• In August 2025, Adtalem Global Education Inc. and Sallie Mae announced they had signed a Letter of Intent to explore alternative financing solutions for healthcare students, anticipating the federal Grad PLUS loan program's phase-out in July 2026.
• This planned initiative aims to support future healthcare professionals with customized funding options as the sector faces workforce shortages and a shift in federal student loan offerings.
• We'll examine how the focus on healthcare education financing could influence SLM's investment outlook in an expanding private lending market.

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SLM Investment Narrative Recap

For investors in SLM, the core belief centers on the company’s potential to capture the anticipated shift in student loan volume from the federal to the private market as federal Grad PLUS loans are phased out. The recent announcement of SLM’s partnership with Adtalem Global Education directly addresses this catalyst by targeting the growing demand for healthcare education financing, although in the near term, competition and execution risks remain material for SLM’s outlook.

Among recent announcements, the Q2 2025 earnings report, showing a significant year-over-year decline in net income, stands out, reflecting the importance of disciplined credit performance and funding efficiency in supporting long-term growth catalysts like new loan partnerships. These developments serve as a reminder that SLM’s progress toward market share gains from policy reforms must be balanced against underlying profitability pressures.

However, with the attraction of new competitors to the private student lending space, there is an additional risk investors should consider regarding...

SLM's outlook forecasts $2.0 billion in revenue and $918.9 million in earnings by 2028. This implies a 17.4% annual revenue growth rate and a $493.6 million increase in earnings from the current $425.3 million.

Uncover how SLM's forecasts yield a $39.00 fair value, a 22% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Community member fair value estimates for SLM range widely from US$39.00 to US$53.33, with two distinct perspectives offered on the Simply Wall St Community. Against this variety, the shift of federal loan volume to private lenders could influence both future market share and bottom-line stability, explore these different views for a broader understanding.

Explore 2 other fair value estimates on SLM - why the stock might be worth just $39.00!

Build Your Own SLM Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your SLM research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 4 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free SLM research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate SLM's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.