A Business at a Glance
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NELNET INC
NNI
$4.8B
Mkt Cap
$133.36
+1.34%
NELNET INC (NNI) has a current P/E ratio of 11.3, compared to its historical median P/E of 10.3. The stock is currently considered Fair based on its historical valuation range.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a 5-year average return on invested capital (ROIC) of 1.9%. This is below average and may indicate limited pricing power.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a market capitalization of $4.8B. It is classified as a mid-cap stock.
Yes, NELNET INC (NNI) pays a dividend with a trailing twelve-month yield of 0.93%. The company also returns capital through share buybacks, with a buyback yield of 1.69%.
Based on historical P/E analysis, NELNET INC (NNI) appears fair. The current P/E of 11.3 is 10% above its historical median of 10.3. The estimated fair value CAGR (P/E method) is -1.5%.
NELNET INC (NNI) operates in the Personal Credit Institutions industry, within the Financials sector.
NELNET INC (NNI) reported annual revenue of $355 million in its most recent fiscal year, based on SEC EDGAR filings.
Nelnet is an operating holding company with primary businesses in consumer lending, loan servicing, payments, and technology-enabled services, many of which are focused on serving customers in the education sector. The Company conducts these activities both directly and through its wholly owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, and actively manages and operates its businesses on an integrated basis. Nelnet’s largest operating and technology platforms support loan servicing and education-related technology and payment solutions. A significant portion of the Company’s revenue is derived from net interest income earned on a portfolio of federally insured student loans, a substantial portion of which is serviced by the Company. The Company has also broadened its operating business mix both within and beyond its historical education-focused activities.
| Segment | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating Segments | $486M | $535M | $518M | $487M | $509M | 18% |
Loan servicing and systems revenue | $486M | $535M | $518M | $482M | $509M | 18% |
Education technology services and payments revenue | — | $409M | $463M | $487M | $507M | 18% |
Government loan servicing | $361M | $423M | $413M | $381M | $364M | 13% |
Payment processing | $127M | $148M | $164M | $179M | $193M | 7% |
| Metric | TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 105M | 355M | 293M | 265M | 1.6B | 1.3B |
| Net Income | 417M | 428M | 184M | 90M | 407M | 393M |
| EPS | $11.46 | $11.79 | $5.02 | $2.40 | $10.82 | $10.20 |
| Free Cash Flow | 371M | 397M | 642M | 358M | 624M | 421M |
| ROIC | 0.0% | 3.7% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Gross Margin | - | 36.2% | 13.8% | 17.0% | 89.2% | 91.8% |
| Debt/Equity | 2.06 | 2.11 | 2.48 | 3.64 | 4.58 | 5.97 |
| Dividends/Share | $1.24 | $1.18 | $1.11 | $1.05 | $0.97 | $0.89 |
| Operating Income | 0 | 558M | 229M | 69M | 502M | 502M |
| Operating Margin | 0.0% | - | 78.1% | 26.0% | 32.2% | 37.9% |
| ROE | 11.2% | 12.2% | 5.6% | 2.8% | 13.2% | 14.1% |
| Shares Outstanding | 36M | 36M | 37M | 37M | 38M | 39M |
| Metric | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Statement | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1B | 1.1B | 1.4B | 1.3B | 1.6B | 265M | 293M | 355M | 105M |
| Gross Margin | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 92.9% | 90.6% | 92.5% | 91.8% | 89.2% | 17.0% | 13.8% | 36.2% | N/A |
| R&D | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SG&A | 228M | 248M | 256M | 302M | 436M | 464M | 502M | 507M | 590M | 592M | 577M | 559M | 560M |
| EBIT | 54M | 28M | 399M | 227M | 286M | 177M | 450M | 502M | 502M | 69M | 229M | 558M | 0 |
| Op. Margin | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 26.6% | 16.4% | 32.2% | 37.9% | 32.2% | 26.0% | 78.1% | N/A | 0.0% |
| Net Income | 308M | 268M | 257M | 173M | 228M | 142M | 352M | 393M | 407M | 90M | 184M | 428M | 417M |
| Net Margin | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21.2% | 13.1% | 25.2% | 29.7% | 26.1% | 33.9% | 62.8% | 120.9% | 395.9% |
| Non-Recurring | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.6M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19M | 3.1M | 30M | 30M |
| Returns on Capital | |||||||||||||
| ROIC | 19.4% | 14.8% | 13.0% | 8.2% | 10.2% | 6.0% | 2.9% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 3.7% | 0.0% |
| ROE | 19.4% | 14.8% | 13.0% | 8.2% | 10.2% | 6.0% | 14.0% | 14.1% | 13.2% | 2.8% | 5.6% | 12.2% | 11.2% |
| ROA | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| Cash Flow | |||||||||||||
| Op. Cash Flow | 357M | 391M | 300M | 322M | 271M | 299M | 349M | 480M | 683M | 432M | 663M | 423M | 405M |
| Free Cash Flow | 331M | 375M | 233M | 166M | 146M | 206M | 236M | 421M | 624M | 358M | 642M | 397M | 371M |
| Owner Earnings | 245M | 262M | 173M | 180M | 80M | 99M | 134M | 337M | 493M | 270M | 518M | 319M | 302M |
| CapEx | 26M | 17M | 68M | 156M | 125M | 92M | 113M | 59M | 59M | 74M | 21M | 26M | 34M |
| Maint. CapEx | 108M | 124M | 123M | 138M | 185M | 193M | 198M | 132M | 176M | 145M | 133M | 91M | 89M |
| Growth CapEx | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D&A | 108M | 124M | 123M | 138M | 185M | 193M | 198M | 132M | 176M | 145M | 133M | 91M | 89M |
| CapEx/OCF | 7.4% | 4.3% | 20.8% | 48.4% | 46.2% | 30.9% | 53.2% | 12.3% | 8.7% | 17.1% | 3.2% | 6.2% | 8.5% |
| Capital Allocation | |||||||||||||
| Dividends Paid | 19M | 19M | 21M | 24M | 27M | 29M | 32M | 34M | 37M | 39M | 41M | 43M | 45M |
| Dividend Yield | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| Share Buybacks | 16M | 96M | 69M | 69M | 45M | 40M | 73M | 58M | 98M | 28M | 83M | 69M | 81M |
| Buyback Yield | 0.8% | 7.2% | 3.6% | 3.2% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.9% | 1.6% | 3.0% | 0.9% | 2.2% | 1.4% | 1.7% |
| Stock-Based Comp | 4.7M | 5.3M | 4.3M | 4.4M | 6.5M | 6.8M | 17M | 11M | 14M | 16M | 12M | 13M | 14M |
| Debt Repayment | 3.6B | 4.4B | 4.1B | 5.4B | 3.1B | 40M | 26M | 407M | 67M | 5.1M | 7.6M | 760M | 760M |
| Balance Sheet | |||||||||||||
| Net Debt | 27.9B | 28.0B | 24.6B | 21.3B | 22.0B | 20.3B | 18.9B | 16.5B | 13.1B | 10.7B | 7.0B | 6.1B | 5.9B |
| Cash & Equiv. | 130M | 64M | 70M | 67M | 121M | 134M | 121M | 126M | 118M | 168M | 195M | 296M | 1.8B |
| Long-Term Debt | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 19.3B | 17.6B | 14.6B | 11.8B | 8.3B | 7.8B | 7.7B |
| Debt/Equity | 16.24 | 14.91 | 11.97 | 9.94 | 9.64 | 8.60 | 7.34 | 5.97 | 4.58 | 3.64 | 2.48 | 2.11 | 2.06 |
| Interest Coverage | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Equity | 1.7B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 2.1B | 2.3B | 2.4B | 2.6B | 3.0B | 3.2B | 3.3B | 3.3B | 3.7B | 3.7B |
| Total Assets | 30.0B | 30.4B | 27.2B | 24.0B | 25.2B | 23.7B | 22.6B | 21.7B | 19.4B | 16.7B | 13.8B | 14.1B | 14.2B |
| Total Liabilities | 28.4B | 28.5B | 25.1B | 21.8B | 22.9B | 21.3B | 20.0B | 18.7B | 16.2B | 13.5B | 10.5B | 10.5B | 10.6B |
| Intangibles | 43M | 51M | 48M | 38M | 114M | 82M | 75M | 52M | 64M | 45M | 36M | 29M | 98M |
| Retained Earnings | 1.7B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 2.1B | 2.3B | 2.4B | 2.6B | 2.9B | 3.2B | 3.3B | 3.3B | 3.7B | 3.7B |
| Working Capital | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Current Assets | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Current Liabilities | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Per Share Data | |||||||||||||
| EPS | 6.62 | 5.89 | 6.02 | 4.14 | 5.57 | 3.54 | 9.02 | 10.20 | 10.82 | 2.40 | 5.02 | 11.79 | 11.46 |
| Owner EPS | 5.27 | 5.76 | 4.06 | 4.30 | 1.95 | 2.48 | 3.43 | 8.75 | 13.10 | 7.22 | 14.14 | 8.78 | 8.38 |
| Book Value | 37.13 | 41.42 | 48.34 | 51.39 | 56.32 | 59.58 | 67.36 | 76.54 | 85.06 | 86.93 | 91.37 | 101.42 | 103.43 |
| Cash Flow/Share | 7.69 | 8.60 | 7.04 | 7.70 | 6.62 | 7.46 | 8.93 | 12.46 | 18.16 | 11.54 | 18.08 | 11.64 | 14.02 |
| Dividends/Share | 0.40 | 0.42 | 0.50 | 0.58 | 0.66 | 0.74 | 0.81 | 0.89 | 0.97 | 1.05 | 1.11 | 1.18 | 1.24 |
| Shares Out. | 46.5M | 45.5M | 42.6M | 41.8M | 40.9M | 40.1M | 39.1M | 38.6M | 37.6M | 37.4M | 36.7M | 36.3M | 36.1M |
| Valuation | |||||||||||||
| P/E Ratio | 6.1 | 5.0 | 7.6 | 12.3 | 8.6 | 15.4 | 7.2 | 9.2 | 7.9 | 36.1 | 20.9 | 11.5 | 11.6 |
| P/FCF | 5.7 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 10.6 | 10.7 | 8.6 | 5.2 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 12.4 | 13.0 |
| EV/EBIT | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Price/Book | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | N/A | 11.1 | 8.2 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 45.7 |
| FCF Yield | 17.5% | 28.0% | 12.0% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 9.5% | 9.3% | 11.7% | 19.3% | 11.1% | 16.7% | 8.1% | 7.7% |
| Market Cap | 1.9B | 1.3B | 1.9B | 2.1B | 2.0B | 2.2B | 2.5B | 3.6B | 3.2B | 3.2B | 3.8B | 4.9B | 4.8B |
| Avg. Price | 36.81 | 35.92 | 34.57 | 43.64 | 51.01 | 55.00 | 53.70 | 74.09 | 83.37 | 89.40 | 100.21 | 118.90 | 133.36 |
| Year-End Price | 40.60 | 29.45 | 45.61 | 50.89 | 47.81 | 54.49 | 64.75 | 93.57 | 85.95 | 86.54 | 104.89 | 135.38 | 133.36 |
NELNET INC passes 3 of 9 quality checks, indicating weak fundamentals.
NELNET INC trades at 11.3x trailing earnings, compared to its 15-year median P/E of 10.3x, suggesting it is currently Fair relative to its historical range. On a free-cash-flow basis, the stock trades at 8.5x vs a median of 9.8x. The company's 5-year average ROIC is 1.9% with a gross margin of 49.6%. Total shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) is 2.6%. At current prices, the estimated annualized return to fair value is +31.7%.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a net profit margin of 120.9%. This is a strong margin indicating high profitability.
NELNET INC (NNI) generated $397 million in free cash flow in its most recent fiscal year. Positive free cash flow supports dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. This indicates higher leverage, which may increase financial risk.
NELNET INC (NNI) reported earnings per share (EPS) of $11.79 in its most recent fiscal year.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a return on equity (ROE) of 12.2%. This indicates moderate shareholder returns.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a 5-year average gross margin of 49.6%. This indicates decent pricing power.
The Ledger Terminal provides 16 years of financial data for NELNET INC (NNI), sourced directly from SEC EDGAR filings. This includes income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and key financial ratios.
NELNET INC (NNI) has a book value per share of $101.42, based on its most recent annual SEC filing.