SLM Corporation (SLM) vs The Western Union Company (WU)

SLM Corporation and The Western Union Company are both Credit Services companies. SLM Corporation is the larger, with a market value of $4.2B against $1.9B — 2.2× the size. The Western Union Company trades at the lower P/E: 5.0× against 6.0×. SLM Corporation grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 5.37% against −1.63%. SLM Corporation has the higher net margin (23.5% vs 9.79%) and the higher return on invested capital (17.8% vs 14.9%). Both pay a dividend; The Western Union Company yields more (15.2% vs 2.38%). Across the 20 metrics below, SLM Corporation leads on 11 and The Western Union Company on 9.

Valuation

Metric SLM WU Credit Services median
P/E 6.01 4.95 9.39
P/S 1.34 0.48 0.86
P/B 1.85 2.12 1.16
Price to free cash flow n/m 4.57 2.78
EV/EBITDA — — —
EV/Sales — — —
Earnings yield 16.64% 20.19% 6.55%
Free cash flow yield (7.89%) 21.90% 12.26%

Profitability

Metric SLM WU Credit Services median
Gross margin 63.91% 35.09% 77.13%
Operating margin 0.00% 15.91% 0.34%
Net margin 23.48% 9.79% 9.25%
Free cash flow margin (10.58%) 10.51% 12.91%
Return on equity 33.15% 43.97% 8.49%
Return on assets 2.48% 4.96% 2.16%
Return on invested capital 17.76% 14.91% 4.09%

Growth

Metric SLM WU Credit Services median
Revenue growth (TTM) 5.37% (1.63%) 4.62%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) 29.10% (44.53%) 21.94%
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 5.73% (3.48%) 9.13%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR (3.49%) (7.66%) 0.00%

Health

Metric SLM WU Credit Services median
Debt to equity 2.36 2.95 0.68
Current ratio 1.33 1.12 1.55
Net debt to EBITDA 0.00 1.78 0.13

Dividend

Metric SLM WU Credit Services median
Dividend yield 2.38% 15.19% 1.64%
Payout ratio 0.15 0.76 0.22

Size

Metric SLM WU Credit Services median
Market cap 4.18b 1.94b 751.08m

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