CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORP vs SLM Corp, two Credit Services stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
What is priced in: Credit Acceptance at 15.7 times earnings for deep-subprime auto lending, SLM (Sallie Mae) at 7.1 for private student loans, two proven high-return lenders priced in single-to-mid digits. Both earn around 30% on equity, 30% and 30.7%, elite for the trade. SLM's 49.8% net margin dwarfs Credit Acceptance's 19.5%, student-loan spreads against subprime-auto ones. SLM carries 2.53 turns of debt against Credit Acceptance's off-sheet funding; SLM pays a 2% dividend. The market prices SLM at less than half Credit Acceptance's multiple despite matched returns and fatter margins, the student-lending policy overhang doing the discounting. Two of the sector's best underwriters, priced as if one carried a regulatory time bomb.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CACC | SLM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $629.29 | $25.47 |
| Market cap | $6.9B | $5.0B |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| P/E | 15.7 | 7.1 |
| P/B | 4.55 | 2.07 |
| P/S | 2.96 | 3.35 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9810.9 | 1397.9 |
| Revenue growth | +4.6% | +2.3% |
| Net margin | 19.5% | 49.8% |
| Return on equity | 29.9% | 30.7% |
| Return on assets | 5.2% | 2.5% |
| Dividend yield | — | 2.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 2.53 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.02 | 0.40 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 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.