SLM 2026 Forecast | Price, Valuation & Growth

SLM

NasdaqGS:SLM

$ 27,35

+ $0,37 (1,37%)

27,35 $

+$0,37 (1,37%)

End-of-day quote: 12/19/2025

SLM Stock Value

Analysts currently rate SLM as Outperform.

Outperform

SLM Company Info

EPS Growth 5Y

16,11%

Market Cap

$5,55 B

Long-Term Debt

$6,44 B

Short Interest

5,33%

Annual earnings

01/22/2026

Dividend

$0,53

Dividend Yield

1,93%

Founded

1972

Industry

Financials

Country

United States

ISIN Number

US78442P1066

Website

http://www.salliemae.com

Analyst Price Target

$32,00

17%

Last Update: 12/20/2025

Analysts: 11

Highest Price Target $37,00

Average Price Target $32,00

Lowest Price Target $23,00

In the last five quarters, SLM’s Price Target has risen from $26,22 to $33,25 - a 26,81% increase. Nine analysts predict that SLM’s share price will increase in the coming year, reaching $32,00. This would represent an increase of 17,00%.

Top growth stocks in the financials sector (5Y.)

What does SLM do?

SLM Corporation operates as an education solutions company. SLM Corporation, more commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the premier financial brand in higher education. The company supports students and families navigating to, through, and immediately after higher education. The company simplifies the college planning process and advances higher education access and completion by providing free tools, resources, scholarships, and responsible financing options. Private Education Loans The company'...

SLM Corporation operates as an education solutions company.

SLM Corporation, more commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the premier financial brand in higher education.

The company supports students and families navigating to, through, and immediately after higher education. The company simplifies the college planning process and advances higher education access and completion by providing free tools, resources, scholarships, and responsible financing options.

Private Education Loans

The company's primary business is to originate and service high-quality Private Education Loans. 'Private Education Loans' are education loans for students or their families that are not made, insured, or guaranteed by any state or federal government. The company also offers a range of deposit products insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the 'FDIC'). The company serves more families than any other private student loan lender.

The company's Private Education Loans serve primarily to bridge the gap between the cost of higher education and the amount funded through family income and savings, scholarships and grants, and federal financial aid. The company also extends Private Education Loans as an alternative to similar federal education loan products where the company's rates are competitive.

The company's primary Private Education Loan product is the Smart Option Student Loan, which emphasizes in-school payment features that can produce shorter terms and reduce customers' total finance charges. Customers generally elect one of three Smart Option repayment types at the time of loan origination. The first two, interest only and fixed payment options, require monthly payments while the student is in school and during the grace period thereafter, and accounted for approximately half of the Private Education Loans the bank originated during 2023. The third repayment option is the more traditional deferred Private Education Loan product where customers are not required to make payments while the student is in school and during the grace period after separation from school. (The grace period for a Smart Option Student Loan generally runs for six months after the borrower separates from school, but can run for up to 36 months for a small subset of graduate loans.) Lower interest rates on the interest only and fixed payment options encourage customers to elect those options, which help customers reduce their total loan cost compared with the traditional deferred option loan. Approximately half of the company's customers elect the in-school repayment option. Making payments while in school helps customers become accustomed to making on-time regular loan payments. The company offers both variable-rate and fixed-rate loans.

The company also offers six loan products for specific graduate programs of study. These include the Sallie Mae Law School Loan, the Sallie Mae MBA Loan, the Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan for Health Professions, the Sallie Mae Medical School Loan, the Sallie Mae Dental School Loan, and the Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan. These products were designed to address the specific needs of graduate students, such as extended grace periods for medical students.

The company regularly reviews and updates the terms of its Private Education Loan products.

The core of the company's marketing strategy is to promote the company's products on campuses through financial aid offices as well as through online and direct marketing to students and families. The company's on-campus efforts with approximately 2,100 higher education institutions are actively managed by the company's relationship management team, the largest in the industry, which has become a trusted resource for financial aid offices.

The company's loans are high credit quality and the overwhelming majority of the company's customers manage their payments with great success. Private Education Loans in repayment include loans on which customers are making interest only or fixed payments, as well as loans that have entered full principal and interest repayment status after any applicable grace period.

Sallie Mae Bank

The bank, which is regulated by the Utah Department of Financial Institutions (the 'UDFI'), the FDIC, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the 'CFPB'), offers traditional savings products, such as high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit ('CDs'), originates Private Education Loans, and manages a loan portfolio that also includes loans insured or guaranteed under the previously existing Federal Family Education Loan Program ('FFELP Loans').

SmartyPig

The company's SmartyPig product is a free, FDIC-insured, online, goal-based savings account that helps consumers save for long- and short-term goals. Its tiered interest rates reward consumers for growing their savings.

Credit Cards

In May 2023, the company sold its portfolio of credit card loans ('Credit Cards') to a third party. This transaction qualified for sale treatment and removed the balance of the loans from the company's balance sheet on the settlement date.

Customer Service

The company performs the origination, servicing, and collections activities for all of its Private Education Loans with dedicated representatives assisting customers with various needs, including the military personnel customers who may be eligible for military benefits. The company expects the bank or affiliates of the bank to retain servicing of all Private Education Loans the bank originates, regardless of whether the loans are held, sold, or securitized.

Over the past few years, the company has implemented several improvements in its ability to interact with the company's loan customers, including:

An integrated platform with customer-centric capabilities that allows self-service and empowers the company's servicing and collections agents, thus streamlining the company's processes and providing efficiencies;

An on-line chat function for application support and customer service related inquires;

A mobile application accessible through smart phones; and

The expansion of customer surveys to gain feedback on areas for improvement within the company's originations, servicing, and collections functions.

Customer Success

The company continues to adapt its business to best serve the needs of families who see the company as a trusted advisor and partner.

In 2022, the company acquired the assets of Epic Research Education Services, LLC, which did business as Nitro College ('Nitro'). Nitro provides resources that help students and families evaluate how to responsibly pay for college and manage their financial responsibilities after graduation.

The acquisition of Nitro enhanced future strategic growth opportunities and expanded the company's digital marketing capabilities, and accelerated the company's progress to become a broader education solutions provider helping students to, through, and immediately after higher education. In 2024, the company plans to transition the related Nitro branding to the Sallie and Sallie Mae brands and platforms.

In 2023, the company completed the acquisition of several key assets of Scholly, Inc. ('Scholly'), which is engaged in the business of operating as a scholarship publishing and servicing platform, consisted of websites and mobile application search products that offer custom recommendations for post-secondary scholarships for students, their families, and others as well as related services for scholarship providers. The addition of Scholly assets supports the company's mission of providing students with the confidence needed to successfully navigate the higher education journey.

Supervision and Regulation

The company's origination, servicing, first-party collection, and deposit taking activities subject the company to federal and state consumer protection, privacy, and related laws and regulations. Some of the more significant laws and regulations applicable to the company's business include:

Various state and federal laws governing unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices;

Various state laws and regulations imposing specific, mandated standards and requirements on the conduct and practices of student loan lenders and servicers;

The federal Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z, which govern disclosures of credit terms to consumer borrowers;

The Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V, which govern the use and provision of information to consumer reporting agencies;

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, which prohibit creditor practices that discriminate on the basis of race, religion, and other prohibited factors in extending credit;

The SCRA, which applies to all debts incurred prior to commencement of active military service (including education loans) and limits the amount of interest, including fees, that may be charged;

The Truth in Savings Act and Regulation DD, which mandate certain disclosures related to consumer deposit accounts;

The Expedited Funds Availability Act, Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act and Regulation CC issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the 'Federal Reserve Board'), which relate to the availability of deposit funds to consumers;

The Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain the confidentiality of consumer financial records and prescribes procedures for complying with federal government requests for and subpoenas of financial records;

The Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E, which govern automated transfers of funds and consumers' rights related thereto;

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which governs communication methods that may be used to contact customers;

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which governs the ability of financial institutions to disclose nonpublic information about consumers to non-affiliated third parties; and

The California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act, which govern transparency and disclosure obligations regarding personal information of residents of the State of California.

The CFPB is the bank's primary consumer compliance supervisor with compliance examination authority and primary consumer protection enforcement authority. The UDFI and FDIC remain the prudential regulatory authorities with respect to the bank's financial strength.

The bank was chartered in 2005 and is a Utah industrial bank regulated by the FDIC, the UDFI, and the CFPB.

The bank is subject to prudential regulation and examination by the FDIC and the UDFI, and consumer compliance regulation and examination by the CFPB.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires the federal banking regulatory agencies such as the FDIC to prescribe, by regulation or guidance, operational and managerial standards for all insured depository institutions, such as the bank, relating to internal controls, information systems and audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate risk exposure, and asset quality.

Deposits at the bank are insured up to the applicable legal limits by the FDIC-administered Deposit Insurance Fund (the 'DIF'), which is funded primarily by quarterly assessments on insured banks.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the company is required to serve as a source of financial strength to the bank and to commit resources to support the bank in circumstances when the company might not do so absent the statutory requirement.

The Community Reinvestment Act (the 'CRA') requires the FDIC to evaluate the record of the bank in meeting the credit needs of its local community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of the institution.

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (the 'USA Patriot Act'), which amended the Bank Secrecy Act, substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties, and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued and, in some cases, proposed a number of regulations that apply various requirements of the USA Patriot Act to financial institutions such as the bank.

History

SLM Corporation was founded in 1972. The company was incorporated in 1997.

SLM Questions and Answers

Which sectors generate sales and which are the top 3 markets?

Education loans: approx. 80% Private loans: approx. 15% Other financial services: approx. 5% TOP 3 Markets: USA: approx. 90% Canada: approx. 5% United Kingdom: approx. 3% SLM Corporation, known as Sallie Mae, generates the majority of its revenue from education loans, primarily granted to...

At which locations are the company’s products manufactured?

Production Sites: No specific production sites, as SLM Corporation primarily offers financial services. SLM Corporation, also known as Sallie Mae, is not a production company in the traditional sense. It is a financial services company specializing in providing education financing. Therefore, the co...

What strategy does SLM pursue for future growth?

Strategy for Future Growth: Diversification of Credit Products: SLM Corporation plans to expand its portfolio of credit products to offer not only student loans but also other consumer loans. This is intended to diversify risk and tap into new revenue streams. Digital Transformation: The company...

Which raw materials are imported and from which countries?

Commodities/Materials: Financial services Import countries: Not applicable SLM Corporation, also known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company specializing in the origination and servicing of student loans. Since SLM Corporation does not engage in any production or manufacturing activities, t...

How strong is the company’s competitive advantage?

Market share in the private credit sector: 25% (2024) Return on equity (ROE): 18% (2024) Net interest margin: 5.5% (2024) SLM Corporation, also known as Sallie Mae, has a significant competitive advantage in the private education financing sector. With a market share of approximately 25% in the priv...

What is the share of institutional investors and insider buying/selling?

Institutional Investor Share: approx. 98% (2025, estimated) Insider Buys/Sells: No significant transactions in the last 12 months (2025, estimated) The institutional investor share at SLM Corporation is traditionally high, indicating the trust of large investment funds and institutional investors in...

What percentage market share does SLM have?

Market share of SLM Corporation: Estimate: 12% (2025) Top competitors and their market shares: Navient Corporation: 15% Discover Financial Services: 14% Nelnet, Inc.: 10% SoFi Technologies, Inc.: 9% CommonBond, Inc.: 8% Moat of SLM Corporation: SLM Corporation, also known as Sallie Mae, has a sign...

Is SLM stock currently a good investment?

Revenue Growth: 8.4% (2024) Profit Growth: 10.1% (2024) Return on Equity: 18.5% (2024) SLM Corporation, known for its services in the field of education financing, recorded a revenue growth of 8.4% in 2024. This indicates a solid demand for its products and services. The profit growth of 10.1% shows...

Does SLM pay a dividend – and how reliable is the payout?

Dividend yield: 2.5% (2025) Dividend history: Regular payouts since 2019 SLM Corporation pays a dividend currently yielding around 2.5%. The company has been regularly distributing dividends since 2019, indicating a certain level of reliability. The stability of dividend payments is supported by SLM...

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SLM Stock Value

SLM Company Info

Analyst Price Target

Top growth stocks in the financials sector (5Y.)

What does SLM do?

SLM Questions and Answers

Offer & Services

Service & Collaboration

Company & Legal