PracHub
QuestionsPremiumLearningGuidesCheatsheetNEWCoaches
|Home/Statistics & Math/Capital One

Compute credit-card portfolio profit and breakeven

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

This question evaluates financial modeling, unit-economics calculation, breakeven analysis, and basic risk/expected-loss estimation relevant to a Data Scientist, testing competency in statistics & math and algebraic derivation within financial analysis.

  • Medium
  • Capital One
  • Statistics & Math
  • Data Scientist

Compute credit-card portfolio profit and breakeven

Company: Capital One

Role: Data Scientist

Category: Statistics & Math

Difficulty: Medium

Interview Round: Onsite

A bank is evaluating a new credit card. Segments: A: 30,000 customers, capture rate 20%, avg annual spend per captured customer = $100,000. B: any population, capture rate 0% (ignore for revenue). C: 150,000 customers, capture rate 5%, avg annual spend per captured customer = $20,000. Assumptions: revenue = 3% of cardholder spend; default/charge-off cost = 1% of spend; acquisition cost = $200 per active card (one-time, paid at activation); fixed annual cost = $10,000,000. a) Compute total annual spend captured, gross revenue, costs, and profit. b) Name two additional costs you would include (e.g., rewards/cashback, servicing) and explain directionally how they change profit. c) A partnership adds 5,000 new customers, each spending $40,000/year; recompute annual profit. d) First year only, each new customer gets a $500 signup bonus paid at activation. Assume spend accrues uniformly, retention is indefinite, no discounting, and the $200 acquisition cost and $500 bonus are both paid immediately. At what time (years, 2 decimals) does the incremental $500 break even? Sketch the cumulative net profit curve over time and label breakeven. e) Derive the default rate r (as a function of parameters) that makes profit exactly zero.

Quick Answer: This question evaluates financial modeling, unit-economics calculation, breakeven analysis, and basic risk/expected-loss estimation relevant to a Data Scientist, testing competency in statistics & math and algebraic derivation within financial analysis.

Related Interview Questions

  • Compute Optimal Die Re-roll Strategy - Capital One (easy)
  • How do you compute expected return for two projects? - Capital One (easy)
  • Compute gala vs online break-even donors - Capital One (Medium)
  • Model network-service unit economics and breakeven - Capital One (Medium)
  • Compute and interpret 95% confidence intervals - Capital One (Medium)
Capital One logo
Capital One
Oct 13, 2025, 9:49 PM
Data Scientist
Onsite
Statistics & Math
6
0

A bank is evaluating a new credit card. Segments: A: 30,000 customers, capture rate 20%, avg annual spend per captured customer = 100,000.B:anypopulation,capturerate0100,000. B: any population, capture rate 0% (ignore for revenue). C: 150,000 customers, capture rate 5%, avg annual spend per captured customer = 100,000.B:anypopulation,capturerate020,000. Assumptions: revenue = 3% of cardholder spend; default/charge-off cost = 1% of spend; acquisition cost = 200peractivecard(one−time,paidatactivation);fixedannualcost=200 per active card (one-time, paid at activation); fixed annual cost = 200peractivecard(one−time,paidatactivation);fixedannualcost=10,000,000. a) Compute total annual spend captured, gross revenue, costs, and profit. b) Name two additional costs you would include (e.g., rewards/cashback, servicing) and explain directionally how they change profit. c) A partnership adds 5,000 new customers, each spending 40,000/year;recomputeannualprofit.d)Firstyearonly,eachnewcustomergetsa40,000/year; recompute annual profit. d) First year only, each new customer gets a 40,000/year;recomputeannualprofit.d)Firstyearonly,eachnewcustomergetsa500 signup bonus paid at activation. Assume spend accrues uniformly, retention is indefinite, no discounting, and the 200acquisitioncostand200 acquisition cost and 200acquisitioncostand500 bonus are both paid immediately. At what time (years, 2 decimals) does the incremental $500 break even? Sketch the cumulative net profit curve over time and label breakeven. e) Derive the default rate r (as a function of parameters) that makes profit exactly zero.

Comments (0)

Sign in to leave a comment

Loading comments...

Browse More Questions

More Statistics & Math•More Capital One•More Data Scientist•Capital One Data Scientist•Capital One Statistics & Math•Data Scientist Statistics & Math
PracHub

Master your tech interviews with 7,500+ real questions from top companies.

Product

  • Questions
  • Learning Tracks
  • Interview Guides
  • Resources
  • Premium
  • For Universities
  • Student Access

Browse

  • By Company
  • By Role
  • By Category
  • Topic Hubs
  • SQL Questions
  • Compare Platforms
  • Discord Community

Support

  • support@prachub.com
  • (916) 541-4762

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • About Us

© 2026 PracHub. All rights reserved.