SLM vs SYF vs CACC Stock Comparison

Slm, Synchrony Financial and Credit Acceptance Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SLM SLM Corp
$19.62 -17.1% 1M -29.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.49B
P/E
6.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.79B
Div. yield
0.03%
Consumer Lending Financial Services
3 wins
SYF Synchrony Financial
$74.86 +2.7% 1M +0.0% 1Y
Market cap
$23.94B
P/E
7.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.31B
Div. yield
0.02%
Consumer Lending Financial Services
8 wins
CACC Credit Acceptance Corp
$537.38 -3.3% 1M +6.1% 1Y
Market cap
$5.69B
P/E
11.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.33B
Div. yield
–
Consumer Lending Financial Services
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Synchrony Financial leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Synchrony Financial 8, Slm 3, Credit Acceptance 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSLMSYFCACCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.49B $23.94B $5.69B SYF
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.3x 7.4x 11.3x SLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.9x 7.6x 11.7x SYF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.7% +2.6% +2.6% SYF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.9% 16.8% 21.5% SLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.6% 25.7% 10.7% SYF
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x -0.9x 5.6x SYF
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.02% 0.00% SLM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -29.0% +0.0% +6.1% CACC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.2%/yr +9.9%/yr -1.8%/yr SYF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.0% 31.7% 37.6% SYF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 80/100 64/100 SYF

Percentile Scorecard

SLMSYFCACC

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

AxisSLMSYFCACC
Valuation 47 #90 of 170 94 #12 of 170 59 #71 of 170
Growth 30 #112 of 160 51 #79 of 160 56 #71 of 160
Profitability 55 #68 of 149 91 #15 of 149 93 #12 of 149
Financial Health 36 #101 of 158 78 #35 of 158 32 #108 of 158
Shareholder Returns 72 #39 of 135 84 #22 of 135 80 #28 of 135
Overall 48 80 64
  • SLM ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • SYF ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • CACC 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

PeriodSLMSYFCACCSPY
1 month -17.1%+2.7%-3.3% -0.8%
3 months -22.8%-0.6%-2.8% +3.5%
6 months -16.3%-2.5%+4.3% +7.0%
Year to date -27.5%-10.3%+21.2% +12.2%
1 year -29.0%+0.0%+6.1% +13.0%
3 years +53.2%+166.5%+32.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +15.3%+38.7%+9.9% +23.1%
5 years +11.6%+60.4%-8.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.2%+9.9%-1.8% +11.0%
10 years +172.5%+160.8%+192.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.5%+10.1%+11.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSLMSYFCACCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.0%31.7%37.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.1%36.1%39.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.071.181.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.690.000.16 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.8%-46.7%-45.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.4%-15.4%-18.2% -1.8%
52-week high $30.85$88.47$657.20 $779.14
52-week low $18.74$63.78$411.04 $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.

MultipleSLMSYFCACC
P/E now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 11.0x 7.4xmedian 11.0x 11.2xmedian 11.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.6x 1.2xmedian 2.6x 2.4xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 13.1x 1.8xmedian 13.1x 10.6xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.4xmedian 6.9x 2.4xmedian 6.9x 4.6xmedian 6.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 0.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x 3.5xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.23median 0.32 0.34median 0.32 0.51median 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 monthsSLMSYFCACC
Revenue $1.79B $19.31B $2.33B
Gross profit – – $2.26B
Operating income – – $1.10B
Net income $567.40M $3.33B $501.90M
Free cash flow -$381.64M $9.56B $1.22B
EPS (diluted) $2.98 $10.06 $46.76
Cash & equivalents $2.17B $15.90B $1.40M
Total debt $6.43B $8.11B $6.29B
Shares (diluted) 185.57M 322.40M 10.73M
Enterprise value -$12.86B -$43.68B $5.62B

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
MetricSLMSYFCACC
P/E 6.6x 7.4x 11.2x
P/FCF -9.4x 2.4x 4.6x
P/Operating cash flow -9.4x 2.4x 4.6x
P/S 2.0x 1.2x 2.4x
P/B 1.6x 1.4x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 1.4x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA 4.2x 1.8x 10.6x
EV/EBIT 4.3x 1.9x 10.8x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 0.8x 5.1x
EV/FCF -20.5x 1.6x 9.7x
EV/Operating cash flow -20.5x 1.6x 9.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.23 0.34 0.51

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSLMSYFCACC
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.7% 2.6% 2.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.6% 4.6% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 2.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 8.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 19.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.0% -6.8% 18.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.1% 12.0% 14.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 3.4% 6.5% 29.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.7% 21.7% 22.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -15.8% -2.0% 10.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.7% 5.6% 0.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -15.8% -2.0% 10.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -47.7% 5.6% 0.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSLMSYFCACC
Gross margin – – 97.0%
EBITDA margin 104.4% 45.8% 48.1%
Operating margin – – 47.0%
Pretax margin 41.2% 22.6% 27.9%
Net margin 30.9% 16.8% 21.5%
FCF margin -21.3% 49.5% 52.4%
Operating cash flow margin -21.3% 49.5% 52.6%
Return on equity 24.0% 19.9% 32.3%
Return on assets 1.9% 2.7% 5.8%
Return on invested capital 16.6% 25.7% 10.7%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.7x 2.9x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% – 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSLMSYFCACC
Debt / assets 21.6% 6.6% 72.9%
Debt / equity 2.9x 0.5x 4.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x -0.9x 5.6x
Debt / FCF -16.9x 0.8x 5.1x
Liabilities / assets 92.4% 86.5% 81.6%
Equity / assets 7.6% 13.5% 18.4%
Interest coverage 1.7x 2.1x 2.5x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSLMSYFCACC
Dividend yield 2.7% 1.7% –
Net buyback yield 15.2% 16.5% 9.2%
Shareholder yield 17.9% 18.2% 9.2%
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.

ConsensusSLMSYFCACC
Forward P/E 8.9xFY2026 7.6xFY2026 11.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.20FY2026 $9.82FY2026 $45.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -36.4%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +16.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +30.5% +10.3% +20.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.85BFY2026 $15.69BFY2026 $2.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -6.7%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026 -0.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% +7.5% +1.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSLMSYFCACC
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 72.5%
Institutions holding 387 1,002 298
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% -0.8% +11.5%
Institutions buying 193 526 174
Institutions selling 135 345 88
Buyers to sellers 1.43 1.52 1.98

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.

SLMSYFCACC
SLM 1.00 0.53 0.34
SYF 0.53 1.00 0.42
CACC 0.34 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SLM, SYF and CACC?

Synchrony Financial (SYF) is the largest by market capitalisation: Slm (SLM) $3.49B, Synchrony Financial (SYF) $23.94B, Credit Acceptance (CACC) $5.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, SLM, SYF and CACC?

Slm (SLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Slm (SLM) 6.3x, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.4x, Credit Acceptance (CACC) 11.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Synchrony Financial (SYF) is cheapest (Slm (SLM) 8.9x, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.6x, Credit Acceptance (CACC) 11.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Synchrony Financial (SYF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Slm (SLM) -6.7%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +2.6%, Credit Acceptance (CACC) +2.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Slm (SLM) has the highest net margin (Slm (SLM) 30.9%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 16.8%, Credit Acceptance (CACC) 21.5%). On return on invested capital, Synchrony Financial (SYF) leads (Slm (SLM) 16.6%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 25.7%, Credit Acceptance (CACC) 10.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Credit Acceptance (CACC) returned the most: Slm (SLM) -29.0%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +0.0%, Credit Acceptance (CACC) +6.1%. Over five years, Synchrony Financial (SYF) compounded fastest (Slm (SLM) +2.2%/yr, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +9.9%/yr, Credit Acceptance (CACC) -1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Slm (SLM) has the highest dividend yield: Slm (SLM) 0.03%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 0.02%, Credit Acceptance (CACC) 0.00%. Credit Acceptance (CACC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Synchrony Financial (SYF) has been the steadiest (Slm (SLM) 42.0%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 31.7%, Credit Acceptance (CACC) 37.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 8. 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.