What is Nelnet's interest expense?

Nelnet (NNI) reported interest expense of $109.58M in Q1 2026.

How has Nelnet's interest expense changed year-over-year?

Nelnet's interest expense decreased by 12.4% year-over-year, from $125.11M to $109.58M.

What is the long-term trend for Nelnet's interest expense?

Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Nelnet's interest expense has grown at a 29.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $176.23M to $496.95M.

What does interest expense mean?

Cost of borrowing — interest paid or accrued on bonds, bank loans, credit facilities, finance leases, and other debt obligations.

Nelnet (NNI) Interest Expense — Quarterly & Annual

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Segments

By segment

See full

Asset Generation and Management$95.56M-16.4%

Nelnet Bank$17.41M+44.1%

Loan Servicing and Systems (LSS)$548K—

Education Technology Services and Payments (ETSP)$0—

Other financials

Income statement

See full

Net income$71.1M-13.8%

EPS (diluted)$1.97-12.8%

Balance sheet

See full

Cash & equivalents$240.0M+8.8%

Total debt$7.7B-11.1%

Total equity$3.7B+9.1%

Total assets$14.2B-0.1%

Cash flow

See full

Operating cash flow$73.1M-19.8%

CapEx$11.6M+242%

Free cash flow$61.6M-29.9%

Valuation

See full

Market cap$4.85B+5.9%

Enterprise value$12.31B+0.4%

P/E11.6×-2.3×

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity11.7%+5.9pp

Debt / equity2.1×-0.5×

Where this comes from

Reported directly by Nelnet in its filing.

Tagged under the XBRL concept us-gaap:InterestExpenseOperating.

The source filing: Nelnet’s 10-Q, filed May 7, 2026.

Filed: May 7, 2026, 4:23 PM EDT
Fiscal quarter: Q1 FY2026
Calendar quarter: Q1 2026
Accession: 0001258602-26-000033

Line item	Three months ended / March 31, 2026	Three months ended / March 31, 2025
Loan interest	$171,024	166,439
Investment interest	40,202	41,389
Total interest income	211,226	207,828
Interest expense on bonds and notes payable and bank deposits	109,583	125,114
Net interest income	101,643	82,714
Less provision for loan losses	53,244	15,337
Less provision for beneficial interests	4,130	1,510
Net interest income after provision	44,269	65,867

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FAQ

What is Nelnet's interest expense?: Nelnet (NNI) reported interest expense of $109.58M in Q1 2026.
How has Nelnet's interest expense changed year-over-year?: Nelnet's interest expense decreased by 12.4% year-over-year, from $125.11M to $109.58M.
What is the long-term trend for Nelnet's interest expense?: Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Nelnet's interest expense has grown at a 29.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $176.23M to $496.95M.
What does interest expense mean?: Cost of borrowing — interest paid or accrued on bonds, bank loans, credit facilities, finance leases, and other debt obligations.