SLM
SLM Corporation
SLM's fundamentals are mixed. At 6.0x earnings, it's trading below its usual 7.1x. Analysts expect earnings to decline, though they disagree widely on how much.
SLM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
SLM's profitability is currently healthy, but its revenue is under pressure. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like SLM.
SLM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 5.3x | $14.65 | -12% |
| Current | 6x | $16.59 | — |
| Forward | 6.6x | $16.59 | — |
| Fair | 7.1x | $19.45 | +17% |
| Expensive | 9.6x | $26.38 | +59% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SLM's PE is in its cheap range at 6.0x. Analysts expect earnings to fall, which would put today's price at 6.6x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
SLM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Deteriorating | |
| Decline | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect SLM's earnings and profitability to decline, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
SLM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.52 | -8.2% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.75 | -4.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.57 | +77% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.60 | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.46 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.88 | +0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.02 | -37% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.81 | -12% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.68 | +12% |
SLM's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.75 over the past year, against $3.77 in mid-2021.
SLM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $375.5M | -31% |
| Q2 2026 | $401.1M | -0.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $560M | -3.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $454.1M | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $545.7M | +42% |
| Q2 2025 | $403.6M | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $581M | +3.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $390M | -12% |
SLM's revenue has slid since its 2021 peak: $375M last quarter, down 31% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -16% | -50 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | -1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 71% | +2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 70% | +36 points |
| Q3 2025 | 34% | +50 points |
| Q2 2025 | 22% | -44 points |
| Q1 2025 | 69% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | -17 points |
SLM's operating margin was −16% last quarter, down 50 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
SLM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$106.4M | -$57M |
| Q2 2026 | -$134.8M | +$3.9M |
| Q1 2026 | -$76M | +$70.1M |
| Q4 2025 | -$64.5M | -1520% |
| Q3 2025 | -$49.3M | +$64.1M |
| Q2 2025 | -$138.7M | +$5.1M |
| Q1 2025 | -$146.1M | -$69.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $4.5M | +$31.7M |
SLM's free cash flow was −$382M over the past year, against −$330M the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like SLM.
SLM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.5% | -4.8M shares |
| 1 year | -12% | -25M shares |
| 3 years | -19% | -43.2M shares |
| 5 years | -39% | -119M shares |
| Available history | -57% | -245M shares |
SLM has 186M diluted shares, down 12% from a year ago, with $545M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $127.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $3.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $290.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $123.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $143.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $71.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $29.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $47.1M |
SLM spent $545M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 87% from the year before.
SLM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.6x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1x | Moderate |
SLM's net debt is about 5.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 4.0 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like SLM.
SLM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 25.5 | Oversold |
| Stochastic | 2.4 | Oversold |
SLM's weekly RSI is 26 (oversold) and its Stochastic is 2 (oversold).
SLM PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | SLM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 6x | 13x | 54% below |
| PE % | 27 | 63 | 36 pts below |
SLM is trading at 6.0x earnings, a 54% discount to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
SLM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $20.2 | 18% below |
| 20 week MA | $23.7 | 30% below |
| 50 week MA | $23.8 | 30% below |
| 100 week MA | $26.7 | 38% below |
| 200 week MA | $22.5 | 26% below |
SLM is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 26% below its 200-week average.
SLM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $8.99 | $12.3 | +36% |
| 2021 | $12.3 | $19.1 | +56% |
| 2022 | $19.1 | $16.5 | -14% |
| 2023 | $16.5 | $19.1 | +16% |
| 2024 | $19.1 | $27.9 | +46% |
| 2025 | $27.9 | $27.5 | -1.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $27.5 | $16.6 | -40% |
SLM is down 40% so far in 2026, after finishing higher in four of the previous six years.