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Side-by-side financial comparison of NELNET INC (NNI) and Ouster, Inc. (OUST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Ouster, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($62.2M vs $33.5M, roughly 1.9× NELNET INC). On growth, Ouster, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (106.6% vs 79.6%). NELNET INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($396.7M vs $-37.2M). Over the past eight quarters, NELNET INC's revenue compounded faster (62.0% CAGR vs 54.8%).

Nelnet, Inc. is a United States–based conglomerate that primarily focuses on financial services including student and consumer loan origination and servicing. Additionally, the company operates an investing arm, an internet bank and has a 26% stake in Allo Fiber, a cable and internet provider. The company is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Ouster, Inc. is an American lidar technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It builds high-resolution, digital 3D lidar sensors for use in autonomous vehicles, industrial, robotics, drones, mapping, defense, and security systems.

NNI vs OUST — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
OUST
OUST
1.9× larger
OUST
$62.2M
$33.5M
NNI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
OUST
OUST
+27.0% gap
OUST
106.6%
79.6%
NNI
More free cash flow
NNI
NNI
$433.9M more FCF
NNI
$396.7M
$-37.2M
OUST
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
NNI
NNI
Annualised
NNI
62.0%
54.8%
OUST

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Revenue
$33.5M
$62.2M
Net Profit
$57.8M
Gross Margin
50.5%
60.2%
Operating Margin
1.5%
Net Margin
172.3%
Revenue YoY
79.6%
106.6%
Net Profit YoY
-8.5%
EPS (diluted)
$1.62
$0.10

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
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$33.5M
$62.2M
Q3 25
$23.2M
$39.5M
Q2 25
$26.1M
$35.0M
Q1 25
$24.7M
$32.6M
Q4 24
$18.7M
$30.1M
Q3 24
$16.6M
$28.1M
Q2 24
$14.9M
$27.0M
Q1 24
$12.8M
$25.9M
Net Profit
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$57.8M
Q3 25
$106.7M
$-21.7M
Q2 25
$181.5M
$-20.6M
Q1 25
$82.6M
$-22.0M
Q4 24
$63.2M
Q3 24
$2.4M
$-25.6M
Q2 24
$45.1M
$-23.9M
Q1 24
$73.4M
$-23.8M
Gross Margin
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
50.5%
60.2%
Q3 25
29.6%
42.1%
Q2 25
29.8%
45.2%
Q1 25
30.5%
41.3%
Q4 24
13.7%
43.8%
Q3 24
0.1%
38.3%
Q2 24
27.3%
33.7%
Q1 24
15.3%
28.6%
Operating Margin
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
1.5%
Q3 25
-61.4%
Q2 25
-76.5%
Q1 25
-73.0%
Q4 24
97.7%
-85.1%
Q3 24
-13.4%
-98.0%
Q2 24
88.0%
-93.6%
Q1 24
-99.5%
Net Margin
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
172.3%
Q3 25
460.5%
-55.0%
Q2 25
694.9%
-58.8%
Q1 25
334.4%
-67.5%
Q4 24
338.2%
Q3 24
14.4%
-91.1%
Q2 24
303.6%
-88.4%
Q1 24
574.4%
-91.9%
EPS (diluted)
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$1.62
$0.10
Q3 25
$2.94
$-0.37
Q2 25
$4.97
$-0.38
Q1 25
$2.26
$-0.42
Q4 24
$1.74
$-0.46
Q3 24
$0.07
$-0.54
Q2 24
$1.23
$-0.53
Q1 24
$1.98
$-0.55

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$296.0M
$208.6M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$7.8B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$3.7B
$261.7M
Total Assets
$14.1B
$349.5M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
2.11×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$296.0M
$208.6M
Q3 25
$216.4M
$244.5M
Q2 25
$225.8M
$226.5M
Q1 25
$220.5M
$168.2M
Q4 24
$194.5M
$172.0M
Q3 24
$219.7M
$151.4M
Q2 24
$145.5M
$184.2M
Q1 24
$179.7M
$187.8M
Total Debt
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$7.8B
Q3 25
$7.8B
Q2 25
$7.9B
Q1 25
$8.7B
Q4 24
$8.3B
Q3 24
$8.9B
Q2 24
$9.6B
Q1 24
$10.6B
Stockholders' Equity
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$3.7B
$261.7M
Q3 25
$3.7B
$247.4M
Q2 25
$3.6B
$221.0M
Q1 25
$3.4B
$167.9M
Q4 24
$3.3B
$180.9M
Q3 24
$3.3B
$171.7M
Q2 24
$3.3B
$170.6M
Q1 24
$3.3B
$167.2M
Total Assets
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$14.1B
$349.5M
Q3 25
$13.9B
$353.8M
Q2 25
$13.7B
$321.8M
Q1 25
$14.2B
$268.6M
Q4 24
$13.8B
$276.1M
Q3 24
$14.1B
$255.2M
Q2 24
$14.5B
$309.9M
Q1 24
$15.4B
$317.7M
Debt / Equity
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
2.11×
Q3 25
2.14×
Q2 25
2.21×
Q1 25
2.53×
Q4 24
2.48×
Q3 24
2.72×
Q2 24
2.90×
Q1 24
3.20×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$423.0M
$-15.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$396.7M
$-37.2M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
1183.0%
-59.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
78.2%
35.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
7.32×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$663.4M
$-64.8M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$423.0M
$-15.4M
Q3 25
$112.4M
$-18.3M
Q2 25
$81.8M
$-1.3M
Q1 25
$91.2M
$-4.9M
Q4 24
$662.9M
$-2.6M
Q3 24
$137.0M
$-3.8M
Q2 24
$133.8M
$-21.6M
Q1 24
$211.6M
$-5.7M
Free Cash Flow
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
$396.7M
$-37.2M
Q3 25
$100.8M
$-20.0M
Q2 25
$78.1M
$-2.2M
Q1 25
$87.8M
$-5.4M
Q4 24
$642.0M
$-4.0M
Q3 24
$132.6M
$-4.3M
Q2 24
$123.1M
$-22.0M
Q1 24
$188.3M
$-7.1M
FCF Margin
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
1183.0%
-59.8%
Q3 25
435.0%
-50.7%
Q2 25
299.0%
-6.3%
Q1 25
355.6%
-16.6%
Q4 24
3438.0%
-13.3%
Q3 24
797.9%
-15.4%
Q2 24
829.2%
-81.5%
Q1 24
1473.7%
-27.4%
Capex Intensity
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
78.2%
35.0%
Q3 25
50.4%
4.3%
Q2 25
14.2%
2.5%
Q1 25
13.7%
1.7%
Q4 24
111.9%
4.8%
Q3 24
26.7%
2.0%
Q2 24
71.5%
1.3%
Q1 24
181.7%
5.3%
Cash Conversion
NNI
NNI
OUST
OUST
Q4 25
7.32×
Q3 25
1.05×
Q2 25
0.45×
Q1 25
1.10×
Q4 24
10.50×
Q3 24
57.39×
Q2 24
2.97×
Q1 24
2.88×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

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