Sallie Mae stock dropped 9.2% in morning trading on Friday, reaching a session low of $19.52, after the private student lender reported third-quarter 2026 results that fell short of Wall Street estimates and cut its full-year outlook.

The company posted an adjusted loss of $0.19 per share for the quarter, compared with analyst expectations of a $0.17 profit. Revenue came in at approximately $375 million, below the consensus estimate of roughly $457 million.

Sallie Mae reduced its full-year 2026 earnings per share guidance to a range of $1.95 to $2.05. The midpoint of the new range represents approximately a 36% decline from the prior analyst consensus of $3.11. Management attributed the cut to the cancellation of a planned fourth-quarter whole-loan sale due to volatile interest rate conditions.

The company also raised its full-year net charge-off guidance to $400 million to $420 million from a previous range of $345 million to $385 million. The increase reflects disruptions from third-party debt resolution practices that pushed delinquencies to 4.2% of loans in repayment.

Following the report, several Wall Street firms lowered their price targets on SLM. Morgan Stanley reduced its target to $26 from $30 while maintaining an Overweight rating, and cut its 2027 EPS estimate to $2.95. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its target to $23 from $27 at Market Perform, and Barclays reduced its target to $22 from $26 at Equalweight.