SLM Corp vs TransUnion, two Credit Services stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
The margin gap runs more than three-fold: SLM (Sallie Mae) nets 49.8% of revenue on student-loan spreads, TransUnion 14.9% selling credit data. SLM earns the higher return on equity, 30.7% against 14.3%, the leveraged lender beating the asset-light bureau, though TransUnion's 5.85% on assets tops SLM's 2.54%, the clean-model advantage. SLM trades at 7.1 times earnings against TransUnion's 19.5, less than half the multiple. SLM carries 2.53 turns of debt against 1.14 and pays a bigger dividend, 2%. The pair prices a student lender against a credit bureau; SLM's spreads are fatter and its multiple lower, TransUnion's revenue safer and its price higher, the market discounting the lender's policy risk against the bureau's recurring stability.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | SLM | TRU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $25.47 | $70.34 |
| Market cap | $5.0B | $13.7B |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +23.5% |
| P/E | 7.1 | 19.5 |
| P/B | 2.07 | 2.78 |
| P/S | 3.35 | 2.89 |
| EV/EBITDA | 1397.9 | 12.9 |
| Revenue growth | +2.3% | +11.0% |
| Operating margin | — | 19.6% |
| Net margin | 49.8% | 14.9% |
| Return on equity | 30.7% | 14.3% |
| Return on assets | 2.5% | 5.8% |
| Dividend yield | 2.0% | 0.7% |
| Debt / equity | 2.53 | 1.14 |
| Current ratio | — | 1.93 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 0.40 | 2.07 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 5 / 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.