credit scores or traditional underwriting.
Is StoneCo structured as a single-family office or a venture firm?
StoneCo is a publicly-traded operating company listed on the NASDAQ under ticker STNE. It is not a family office, venture capital firm, or private equity fund. Its structure is that of an integrated payments, banking, and software provider that processes transactions and extends balance-sheet credit directly to merchants. The co-founders retain significant equity but do not operate the firm as a family investment vehicle.
What is StoneCo's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
As a public company rather than a fund manager, StoneCo does not participate in GP-LP co-investment structures. Its external partnership model involves strategic joint ventures — such as the credit venture with Banco Inter — and technology integrations with platforms like WhatsApp and Mercado Libre. All deployed capital flows through the corporate entity, not externally managed vehicles.
What investment stages does StoneCo typically target?
StoneCo targets in-lifecycle SMBs with established transaction histories, not early-stage startups or pre-revenue companies. Its direct credit book is concentrated in merchant cash advances, invoice financing, and working capital loans — effectively providing growth-stage debt to operating businesses. The company does not operate an equity venture arm, though it has historically evaluated strategic M&A in mature vertical software categories.
How is StoneCo related to Berkshire Hathaway?
Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, acquired approximately 11% of StoneCo's equity at the company's 2018 NASDAQ IPO and has since been a passive minority shareholder. Berkshire does not control the board or management, and the investment originated through Buffett's consumer payments thesis rather than an exclusive partnership arrangement. The relationship is that of a public-market equity holder with no special governance rights.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
StoneCo's capital base is public equity rather than a single-family fortune. Co-founders André Street and Eduardo Pontes generated personal wealth through their prior payments ventures and the 2018 IPO, but the company's investment capacity draws from retained earnings, public bond issuances, and deposit funding through its banking license — not an originating family windfall.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: