Greenlight Capital, an investment management company, released its Q1 2026 investor letter. In Q1 2026, the Greenlight Capital funds (the “Partnerships”) returned 6.5%, net of fees and expenses, compared to -4.4% for the S&P 500 index. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Fundamentally, trading depends on predicting stock movements. Lessons from the financial crisis highlighted the importance of macroeconomic analysis, prompting Greenlight to adopt ‘top-down’ as well as ‘bottom-up’ strategies, including macro instruments based on broader predictions. However, major events push research beyond securities or economic analysis, as seen with the Iran war, which is unpredictable. Most investors currently expect positive outcomes; the market recovered after the ceasefire, showing confidence in peace. In this environment, the firm maintains low exposure, focusing on capital preservation and cautiously considering recovery opportunities. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Greenlight Capital highlighted SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) as a newly added position. SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) is a publicly traded company that originates and services private education student loans. On April 23, 2026, SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) closed at $23.42 per share. One-month return of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) was 15.03%, and its shares lost 15.60% over the past 52 weeks. SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion.
Greenlight Capital stated the following regarding SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“We initiated a medium-sized new position in Versant Media Group (VSNT) and small new positions in Crocs, Inc. (CROX) and SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM). SLM is the largest originator of private student loans in the U.S. The stock has declined due to concerns around AI-driven displacement of white-collar jobs and its impact on delinquencies. We established our position at an average price of $18.95 per share, or about 7x and 4x our 2026 and 2028 EPS estimates, respectively. It is inherently difficult to predict the influence AI will have on employment this early in the adoption curve, but over time, we expect workers to adapt and reskill to match the evolving job market. Nearly 90% of SLM’s loans are cosigned, typically by a parent or grandparent, mitigating credit risk. We also see an opportunity for significant growth in graduate student lending as the federal government exits the market following provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. SLM has been actively repurchasing shares, including a recently completed accelerated share repurchase program totaling about 5% of the outstanding shares, and we estimate capacity to repurchase approximately 30% of the outstanding shares over the next three years. SLM ended the quarter at $21.41.”
SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 41 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) and shared the list of best NASDAQ stocks under $30 to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
