SLM Corporation Common Stock (SLM)

FairStock Score: 82/100 — HIGH CONVICTION

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I am a skeptic by training. SLM originates private education loans and funds them partly with retail deposits, a business that can earn a wide spread when credit is calm but is cyclical and regulated. The numbers show a lender with high leverage: debt-to-equity of 2.36 and a FairStock-calculated return on equity of 30.33%, yet return on capital employed is only 2.53%. That tells me the equity return is largely a leverage story, not an exceptional moat. At the 2026-10-13 close of $22.70, FairStock calculates P/E 6.32, P/B 1.92, dividend yield 2.07%, and a Graham Number of $32.60, giving a 30.37% margin of safety. Cheapness is real if earnings hold. But quality signals are mixed: FairStock Piotroski F-Score is 3/9, Altman Z-Score 0.36, and trailing free cash flow is -$324.6M, a -7.6% FCF yield. Filed figures show fiscal 2025, the year ended 2025-12-31, net income of $744.8M and diluted EPS $3.46, up from $608.3M and $2.68 in fiscal 2024, the year ended 2024-12-31. However, in fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, net income was $58.5M and diluted EPS $0.29, down from $71.3M and $0.32 in fiscal Q2 2025, the quarter ended 2025-06-30. FairStock also classifies it as a SLOW GROWER — Shrinking, with profit -3.3% a year over five years. A low multiple can be a value trap when growth is negative and cash flow is weak. I would want evidence of stable credit, better cash generation, and lower leverage before calling it a durable bargain.

In plain English: SLM makes private student loans and offers savings accounts. It earns solid profits on paper but carries a lot of debt, has negative cash flow, and recent quarterly profit fell from a year earlier. At $22.70, the shares look cheaper than profits and net assets, but the risks mean it is not clearly a bargain.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer