NNI vs SLM: How Nelnet and SLM Corporation Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: SLM is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. NNI and SLM share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined NNI and SLM exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE: NNI) started life as a student loan company and has spent the last decade turning itself into something closer to a diversified holding company. Four reportable segments carry the business. Loan Servicing and Systems, run through Nelnet Diversified Services, services roughly ~$519.2 billion of Department of Education, Canadian, FFELP, private education and consumer loans for about ~15.2 million borrowers, and holds one of the U.S. Department of Education's Unified Servicing and Data Solution (USDS) contracts awarded in April 2023 (a five-year base with extension options out to ten). Education Technology Services and Payments, better known by its FACTS and Nelnet Campus Commerce brands, handles tuition management, financial aid assessment, student information systems and payment processing for more than ~1,300 higher education institutions and ~11,500 K-12 schools. Asset Generation and Management holds the loan book, and Nelnet Bank is a Utah-chartered internet industrial bank taking deposits and originating private education, consumer and other loans.

Full NNI guide

SLM Corporation, known as Sallie Mae, is a consumer bank built around private education loans. It originates and holds Private Education Loans for students and families to cover the gap between college costs and federal aid and scholarships, and it funds those loans primarily through retail deposits at Sallie Mae Bank. It is the dominant player in US private student lending, holding roughly a 64 percent share of the market and originating about $7.4 billion of loans in 2025. Its business model leans on a wide net interest margin (around 5.3 percent), disciplined underwriting with high cosigner rates, and a heavy program of loan sales and share buybacks to return capital.

Full SLM guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• NNI drivers: Redeploying FFELP run-off cash into higher-yield assets; Nelnet Bank reaching scale.
• SLM drivers: Dominant, high-margin niche lender; Capital return through buybacks and loan sales.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Concentration is the headline risk: the USDS servicing contract with the U.S. For SLM, sLM's fortunes are tied to consumer credit, so a weaker job market for graduates could push charge-offs and provisions higher and compress earnings.

Pick NNI if you believe its drivers more; SLM if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the NNI and SLM guides.

NNI. The trailing P/E is distorted by 2025's one-time ALLO gain and by solar tax equity losses that hit reported income before the tax credits and cash arrive, so price to book is the metric most Nelnet followers use. At roughly ~1.2x stated book the market is assigning modest premium to a balance sheet where the ALLO stake carries at ~$0 and the servicing and payments franchises carry no goodwill reflecting their fee streams. Q2 2026 revenue of about ~$410 million fell roughly ~20.5% year over year and adjusted EPS of ~$1.77 came in below consensus, mostly on the higher credit provision and the absent prior-year gain.

SLM. SLM trades at a low earnings multiple (roughly high single digits on a forward basis) and around or below book value, which is typical for a specialty consumer lender the market views as credit-sensitive. Net interest income was about $375 million in the first quarter of 2026 on a net interest margin near 5.3 percent. Figures are approximate and drawn from the most recent reported results as of July 2026.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): NNI shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.5 billion, net income (ttm) ~$302 million (~$8.36 per share), q2 2026 gaap eps ~$1.85, vs ~$4.97 a year earlier (prior year included a ~$175.0M ALLO gain), shareholders' equity ~$3.77 billion, roughly ~$105 per share on ~35.9 million shares; SLM shows market cap ~$4B, revenue (ttm) ~$2B, q1 2026 eps (gaap diluted) ~$1.54, 2026 eps guidance ~$3.10 to $3.20.

NNI and SLM are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined NNI and SLM exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.