SLM Stock Analysis: SLM | NASDAQ

Credit Services | NASDAQ, USA | Market Cap: 5.270m USD | 12M Return: -14.2% | US78442P1066 | Charts, Fundamentals & Technical Analysis

Education Loans, Savings Accounts, Money Market, Deposit Certificates
Total Rating 39
Safety 57
Buy Signal -0.19
Credit Services
Industry Rotation: -4.0
Market Cap: 5.27B
Avg Turnover: 59.9M
Risk 3d forecast
Volatility33.7%
VaR 5th Pctl5.72%
VaR vs Median3.11%
Reward TTM
Sharpe Ratio-0.25
Rel. Str. IBD52.5
Rel. Str. Peer Group50
Character TTM
Beta1.037
Beta Downside0.822
Hurst Exponent0.566
Drawdowns 3y
Max DD45.06%
CAGR/Max DD0.57
CAGR/Mean DD2.17
EPS (Earnings per Share) EPS (Earnings per Share) of SLM over the last years for every Quarter: "2021-06": 0.45, "2021-09": 0.24, "2021-12": 1.05, "2022-03": 0.46, "2022-06": 1.29, "2022-09": 0.29, "2022-12": -0.33, "2023-03": 0.47, "2023-06": 1.1, "2023-09": 0.11, "2023-12": 0.72, "2024-03": 1.27, "2024-06": 1.11, "2024-09": -0.23, "2024-12": 0.5, "2025-03": 1.4, "2025-06": 0.32, "2025-09": 0.63, "2025-12": 1.12, "2026-03": 1.54, "2026-06": 0.29,
EPS CAGR: 20.48%
EPS Trend: 59.4%
Last SUE: -0.64
Qual. Beats: 0
Revenue Revenue of SLM over the last years for every Quarter: 2021-06: 487.038, 2021-09: 461.468, 2021-12: 613.986, 2022-03: 486.963, 2022-06: 721.284, 2022-09: 615.014, 2022-12: 542.957, 2023-03: 659.309, 2023-06: 777.959, 2023-09: 676.488, 2023-12: 725.663, 2024-03: 837.716, 2024-06: 783.281, 2024-09: 677.162, 2024-12: 689.155, 2025-03: 862.134, 2025-06: 683.535, 2025-09: 830.289, 2025-12: 733.866, 2026-03: 833.886, 2026-06: 670.341,
Rev. CAGR: 3.55%
Rev. Trend: 71.4%
Last SUE: 0.60
Qual. Beats: 0

Warnings

No concerns identified

Tailwinds

No distinct edge detected

Seasonality 11.6 years of data

Jan +2.7% 40
Feb -3.4% 6
Mar -1.4% 8
Apr +2.7% 16
May -1.3% 15
Jun +0.2% 7
Jul -1.2% 5
Aug -2.4% 17
Sep -2.3% 6
Oct -2.8% 40
Nov +8.4% 55
Dec +0.9% 0

How good or bad each month usually is (without trend). The score below shows how much you can trust it: 0 = pure chance, >40 gets interesting and >55 is strong.

Description: SLM SLM

SLM Corporation, widely known as Sallie Mae, is a U.S. consumer finance company that originates and services private education loans used by students and their families to pay for higher education. The company complements its lending business by funding operations through retail deposits, offering high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and interest-bearing omnibus accounts. SLM Corporation was founded in 1972, is headquartered in Newark, Delaware, and has been listed on NASDAQ since 1985 under the ticker SLM.

Private student lending is a distinct niche within the broader Consumer Finance sector, separated from federally guaranteed student loan programs. Companies in this space typically fund loan portfolios through retail deposit gathering and capital markets activities rather than relying on government loan originations.

Headlines to Watch Out For
  • Deposit funding costs decline, boosting net interest margin
  • Private education loan originations grow with rising tuition and enrollment
  • SoFi competition intensifies, pressuring private student loan market share
Piotroski VR-10 (Strict) 5.5
Net Income: 735.5m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue
FCF/TA: 0.02 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA 3.60 > 1.0
NWC/Revenue: 204.1% < 20% (prev -497.3%; Δ 701.4% < -1%)
CFO/TA 0.02 > 3% & CFO 649.5m > Net Income 735.5m
Net Debt (1.20b) to EBITDA (998.8m): 1.20 < 3
Current Ratio: 1.31 > 1.5 & < 3
Outstanding Shares: last quarter (188.6m) vs 12m ago -9.89% < -2%
Gross Margin: 54.95% > 18% (prev 41.44%; Δ 13.50% > 0.5%)
Asset Turnover: 10.55% > 50% (prev 9.84%; Δ 0.71% > 0%)
Interest Coverage Ratio: 1.37 > 6 (EBIT TTM 982.6m / Interest Expense TTM 716.6m)
Altman Z'' 2.34
A: 0.22 (Total Current Assets 26.2b - Total Current Liabilities 19.9b) / Total Assets 28.6b
B: 0.18 (Retained Earnings 5.04b / Total Assets 28.6b)
C: 0.03 (EBIT TTM 982.6m / Avg Total Assets 29.1b)
D: 0.09 (Book Value of Equity 2.47b / Total Liabilities 26.1b)
Altman-Z'' = 2.34 = BBB
Beneish M -2.10
DSRI: 3.0 (Receivables 21.1b/1.70b, Revenue 3.07b/2.91b)
GMI: 0.75 (GM 41.44% / 54.95%)
AQI: 0.10 (AQ_t 0.08 / AQ_t-1 0.79)
SGI: 1.05 (Revenue 3.07b / 2.91b)
TATA: 0.00 (NI 735.5m - CFO 649.5m) / TA 28.6b)
Beneish M = -2.10 (Cap -4..+1) = BB
What is the price of SLM shares?

As of August 24, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 26.46 with a total of 1,179,392 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by -5.60%, over one month by +9.43%, over three months by +20.56% and over the past year by -14.23%.

Current recommended Stop Loss: 25.40 (which is 4% or 1.4 ATR below the current price).

Is SLM a buy, sell or hold?

SLM has received a consensus analysts rating of 4.36. Therefore, it is recommended to buy SLM.

  • StrongBuy: 6
  • Buy: 3
  • Hold: 2
  • Sell: 0
  • StrongSell: 0

What are the forecasts/targets for the SLM price?
Analysts Target Price 28.6 7.9%
SLM (SLM) - Fundamental Data Overview as of 18 August 2026
Market Cap USD = 5.27b (5.27b USD * 1.0 USD.USD)
P/E Trailing = 7.8078
P/E Forward = 9.0498
P/S = 3.1255
P/B = 2.3716
P/EG = 0.5827
Revenue TTM = 3.07b USD
EBIT TTM = 982.6m USD
EBITDA TTM = 998.8m USD
Long Term Debt = 5.84b USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 498.4m USD (from shortTermDebt, last fiscal year)
Debt = 5.84b USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter)
Net Debt = 1.20b USD (calculated: Debt 5.84b - CCE 4.64b)
Enterprise Value = 6.47b USD (5.27b + Debt 5.84b - CCE 4.64b)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 1.37 (Ebit TTM 982.6m / Interest Expense TTM 716.6m)
EV/FCF = 9.96x (Enterprise Value 6.47b / FCF TTM 649.5m)
FCF Yield = 10.04% (FCF TTM 649.5m / Enterprise Value 6.47b)
FCF Margin = 21.17% (FCF TTM 649.5m / Revenue TTM 3.07b)
Net Margin = 23.97% (Net Income TTM 735.5m / Revenue TTM 3.07b)
Gross Margin = 54.95% ((Revenue TTM 3.07b - Cost of Revenue TTM 1.38b) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 41.09% (prev 68.53%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 0.23 (Enterprise Value 6.47b / Total Assets 28.6b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 12.26% (Interest Expense 716.6m / Debt 5.84b)
Taxrate = 25.15% (247.1m / 982.6m)
NOPAT = 735.5m (EBIT 982.6m * (1 - 25.15%))
Current Ratio = 1.31 (Total Current Assets 26.2b / Total Current Liabilities 19.9b)
Debt / Equity = 2.36 (Debt 5.84b / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 2.47b)
Debt / EBITDA = 1.20 (Net Debt 1.20b / EBITDA 998.8m)
Debt / FCF = 1.85 (Net Debt 1.20b / FCF TTM 649.5m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 2.43b (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 2.53% (Net Income 735.5m / Total Assets 28.6b)
RoE = 30.31% (Net Income TTM 735.5m / Total Stockholder Equity 2.43b)
RoCE = 11.88% (EBIT 982.6m / Capital Employed (Equity 2.43b + L.T.Debt 5.84b))
RoIC = 8.15% (NOPAT 735.5m / Invested Capital 9.03b)
WACC = 9.39% (E(5.27b)/V(11.1b) * Re(9.63%) + D(5.84b)/V(11.1b) * Rd(12.26%) * (1-Tc(0.25)))
Discount Rate = 9.63% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: -95.02 | Cagr: -7.34%
[DCF] Terminal Value 71.86% ; FCFF base≈649.5m ; Y1≈652.2m ; Y5≈690.9m
[DCF] Fair Price = 42.16 (EV 9.13b - Net Debt 1.20b = Equity 7.93b / Shares 188.0m; r=9.39% [WACC]; 5y FCF grow 0.0% → 2.50% )
EPS Correlation: 59.44 | EPS CAGR: 20.48% | SUE: -0.64 | # QB: 0
Revenue Correlation: 71.42 | Revenue CAGR: 3.55% | SUE: 0.60 | # QB: 0
EPS current Quarter (2026-09-30): EPS=0.42 | Chg30d=+18.36% | Revisions=+0% | Analysts=10
EPS current Year (2026-12-31): EPS=3.12 | Chg30d=-0.12% | Revisions=-44% | GrowthEPS=-9.9% | GrowthRev=-5.7%
EPS next Year (2027-12-31): EPS=3.36 | Chg30d=-0.72% | Revisions=-22% | GrowthEPS=+7.8% | GrowthRev=+1.8%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: -26% (up=7, down=13)