Nelnet (NNI) financial statements
Net income was $428M.
Free cash flow was $397M, and the company returned $43M in dividends and $69M in net buybacks.
The diluted share count fell 15% over the period (buybacks).
Revenue and free cash flow
Fiscal years, $ billions.
Income statement
Fiscal years, from Nelnet's 10-K filings with the SEC.
| Fiscal year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $0 | $0 | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.4B | $1.3B | $1.6B | — | — | — |
| Cost of revenue | $51M | $59M | $76M | $102M | $105M | $109M | $168M | $220M | $252M | $226M |
| Gross profit | -$51M | -$59M | $999M | $979M | $1.3B | $1.2B | $1.4B | — | — | — |
| Interest expense | $388M | $465M | $670M | $699M | $330M | $176M | $430M | $845M | — | — |
| Pre-tax income | $399M | $227M | $286M | $177M | $450M | $502M | $502M | $69M | $229M | $556M |
| Income tax | $141M | $65M | $59M | $35M | $101M | $116M | $113M | $19M | $53M | $128M |
| Net income | $257M | $173M | $228M | $142M | $352M | $393M | $407M | $90M | $184M | $428M |
| EPS (diluted) | $6.02 | $4.14 | $5.57 | $3.54 | $9.02 | $10.20 | $10.82 | $2.40 | $5.02 | $11.79 |
| Diluted shares | 43M | 42M | 41M | 40M | 39M | 39M | 38M | 37M | 37M | 36M |
| Gross margin | — | — | 92.9% | 90.6% | 92.5% | 91.8% | 89.2% | — | — | — |
| Net margin | — | — | 21.2% | 13.1% | 25.2% | 29.7% | 26.1% | — | — | — |
Balance sheet
Fiscal years, from Nelnet's 10-K filings with the SEC.
| Fiscal year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $70M | $67M | $121M | $134M | $121M | $126M | $118M | $168M | $195M | $296M |
| Property, plant and equipment | $124M | $248M | $345M | $348M | $124M | $119M | $123M | $127M | $95M | $76M |
| Goodwill | $147M | $139M | $157M | $157M | $142M | $142M | $177M | $158M | $158M | $158M |
| Total assets | $27.2B | $24.0B | $25.2B | $23.7B | $22.6B | $21.7B | $19.4B | $16.7B | $13.8B | $14.1B |
| Total liabilities | $25.1B | $21.8B | $22.9B | $21.3B | $20.0B | $18.7B | $16.2B | $13.5B | $10.5B | $10.5B |
| Shareholders' equity | $2.1B | $2.1B | $2.3B | $2.4B | $2.6B | $3.0B | $3.2B | $3.3B | $3.3B | $3.7B |
| Net debt | -$70M | -$67M | -$121M | -$134M | -$121M | -$126M | -$118M | -$168M | -$195M | -$296M |
Cash flow
Fiscal years, from Nelnet's 10-K filings with the SEC.
| Fiscal year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | $300M | $322M | $271M | $299M | $349M | $480M | $683M | $432M | $663M | $423M |
| Capital spending | $68M | $156M | $125M | $92M | $113M | $59M | $59M | $74M | $21M | $26M |
| Free cash flow | $233M | $166M | $146M | $206M | $236M | $421M | $624M | $358M | $642M | $397M |
| Stock-based compensation | $4M | $4M | $7M | $7M | $17M | $11M | $14M | $16M | $12M | $13M |
| Dividends paid | $21M | $24M | $27M | $29M | $32M | $34M | $37M | $39M | $41M | $43M |
| Share buybacks (net) | -$69M | -$69M | -$45M | -$40M | -$73M | -$58M | -$98M | -$28M | -$83M | -$69M |
| Net borrowing | $651M | $2.0B | $3.9B | $3.0B | $1.9B | $1.5B | $1.2B | $756M | $23M | $634M |
| Free cash flow margin | — | — | 13.6% | 19.1% | 16.8% | 31.8% | 40.0% | — | — | — |
| Dividends per share | $0.50 | $0.58 | $0.66 | $0.74 | $0.81 | $0.89 | $0.97 | $1.05 | $1.11 | $1.18 |
Every line, every quarterThe deep dive has fifteen-plus years of statements, quarterly results, charts and valuation models for NNI.
Open NNI in InvestinglyQuestions
How much free cash flow does Nelnet generate?
$397M in fiscal 2025 (operating cash flow minus capital spending).
From Nelnet's annual reports filed with the SEC (XBRL data), standardised by Investingly. Information only, not investment advice.