CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORP vs NELNET, INC., two Credit Services stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Both balance sheets read unusually for lenders: Credit Acceptance runs debt-free (funded through securitizations off the parent sheet), Nelnet carries 2.06 turns, and the clean sheet belongs to the far higher-returning business, Credit Acceptance's 30% return on equity against Nelnet's 11.2%. Nelnet's 111.7% net margin is an investment-gain artifact; Credit Acceptance's 19.5% is a real lending spread. The multiples sit at 15.7 and 11.7 times, close for such different returns. Nelnet pays a 0.4% dividend; both throw off double-digit free-cash figures. The pair prices deep-subprime auto lending against diversified student-loan servicing-and-investment; Credit Acceptance earns nearly triple the return on equity, and the market barely charges four turns of premium for it.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CACC | NNI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $629.29 | $134.48 |
| Market cap | $6.9B | $4.9B |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +16.4% |
| P/E | 15.7 | 11.7 |
| P/B | 4.55 | 1.30 |
| P/S | 2.96 | 12.99 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9810.9 | 138.8 |
| Revenue growth | +4.6% | +23.6% |
| Net margin | 19.5% | 111.7% |
| Return on equity | 29.9% | 11.2% |
| Return on assets | 5.2% | 2.9% |
| Dividend yield | — | 0.4% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 2.06 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.02 | 0.67 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.