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Side-by-side financial comparison of Element Solutions Inc (ESI) and SLM Corp (SLM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Element Solutions Inc is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($840.0M vs $560.0M, roughly 1.5× SLM Corp). SLM Corp runs the higher net margin — 55.0% vs 6.7%, a 48.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. Over the past eight quarters, SLM Corp's revenue compounded faster (22.7% CAGR vs 17.1%).

Element Solutions Inc is an American specialty chemicals production corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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.

ESI vs SLM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ESI
ESI
1.5× larger
ESI
$840.0M
$560.0M
SLM
Higher net margin
SLM
SLM
48.3% more per $
SLM
55.0%
6.7%
ESI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SLM
SLM
Annualised
SLM
22.7%
17.1%
ESI

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Revenue
$840.0M
$560.0M
Net Profit
$56.0M
$308.0M
Gross Margin
38.4%
Operating Margin
13.3%
69.6%
Net Margin
6.7%
55.0%
Revenue YoY
41.0%
Net Profit YoY
-43.0%
1.0%
EPS (diluted)
$0.23
$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
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$840.0M
$560.0M
Q4 25
$676.2M
$377.1M
Q3 25
$656.1M
$373.0M
Q2 25
$625.2M
$376.8M
Q1 25
$593.7M
$375.0M
Q4 24
$624.2M
$362.2M
Q3 24
$645.0M
$359.4M
Q2 24
$612.7M
$372.2M
Net Profit
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$56.0M
$308.0M
Q4 25
$6.2M
$233.2M
Q3 25
$39.3M
$135.8M
Q2 25
$47.4M
$71.3M
Q1 25
$98.0M
$304.5M
Q4 24
$54.7M
$111.6M
Q3 24
$40.3M
$-45.2M
Q2 24
$93.2M
$252.0M
Gross Margin
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
38.4%
Q4 25
40.9%
Q3 25
42.2%
Q2 25
42.6%
Q1 25
42.2%
Q4 24
41.0%
Q3 24
41.5%
Q2 24
43.6%
Operating Margin
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
13.3%
69.6%
Q4 25
10.3%
83.8%
Q3 25
15.4%
49.8%
Q2 25
15.1%
23.3%
Q1 25
13.0%
Q4 24
12.0%
36.5%
Q3 24
14.7%
-16.6%
Q2 24
15.7%
91.0%
Net Margin
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
6.7%
55.0%
Q4 25
0.9%
61.8%
Q3 25
6.0%
36.4%
Q2 25
7.6%
18.9%
Q1 25
16.5%
81.2%
Q4 24
8.8%
30.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
-12.6%
Q2 24
15.2%
67.7%
EPS (diluted)
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$0.23
$1.54
Q4 25
$0.03
$1.11
Q3 25
$0.16
$0.63
Q2 25
$0.20
$0.32
Q1 25
$0.40
$1.40
Q4 24
$0.22
$0.53
Q3 24
$0.17
$-0.23
Q2 24
$0.39
$1.11

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$177.3M
$5.2B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$6.2B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.7B
$2.4B
Total Assets
$5.7B
$29.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
2.53×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$177.3M
$5.2B
Q4 25
$626.5M
$4.2B
Q3 25
$594.3M
$3.5B
Q2 25
$529.9M
$4.1B
Q1 25
$499.2M
$3.7B
Q4 24
$359.4M
$4.7B
Q3 24
$376.0M
$4.5B
Q2 24
$309.3M
$5.3B
Total Debt
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$6.2B
Q4 25
$1.6B
$5.4B
Q3 25
$1.6B
$6.8B
Q2 25
$1.6B
$6.4B
Q1 25
$1.6B
$6.1B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$6.4B
Q3 24
$1.9B
$6.0B
Q2 24
$1.9B
$5.4B
Stockholders' Equity
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$2.7B
$2.4B
Q4 25
$2.7B
$2.5B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$2.3B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$2.4B
Q1 25
$2.5B
$2.4B
Q4 24
$2.4B
$2.2B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$2.1B
Q2 24
$2.4B
$2.3B
Total Assets
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$5.7B
$29.4B
Q4 25
$5.1B
$29.7B
Q3 25
$5.0B
$29.6B
Q2 25
$5.0B
$29.6B
Q1 25
$4.8B
$28.9B
Q4 24
$4.9B
$30.1B
Q3 24
$5.1B
$30.0B
Q2 24
$5.0B
$28.8B
Debt / Equity
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
2.53×
Q4 25
0.61×
2.19×
Q3 25
0.61×
2.92×
Q2 25
0.62×
2.70×
Q1 25
0.64×
2.56×
Q4 24
0.76×
2.98×
Q3 24
0.78×
2.83×
Q2 24
0.81×
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
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-74.2M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-8.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-64.5M
Q3 25
$100.1M
$-49.3M
Q2 25
$-138.7M
Q1 25
$26.0M
$-146.1M
Q4 24
$4.5M
Q3 24
$98.5M
$-113.4M
Q2 24
$-143.8M
Free Cash Flow
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
$-74.2M
Q4 25
Q3 25
$83.6M
Q2 25
Q1 25
$15.0M
Q4 24
Q3 24
$85.9M
Q2 24
FCF Margin
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
-8.8%
Q4 25
Q3 25
12.7%
Q2 25
Q1 25
2.5%
Q4 24
Q3 24
13.3%
Q2 24
Capex Intensity
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
3.0%
Q4 25
2.5%
Q3 25
2.5%
Q2 25
2.8%
Q1 25
1.9%
Q4 24
3.6%
Q3 24
2.0%
Q2 24
2.4%
Cash Conversion
ESI
ESI
SLM
SLM
Q1 26
Q4 25
-0.28×
Q3 25
2.55×
-0.36×
Q2 25
-1.95×
Q1 25
0.27×
-0.48×
Q4 24
0.04×
Q3 24
2.44×
Q2 24
-0.57×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESI
ESI

Electronics ex-Metals$377.8M45%
Pass-through Metals$255.7M30%
Other$206.5M25%

SLM
SLM

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

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