NELNET INC financial statements

Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement for the last 10 fiscal years, taken from the XBRL data NELNET INC files with the SEC in its annual reports.

In USD millions, except per-share amounts. Outflows in the cash flow statement are negative.

Income statement

	FY2016	FY2017	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025
Revenue	0	0
Cost of revenue	51.2	58.6	76.5	102	105	109	168	220	252	226
Gross profit	-51.2	-58.6
Operating expenses	433	485	689	763	781	726	834	892	883	927
Interest expense	388	465	670	699	330	176	430	845
Interest income	9.47	12.7	26.6	34.4	24.5	41.5	91.6	178	186	165
Pre-tax income	399	227	286	177	450	502	502	68.7	229	556
Income tax	141	64.9	58.8	35.5	101	116	113	19.4	52.7	128
Net income to minority interests	0.75	-11.3	-0.39	-0.51	-2.82	-7	-18.2	-40.5	-8.13	-30.1
Net income	257	173	228	142	352	393	407	89.8	184	428
EPS, basic	6.02	4.14	5.57	3.54	9.02	10.20	10.82	2.40	5.02	11.79
EPS, diluted	6.02	4.14	5.57	3.54	9.02	10.20	10.82	2.40	5.02	11.79
Shares, basic (weighted)	42.7	41.8	40.9	40	39.1	38.6	37.6	37.4	36.6	36.3
Shares, diluted (weighted)	42.7	41.8	40.9	40	39.1	38.6	37.6	37.4	36.6	36.3
Dividend per share	0.50

Balance sheet

	FY2016	FY2017	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025
Cash and equivalents	69.7	66.8	121	134	121	126	118	168	195	296
Property, plant and equipment	124	248	345	348	124	119	123	127	95.2	75.5
Lease right-of-use assets				32.8	18.3	14.3	14.9	13.6	11	9.68
Goodwill	147	139	157	157	142	142	177	158	158	158
Intangible assets	47.8	38.4	114	81.5	75.1	52	63.5	44.8	36.3	29.3
Total assets	27,193	23,964	25,221	23,709	22,646	21,678	19,355	16,712	13,778	14,064
Total liabilities	25,122	21,799	22,906	21,318	20,018	18,725	16,174	13,512	10,479	10,487
Total debt	24,668	21,357	22,219	20,529	19,321	17,631	14,637	11,828	8,310	7,781
Paid-in capital	0.42	0.52	0.62	5.72	3.79	1	1.11	3.1	7.39	1.48
Retained earnings	2,056	2,144	2,300	2,378	2,622	2,941	3,235	3,270	3,341	3,681
Other comprehensive income	4.73	4.62	3.88	2.97	6.1	9.3	-37.4	-20.1	1.47	2.62
Shareholders' equity	2,062	2,150	2,304	2,387	2,632	2,951	3,199	3,254	3,350	3,686
Minority interests	9.27	15.9	10.3	4.38	-3.69	1.63	0.94	-53.6	-50.6	-109
Total equity	2,071	2,165	2,315	2,391	2,628	2,944	3,183	3,200	3,299	3,577
Total liabilities and equity	27,193	23,964	25,221	23,709	22,646	21,678	19,374	16,712	13,778	14,064

Cash flow statement

	FY2016	FY2017	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025
Net income	258	162	228	141	350	386	389	49.3	176	398
Depreciation and amortization	123	138	185	193	198	132	176	145	133	90.6
Stock-based compensation	4.35	4.42	6.54	6.78	16.7	10.7	14.2	16.5	12	13.3
Deferred income tax	27	-1.54	11	-7.27	7.97	55.6	34.5	-52.3	-21.6	-4.31
Change in receivables	10.7	-4.23	3.06	-55.9	40.9	-87	-26.4	-1.36	36.1	-33.4
Cash from operations	300	322	271	299	349	480	683	432	663	423
Capital expenditures	-67.6	-156	-125	-92.5	-113	-59	-59.4	-74.1	-20.9	-26.2
Acquisitions	0	0	-12.6	0	-30	0	-34	0	0
Purchases of investments	-94.7	-129	-46.4	-1.01	-472	-735	-1,029	-582	-604	-553
Sales and maturities of investments						161	511	963	446	289
Cash from investing	3,408	2,950	-732	1,525	621	1,186	2,273	1,939	2,413	356
Debt issued	651	1,985	3,923	2,998	1,885	1,948	1,302	761	30.7	1,393
Debt repaid				-39.9	-25.6	-407	-67.1	-5.11	-7.59	-760
Stock issued	0.89	0.68	1.36	1.55	1.65	1.47	1.63	1.78	1.95	1.88
Share buybacks	-69.1	-68.9	-45.3	-40.4	-73.4	-58.1	-97.7	-28	-83.3	-69.3
Dividends paid	-21.2	-24.1	-26.8	-29.5	-31.8	-34.5	-36.6	-39.4	-40.8	-43
Cash from financing	-3,579	-3,501	712	-1,793	-1,235	-1,430	-2,792	-2,703	-3,170	-737
Exchange rate effect				0	0	-0.12	-0.16	0.02	-0.44	0.28
Net change in cash	129	-228	250	30.2	-264	236	163	-332	-94.5	42.5
Free cash flow	233	166	146	206	236	421	624	358	642	397
Interest paid	301	390	591	657	302	152	351	781	651	472
Income taxes paid	115	96.3	0.47	17.7	29.7	18.7	57.7	47.6	15.2	68.9

Key metrics

Worked out from the statements above. Latest values use the trailing twelve months to June 30, 2026; growth uses fiscal years. Valuation uses the share price of $124.34 on September 25, 2026.

Profitability

Metric	Value	How it is calculated
Return on equity (ROE)	8.0%	Net income / average shareholders' equity (opening and closing). Not shown when equity is negative.
Return on assets (ROA)	2.1%	Net income / average total assets.

Growth

Metric	Value	How it is calculated
Net income growth, 1y	132.8%	Net income vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Net income CAGR, 3y	1.7%	Compound annual growth of net income over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Net income CAGR, 5y	4.0%	Compound annual growth of net income over 5 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/5) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
EPS growth, 1y	134.9%	EPS vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
EPS CAGR, 3y	2.9%	Compound annual growth of eps over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
EPS CAGR, 5y	5.5%	Compound annual growth of eps over 5 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/5) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Operating cash flow growth, 1y	-36.2%	Operating cash flow vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Operating cash flow CAGR, 3y	-14.8%	Compound annual growth of operating cash flow over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Operating cash flow CAGR, 5y	3.9%	Compound annual growth of operating cash flow over 5 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/5) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Free cash flow growth, 1y	-38.2%	Free cash flow vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Free cash flow CAGR, 3y	-14.0%	Compound annual growth of free cash flow over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Free cash flow CAGR, 5y	11.0%	Compound annual growth of free cash flow over 5 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/5) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Book value growth, 1y	10.0%	Book value vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Book value CAGR, 3y	4.8%	Compound annual growth of book value over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Book value CAGR, 5y	7.0%	Compound annual growth of book value over 5 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/5) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Total assets growth, 1y	2.1%	Total assets vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Total assets CAGR, 3y	-10.1%	Compound annual growth of total assets over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Total assets CAGR, 5y	-9.1%	Compound annual growth of total assets over 5 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/5) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Share count change, 1y	-0.8%	Change in diluted weighted shares vs a year earlier. Negative means buybacks shrank the share count; positive means dilution.
Share count change per year, 3y	-1.1%	Change in diluted weighted shares, per year over 3 years. Negative means buybacks shrank the share count; positive means dilution.
Share count change per year, 5y	-1.4%	Change in diluted weighted shares, per year over 5 years. Negative means buybacks shrank the share count; positive means dilution.

Balance sheet health

Metric	Value	How it is calculated
Debt / equity	1.87x	Total debt / shareholders' equity. Not shown when equity is negative.
Debt / assets	49.3%	Total debt / total assets.
Liabilities / assets	74.5%	Total liabilities / total assets.
Net debt	$6.87B	Total debt - cash - short-term investments. Negative means more cash than debt.
Goodwill and intangibles / assets	2.1%	(Goodwill + intangible assets) / total assets.
Tangible book value	$3.47B	Shareholders' equity - goodwill - intangible assets.

Efficiency

Metric	Value	How it is calculated
FCF conversion	120.4%	Free cash flow / net income, when net income is positive.
Capex / operating cash flow	9.2%	Capital expenditures / cash from operations, when that is positive.

Per share

Metric	Value	How it is calculated
EPS, diluted	$8.39	Net income per diluted share, as reported (split-adjusted). Over the last twelve months: the four quarters summed, or net income / latest diluted shares when a quarter has no reported EPS.
FCF per share	$10.10	Free cash flow / diluted weighted shares.
Operating cash flow per share	$11.13	Cash from operations / diluted weighted shares.
Book value per share	$104.63	Shareholders' equity / shares outstanding (diluted weighted shares when not reported).
Tangible book per share	$96.22	Tangible book value / shares outstanding.
Cash per share	$4.78	(Cash + short-term investments) / shares outstanding.
Payout ratio	15.3%	Dividends paid / net income, when net income is positive.
Dividends / FCF	12.7%	Dividends paid / free cash flow, when free cash flow is positive.
Buybacks / FCF	23.1%	Share buybacks / free cash flow, when free cash flow is positive.

Valuation

Metric	Value	How it is calculated
Market cap	$4.45B	Share price x shares outstanding.
Enterprise value	$11.32B	Market cap + total debt - cash - short-term investments.
P/E	14.7x	Market cap / net income. Only when net income is positive.
P/B	1.18x	Market cap / shareholders' equity. Only when equity is positive.
Price / tangible book	1.28x	Market cap / tangible book value, when positive.
P/FCF	12.2x	Market cap / free cash flow. Only when free cash flow is positive.
P/OCF	11.1x	Market cap / cash from operations, when positive.
EV/FCF	31.1x	Enterprise value / free cash flow, when both are positive.
FCF yield	8.2%	Free cash flow / market cap.
Earnings yield	6.8%	Net income / market cap (the inverse of P/E).
Dividend yield	1.0%	Dividends paid over the period / market cap.
Shareholder yield	2.9%	(Dividends paid + share buybacks) / market cap.
PEG	5.07x	P/E / EPS growth per year over 3 years (in percent). Only when both are positive.

Was NELNET INC profitable in fiscal 2025?

Yes. Net income was $428.5M, a net margin of -.

How much free cash flow did NELNET INC generate in fiscal 2025?

Cash from operations of $423.0M minus capital expenditures of $26.2M left free cash flow of $396.7M.

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts. Where a company tags only year-to-date figures, quarters are worked out as differences. Where a line is not tagged it is left empty, never estimated.

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