Nelnet Beats Q3 2026 Estimates as Revenue Falls 12% to $436.6M

Nelnet (NNI) beat estimates for the third quarter of 2026 on both revenue and adjusted EPS. Revenue was $436.6 million, down 12% from a year earlier, above the $427.4 million estimate, and adjusted EPS was $1.89, down 36% from a year earlier, above the $1.83 estimate.

Shares were unchanged in after-hours trading as of 4:00 p.m. ET, to $127.01 from a $127.01 close.

Q3 2026 scorecard

By our calculation, revenue was $9.2 million above the estimate and adjusted EPS was $0.06 above it. The QoQ column compares with the previous quarter's revenue of $410.0 million and adjusted EPS of $1.77. The YoY column compares with $494.6 million and $2.95 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Track record

• EPS record. Adjusted EPS beat the estimate in 5 of the last 8 reports, including this one.
• Revenue record. Revenue beat the estimate in 6 of the last 8 reports.
• Revenue trend. Revenue over the last 5 reports, oldest first: $494.6 million, $392.0 million, $419.1 million, $410.0 million and $436.6 million.

What to watch

• Next-quarter estimates. Consensus calls for EPS of $1.78 and revenue of $413.3 million next quarter, based on 1 analyst.
• Revenue growth. Whether revenue stabilizes after this quarter's 12% decline from a year earlier to $436.6 million.
• Estimate record. Whether Nelnet extends a record of beating EPS estimates in 5 of its last 8 reports.
• Related coverage. See our reports on StandardAero, Cloudflare, Moelis & and Main Street Capital.

Sources: Results are from Nelnet's Nov. 5, 2026 quarterly report. Estimates are consensus figures. The prior-quarter and year-ago comparison figures are from Nelnet's earlier quarterly reports. Items labeled by our calculation are our own arithmetic. This article is informational only and is not investment advice.