AFRM vs SLM vs SYF Stock Comparison

Affirm Holdings, Slm and Synchrony Financial Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AFRM Affirm Holdings, Inc.
$69.49 -2.8% 1M -7.8% 1Y
Market cap
$24.31B
P/E
12.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.26B
Div. yield
–
Consumer Lending Financial Services
3 wins
SLM SLM Corp
$19.62 -17.1% 1M -29.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.56B
P/E
6.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.79B
Div. yield
0.03%
Consumer Lending Financial Services
2 wins
SYF Synchrony Financial
$74.86 +2.7% 1M +0.0% 1Y
Market cap
$24.16B
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.31B
Div. yield
0.02%
Consumer Lending Financial Services
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Synchrony Financial leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Synchrony Financial 7, Affirm Holdings 3, Slm 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAFRMSLMSYFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $24.31B $3.56B $24.16B AFRM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.6x 6.4x 7.5x SLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 37.2x 8.9x 7.6x SYF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.2% -6.7% +2.6% AFRM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 45.3% 30.9% 16.8% AFRM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.6% 16.6% 25.7% SYF
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 2.3x -0.9x SYF
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.02% SLM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.8% -29.0% +0.0% SYF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.4%/yr +2.2%/yr +9.9%/yr SYF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.7% 42.0% 31.7% SYF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 48/100 80/100 SYF

Percentile Scorecard

AFRMSLMSYF

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAFRMSLMSYF
Valuation 34 #113 of 170 47 #90 of 170 94 #12 of 170
Growth 99 #3 of 160 30 #112 of 160 51 #79 of 160
Profitability 65 #53 of 149 55 #68 of 149 91 #15 of 149
Financial Health 61 #63 of 158 36 #101 of 158 78 #35 of 158
Shareholder Returns 13 #118 of 135 72 #39 of 135 84 #22 of 135
Overall 54 48 80
  • AFRM ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • SLM ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • SYF ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAFRMSLMSYFSPY
1 month -2.8%-17.1%+2.7% -0.8%
3 months -4.9%-22.8%-0.6% +3.5%
6 months +6.7%-16.3%-2.5% +7.0%
Year to date -6.6%-27.5%-10.3% +12.2%
1 year -7.8%-29.0%+0.0% +13.0%
3 years +310.5%+53.2%+166.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +60.2%+15.3%+38.7% +23.1%
5 years -54.0%+11.6%+60.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -14.4%+2.2%+9.9% +11.0%
10 years —+172.5%+160.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+10.5%+10.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAFRMSLMSYFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.7%42.0%31.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 58.3%51.1%36.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.601.071.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.13-0.690.00 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -94.7%-45.8%-46.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.0%-36.4%-15.4% -1.8%
52-week high $85.78$30.85$88.47 $779.14
52-week low $42.53$18.74$63.78 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAFRMSLMSYF
P/E now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 11.0x 6.6xmedian 11.0x 7.4xmedian 11.0x
P/S now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 2.6x 2.0xmedian 2.6x 1.2xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 33.6xmedian 13.1x 4.2xmedian 13.1x 1.8xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.6xmedian 6.9x -9.4xmedian 6.9x 2.4xmedian 6.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 0.7x 1.6xmedian 0.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.22median 0.32 0.23median 0.32 0.34median 0.32

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAFRMSLMSYF
Revenue $4.26B $1.79B $19.31B
Operating income $416.98M – –
Net income $1.93B $567.40M $3.33B
Free cash flow $992.63M -$381.64M $9.56B
EPS (diluted) $5.53 $2.98 $10.06
Cash & equivalents $1.63B $2.17B $15.90B
Total debt $10.58B $6.43B $8.11B
Shares (diluted) 348.85M 185.57M 322.40M
Enterprise value $18.00B -$12.78B -$43.46B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAFRMSLMSYF
P/E 12.1x 6.6x 7.4x
P/FCF 23.6x -9.4x 2.4x
P/Operating cash flow 19.0x -9.4x 2.4x
P/S 5.5x 2.0x 1.2x
P/B 4.3x 1.6x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 4.3x 1.6x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 33.6x 4.2x 1.8x
EV/EBIT 60.3x 4.3x 1.9x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 4.4x 0.8x
EV/FCF 25.3x -20.5x 1.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.4x -20.5x 1.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.22 0.23 0.34

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAFRMSLMSYF
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.2% -6.7% 2.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 39.0% 1.6% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 577.8% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 32.9% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 3,598% -9.0% -6.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 58.2% 19.1% 12.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 3,515% 3.4% 6.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 54.1% 28.7% 21.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 55.1% -15.8% -2.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 365.8% -47.7% 5.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 65.0% -15.8% -2.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 123.3% -47.7% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAFRMSLMSYF
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 17.6% 104.4% 45.8%
Operating margin 9.8% – –
Pretax margin 11.6% 41.2% 22.6%
Net margin 45.3% 30.9% 16.8%
FCF margin 23.3% -21.3% 49.5%
Operating cash flow margin 28.9% -21.3% 49.5%
Return on equity 41.6% 24.0% 19.9%
Return on assets 13.3% 1.9% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 5.6% 16.6% 25.7%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x -0.7x 2.9x
Stock comp / revenue 7.2% 2.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAFRMSLMSYF
Debt / assets 21.1% 21.6% 6.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x 2.9x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 2.3x -0.9x
Debt / FCF 3.4x -16.9x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 65.3% 92.4% 86.5%
Equity / assets 34.7% 7.6% 13.5%
Interest coverage 0.9x 1.7x 2.1x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAFRMSLMSYF
Dividend yield – 2.7% 1.7%
Net buyback yield -0.7% 15.2% 16.5%
Shareholder yield -0.7% 17.9% 18.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 17.7% 12.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -26.3% 4.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -7.9% 0.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -1.1% 1.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAFRMSLMSYF
Forward P/E 37.2xFY2027 8.9xFY2026 7.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.87FY2027 $2.20FY2026 $9.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -66.2%FY2027 -36.4%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +44.4% +30.5% +10.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.23BFY2027 $1.85BFY2026 $15.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +22.7%FY2027 -6.7%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +24.0% -0.3% +7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAFRMSLMSYF
Held by institutions 77.1% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 658 387 1,002
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.1% +2.4% -0.8%
Institutions buying 401 193 526
Institutions selling 173 135 345
Buyers to sellers 2.32 1.43 1.52

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AFRMSLMSYF
AFRM 1.00 0.39 0.51
SLM 0.39 1.00 0.53
SYF 0.51 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AFRM, SLM and SYF?

Affirm Holdings (AFRM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Affirm Holdings (AFRM) $24.31B, Slm (SLM) $3.56B, Synchrony Financial (SYF) $24.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, AFRM, SLM and SYF?

Slm (SLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Affirm Holdings (AFRM) 12.6x, Slm (SLM) 6.4x, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Synchrony Financial (SYF) is cheapest (Affirm Holdings (AFRM) 37.2x, Slm (SLM) 8.9x, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Affirm Holdings (AFRM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Affirm Holdings (AFRM) +32.2%, Slm (SLM) -6.7%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +2.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Affirm Holdings (AFRM) has the highest net margin (Affirm Holdings (AFRM) 45.3%, Slm (SLM) 30.9%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 16.8%). On return on invested capital, Synchrony Financial (SYF) leads (Affirm Holdings (AFRM) 5.6%, Slm (SLM) 16.6%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 25.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Synchrony Financial (SYF) returned the most: Affirm Holdings (AFRM) -7.8%, Slm (SLM) -29.0%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +0.0%. Over five years, Synchrony Financial (SYF) compounded fastest (Affirm Holdings (AFRM) -14.4%/yr, Slm (SLM) +2.2%/yr, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +9.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Slm (SLM) has the highest dividend yield: Affirm Holdings (AFRM) 0.00%, Slm (SLM) 0.03%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 0.02%. Affirm Holdings (AFRM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Synchrony Financial (SYF) has been the steadiest (Affirm Holdings (AFRM) 59.7%, Slm (SLM) 42.0%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 31.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AFRM, SLM and SYF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Synchrony Financial (SYF) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.