vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of CENTURY ALUMINUM CO (CENX) and SLM Corp (SLM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

CENTURY ALUMINUM CO is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($633.7M vs $560.0M, roughly 1.1× SLM Corp). SLM Corp runs the higher net margin — 55.0% vs 0.3%, a 54.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. Over the past eight quarters, SLM Corp's revenue compounded faster (22.7% CAGR vs 13.8%).

Century Aluminum Company is a US-based producer of primary aluminum, with aluminum plants in Kentucky, South Carolina and Iceland. It is the largest producer of primary aluminum in the United States. The company is a publicly held corporation listed on the NASDAQ. The headquarters is at One South Wacker in Chicago.

Nikon SLM Solutions AG, headquartered in Lübeck, Germany, is a manufacturer of 3D metal printers listed on the stock market and co-owner of the word mark SLM. The shares of SLM Solutions Group AG have been listed in Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since May 9, 2014.

CENX vs SLM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CENX
CENX
1.1× larger
CENX
$633.7M
$560.0M
SLM
Higher net margin
SLM
SLM
54.7% more per $
SLM
55.0%
0.3%
CENX
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SLM
SLM
Annualised
SLM
22.7%
13.8%
CENX

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Revenue
$633.7M
$560.0M
Net Profit
$1.8M
$308.0M
Gross Margin
13.0%
Operating Margin
5.2%
Net Margin
0.3%
55.0%
Revenue YoY
0.4%
Net Profit YoY
-96.0%
1.0%
EPS (diluted)
$0.03
$1.54

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$560.0M
Q4 25
$633.7M
$377.1M
Q3 25
$632.2M
$373.0M
Q2 25
$628.1M
$376.8M
Q1 25
$633.9M
$375.0M
Q4 24
$630.9M
$362.2M
Q3 24
$539.1M
$359.4M
Q2 24
$560.8M
$372.2M
Net Profit
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$308.0M
Q4 25
$1.8M
$233.2M
Q3 25
$14.9M
$135.8M
Q2 25
$-4.6M
$71.3M
Q1 25
$29.7M
$304.5M
Q4 24
$45.2M
$111.6M
Q3 24
$47.3M
$-45.2M
Q2 24
$-2.5M
$252.0M
Gross Margin
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
13.0%
Q3 25
12.2%
Q2 25
5.8%
Q1 25
9.6%
Q4 24
10.5%
Q3 24
15.2%
Q2 24
3.6%
Operating Margin
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
5.2%
83.8%
Q3 25
9.2%
49.8%
Q2 25
3.3%
23.3%
Q1 25
7.3%
Q4 24
7.8%
36.5%
Q3 24
11.8%
-16.6%
Q2 24
1.1%
91.0%
Net Margin
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
55.0%
Q4 25
0.3%
61.8%
Q3 25
2.4%
36.4%
Q2 25
-0.7%
18.9%
Q1 25
4.7%
81.2%
Q4 24
7.2%
30.8%
Q3 24
8.8%
-12.6%
Q2 24
-0.4%
67.7%
EPS (diluted)
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$1.54
Q4 25
$0.03
$1.11
Q3 25
$0.15
$0.63
Q2 25
$-0.05
$0.32
Q1 25
$0.29
$1.40
Q4 24
$0.58
$0.53
Q3 24
$0.46
$-0.23
Q2 24
$-0.03
$1.11

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$134.2M
$5.2B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$6.2B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$805.6M
$2.4B
Total Assets
$2.3B
$29.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
2.53×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$5.2B
Q4 25
$134.2M
$4.2B
Q3 25
$151.4M
$3.5B
Q2 25
$40.7M
$4.1B
Q1 25
$44.9M
$3.7B
Q4 24
$32.9M
$4.7B
Q3 24
$4.5B
Q2 24
$41.3M
$5.3B
Total Debt
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$6.2B
Q4 25
$5.4B
Q3 25
$6.8B
Q2 25
$6.4B
Q1 25
$6.1B
Q4 24
$6.4B
Q3 24
$6.0B
Q2 24
$5.4B
Stockholders' Equity
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$2.4B
Q4 25
$805.6M
$2.5B
Q3 25
$741.8M
$2.3B
Q2 25
$724.4M
$2.4B
Q1 25
$726.3M
$2.4B
Q4 24
$694.4M
$2.2B
Q3 24
$628.5M
$2.1B
Q2 24
$601.5M
$2.3B
Total Assets
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$29.4B
Q4 25
$2.3B
$29.7B
Q3 25
$2.1B
$29.6B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$29.6B
Q1 25
$2.0B
$28.9B
Q4 24
$1.9B
$30.1B
Q3 24
$2.1B
$30.0B
Q2 24
$1.8B
$28.8B
Debt / Equity
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
2.53×
Q4 25
2.19×
Q3 25
2.92×
Q2 25
2.70×
Q1 25
2.56×
Q4 24
2.98×
Q3 24
2.83×
Q2 24
2.37×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$102.8M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$67.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
5.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
57.11×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$84.8M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$102.8M
$-64.5M
Q3 25
$2.0M
$-49.3M
Q2 25
$7.9M
$-138.7M
Q1 25
$72.3M
$-146.1M
Q4 24
$-41.4M
$4.5M
Q3 24
$20.1M
$-113.4M
Q2 24
$11.5M
$-143.8M
Free Cash Flow
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$67.7M
Q3 25
$-18.1M
Q2 25
$-15.9M
Q1 25
$51.1M
Q4 24
$-54.6M
Q3 24
$-2.4M
Q2 24
$-5.4M
FCF Margin
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
10.7%
Q3 25
-2.9%
Q2 25
-2.5%
Q1 25
8.1%
Q4 24
-8.7%
Q3 24
-0.4%
Q2 24
-1.0%
Capex Intensity
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
5.5%
Q3 25
3.2%
Q2 25
3.8%
Q1 25
3.3%
Q4 24
2.1%
Q3 24
4.2%
Q2 24
3.0%
Cash Conversion
CENX
CENX
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
57.11×
-0.28×
Q3 25
0.13×
-0.36×
Q2 25
-1.95×
Q1 25
2.43×
-0.48×
Q4 24
-0.92×
0.04×
Q3 24
0.42×
Q2 24
-0.57×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CENX
CENX

Aluminum$566.3M89%
Alumina$67.4M11%

SLM
SLM

Net Interest Income$375.0M67%
Noninterest Income$185.0M33%

Related Comparisons