SLM
SLM Corporation
SLM trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
SOFI
SoFi Technologies, Inc.
SOFI has the edge over SLM overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
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.
SOFI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
SOFI's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like SOFI.
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.
SOFI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $15.63 | — |
| Current | 28x | $15.63 | — |
| Cheap | 33x | $18.24 | +17% |
| Fair | 43x | $23.82 | +52% |
| Expensive | 53x | $29.74 | +90% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SOFI has the edge over SLM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
SOFI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
SOFI has the edge over SLM on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and earnings expectations.
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.
SOFI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.82 | +47% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.56 | 0% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.49 | -2% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.45 | +4.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.39 | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.56 | +367% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.50 | +$0.72 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.43 | +$0.72 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.39 | +$0.75 |
SOFI earned $0.56 per share over the past year, about the same as the year before.
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.
SOFI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +44% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +43% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | $961.6M | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $854.9M | +43% |
| Q1 2025 | $771.8M | +20% |
| Q4 2024 | $734.1M | +19% |
SOFI has the edge over SLM on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +7.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 17% | +3.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | +7.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +9.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +6.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | +11 points |
| Q1 2025 | 10% | -4.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.2% | -0.2 points |
SOFI has the edge over SLM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 has the edge over SOFI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
SOFI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.1B | -$1.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$4B | -$2.5B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.4B | -$2.4B |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.1B | -$815.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.4B | -$149M |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.5B | -$1B |
| Q1 2025 | -$31.1M | -104% |
| Q4 2024 | -$242.4M | +$39.9M |
SOFI's free cash flow was −$10.5B over the past year, against −$3.2B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like SOFI.
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 the edge over SOFI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| 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.
SOFI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +5.8M shares |
| 1 year | +5.2% | +66.8M shares |
| 3 years | +43% | +407M shares |
| 5 years | +272% | +993M shares |
SOFI has 1.4B diluted shares, up 5.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
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.
SOFI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -3.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -3.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -6.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -5.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -4.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -4.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -5.8x | Net Cash |
SOFI has the edge over SLM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
SOFI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 41.5 | Neutral |
SOFI's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
SLM PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | SLM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 6x | 13x | 54% below |
| PE % | 27 | 63 | 36 pts below |
SLM has the edge over SOFI on valuation relative to its sector.
SOFI PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | SOFI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 13x | 114% above |
| PE % | 2 | 61 | 59 pts below |
SOFI is trading at 28x earnings, a 114% premium 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.
SOFI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $15.7 | 0.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $17.0 | 7.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $18.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $18.9 | 17% below |
| 200 week MA | $13.5 | 16% above |
SOFI has the edge over SLM on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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 has the edge over SOFI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
SOFI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.4 | $12.4 | +19% |
| 2021 | $12.4 | $15.1 | +22% |
| 2022 | $15.1 | $4.61 | -69% |
| 2023 | $4.61 | $9.95 | +116% |
| 2024 | $9.95 | $16.0 | +61% |
| 2025 | $16.0 | $27.1 | +69% |
| 2026 YTD | $27.1 | $15.6 | -42% |
SOFI's yearly returns have swung widely, from +116% in 2023 to −69% in 2022. It's down 42% so far in 2026.