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Goldman Sachs resets Dell stock price target by $60

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Dell just turned in one of its strongest quarters in company history, and Wall Street is paying attention.

Revenue rose, profit soared, and demand for AI infrastructure kept climbing. Now one of Wall Street’s biggest names is raising its price target on the AI stock.

Goldman Sachs analyst Katherine Murphy raised her price target on Dell Technologies (DELL) to $570 from $510 while keeping a “Buy” rating, according to a research note first reported by TheFly. 

Goldman Sachs is bullish on Dell stock

To understand why Goldman Sachs (GS) has raised its Dell stock price target, it helps to look at what the company reported in the recent quarter.

Dell posted revenue of $47 billion for its fiscal second quarter (ending in July), up 58% from a year earlier. Earnings per share came in at $7.04, up 203%. 

Both numbers beat analyst expectations, and management raised guidance for the rest of the year.

The company’s Infrastructure Solutions Group, which includes AI servers, traditional servers, and storage, was the biggest driver. 

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The segment brought in a record $31.8 billion in revenue, up 89%, with operating income more than tripling.

AI demand was the standout. 

Dell booked $60.9 billion in AI server orders in the quarter alone, its best quarter ever for that metric, and ended the period with a backlog of $95 billion. 

Over the past year, the company has booked more than $130 billion in AI server orders total.

Traditional servers grew even faster than AI servers on a percentage basis, up 122%, as businesses replace aging data center equipment. 

Storage revenue rose 26%, marking six straight quarters of demand growth above the broader market.

What’s behind the Dell stock price target hike

Murphy pointed to a few specific factors behind the higher Dell stock price target. Her note credited the beat and raise to enterprise refresh activity and AI demand, along with better-than-expected profitability.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what she highlighted:

Durable enterprise IT hardware demand tied to data center modernization

Growing adoption of agentic AI across enterprise customers

Accelerating AI server demand and order growth

Operating margin outperformance driven by scale

A more favorable mix of higher-margin storage products

Dell’s own management has said storage products built on the company’s proprietary technology, rather than partner brands, carry better margins. As that mix improves, profitability should expand.

Dell executives echoed that theme on the earnings call. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke pointed to the sheer scale of the aging equipment still sitting in corporate data centers as a reason the growth has room to continue.

“We still have 1.2 million assets that are 14G or older in the install base,” Clarke told analysts. They have to be upgraded.”

Goldman Sachs expects a broader replacement cycle and accelerating AI spending to drive revenue and earnings higher. 

According to consensus data compiled by Tikr.com, analysts tracking DELL stock forecast revenue to increase from $113.5 billion in fiscal 2026 (ending in January) to $277 billion in fiscal 2030. 

In this period, adjusted earnings are projected to expand from $10.30 per share to $42.72 per share. 

If DELL stock trades at 20x forward earnings, up from its current 17.7x multiple, it could surge roughly 90% over the next three years. 

Dell stock has more than tripled in the past year, due to stellar AI growth.NurPhoto / Getty Images

What’s next for Dell stock price?

Dell also raised its full-year outlook alongside the quarterly results.

The company now expects full-year revenue of $192 billion, up roughly 70% from the prior year, with earnings per share of $25.50, up about 150%.

Management said operating expenses are on pace to fall to about 8% of revenue for the year, the lowest level in the company’s 42-year history.

Lower overhead combined with higher revenue is a big part of why profits are growing faster than sales.

For investors watching Dell stock, the combination of a fresh price target increase, a maintained Buy rating, and management’s confidence in the second half of the year points to a company Wall Street believes still has room to run. 

Whether that plays out will depend on Dell continuing to convert its growing AI backlog into actual shipped revenue, something the company will update investors on again next quarter.

Out of the 21 analysts covering Dell stock, 14 recommend “Buy”, and seven recommend “Hold”. The average Dell stock price target is $586, 19% above the current price.

Related: Morgan Stanley flags unexpected Dell stock update after earnings

Analyst resets Dell stock price target after earnings

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares rallied sharply after the computer and server maker topped Wall Street’s expectations and raised its full-year outlook.

Dell reported adjusted earnings of $7.04 per share, well above Wall Street’s $4.92 estimate. Revenue reached $46.97 billion, topping expectations of $44.92 billion and rising about 58% from a year earlier. Shares surged 15% on Sep. 2 and gained another 4.9% on Sep. 3.

The company also issued guidance well above Wall Street expectations. Dell expects fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.50 per share on revenue of $49 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected earnings of $4.49 per share on $41.42 billion in revenue, CNBC reported.

For the full year, Dell now expects adjusted earnings of $25.50 per share and revenue of $192 billion, up from its previous revenue forecast of $165 billion to $169 billion.

Dell shares are up 309% this year through Thursday’s close, compared with a roughly 13% gain for the S&P 500.

Dell stock closed at $515.01 on Sep. 3.Mario Tama / Getty Images

Dell stock surged on record AI server demand

Investors have increasingly viewed Dell as a major beneficiary of spending on AI servers and data centers. 

“We booked $60.9 billion of AI orders in this quarter, the most in our history. We are also seeing AI-related tailwinds in traditional servers and networking, along with early signs of increased storage demand,”  said Dell’s operating chief, Jeff Clarke, on a call with analysts.

Dell’s AI-optimized server revenue reached $16.4 billion, topping the $16.07 billion consensus. Traditional server and networking revenue jumped 122% to $10.53 billion, while storage revenue increased nearly 26% to $4.85 billion.

Dell now expects $74 billion in AI-optimized server sales for the fiscal year, representing roughly 200% growth. Six months ago, the company was forecasting growth of 103%.

Dell lands major government deals

Dell’s rapid growth is also being supported by several large contracts.

During the quarter, the company secured a five-year contract worth roughly $9.7 billion to provide software and related services to the U.S. military.

Related: Jim Cramer has a strong message for Nvidia stock investors

Dell Federal Systems won the contract through a competitive process. The agreement calls for Dell to provide Microsoft 365, advanced cloud subscriptions and on-premises licensing capabilities to the Defense Department.

“The vendors were all evaluated based on competition, comparison to GSA schedule pricing, and overall chain of value to the department,” acting Navy Chief Information Officer Barry Tanner said. “Going through the process of evaluation, they came out on top.”

Defense Department officials said consolidating software purchases under the agreement could save the Pentagon roughly $422 million per year.

In July, President Trump, who has bought Dell shares since returning to office last year, again promoted the company, telling a White House crowd to “Go out and buy a Dell Computer” and saying he has “a son that loves their laptop.”

Dell congratulated Trump on his election victory in 2024 and joined Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Citi raises Dell stock price target to $600

Following Dell’s earnings beat, Citi analysts raised their price target on the stock to $600 from $515 and maintained a Buy rating, according to a research note sent to TheStreet.

Citi said demand across Dell’s major end markets remained strong, while better margins, pricing, product mix and operating expenses helped earnings significantly outperform expectations.

“Surging demand across key end-markets combined with strong execution drove a clear beat relative to heightened expectations,” Citi analysts wrote.

Related: Cathie Wood buys $53 million of popular semiconductor stock

Citi also believes Dell’s guidance still reflects supply constraints, leaving room for additional upside if component availability improves.

The analysts pointed to Dell’s growing AI business as a major driver, noting that Dell’s pipeline is several times larger than its backlog and now spans more than 6,500 customers.

“Momentum should sustain ahead, driven by infrastructure modernization and expanding enterprise AI adoption,” Citi analysts said, adding that Dell’s scale and broad product lineup are helping it gain market share.

Dell stock closed at $515.01 on Sep. 3.

Related: Costco shuts down member service with no notice

Microsoft drops $101.9 billion surprise as AI reshapes company

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Microsoft (MSFT) has told Wall Street Azure was growing quickly.

While it hadn’t previously disclosed the product-specific revenue, that changed this week.

Microsoft shared quarterly Azure revenue for the first time, according to Reuters, showing $29.4 billion in the most recent quarter and $101.9 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30.

The disclosures provide investors their clearest picture yet of where Microsoft stands in the cloud computing competition, with Azure behind Amazon’s (AMZN) Amazon Web Services but ahead of Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google Cloud, based on the companies’ latest quarterly sales numbers.

But maybe the scale of Azure is not the most relevant component of the Microsoft statement.

The firm is also altering how it reports its operations, going from three business categories to two as artificial intelligence increasingly spans cloud infrastructure, software, and AI applications.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said AI is transforming what Microsoft creates and how the business works, making its products less distinct from one another.

For investors, it poses a greater challenge than whether Azure can catch AWS.

Microsoft could be hinting that the traditional approach of assessing its operations no longer suits the company it is becoming.

Microsoft finally reveals how big Azure has become

Azure generated $29.4 billion in sales during Microsoft’s latest quarter, StockTwits noted, and $101.9 billion during the fiscal year ended June 30.

That provides a concrete figure for a business that Microsoft has mostly spoken about in terms of growth percentages.

It also makes the comparison with Microsoft’s top cloud competitors much clearer for investors.

Amazon Web Services made $42.2 billion in revenue in its last quarter, compared to $24.8 billion for Google Cloud, as Reuters reported.

AWS generated $128.7 billion in calendar 2025 sales, compared with $85.8 billion for Azure over the comparable four-quarter period. Google has not disclosed an equivalent full-year cloud figure.

AWS is still the biggest standalone cloud business.

But the announcement from Microsoft also demonstrates how much Azure has grown on its own.

The cloud platform generates more than $100 billion a year as companies ramp up spending on the infrastructure required to operate artificial intelligence models, apps, and agents.

Microsoft’s recent results underscore the trend.

Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 43% year over year in Microsoft’s fiscal fourth quarter. Companywide revenue rose 18% to $90 billion, while operating income increased 18% to $40.6 billion. For the full fiscal year, Microsoft generated $331.8 billion in revenue.

Those metrics help explain why Azure has become such a significant part of Microsoft’s investment narrative.

But the more crucial issue may be what Microsoft wants to offer on top of all that processing capability.

Related: Microsoft is touting a water claim critics say misses the point

One advantage Microsoft has that makes a direct Azure-versus-AWS comparison inadequate.

The corporation already has software deeply implanted within many corporate clients, including Microsoft 365, Windows, and developer tools.

That means Microsoft can earn every infrastructure dollar for its wider AI plan without relying on Azure.

Microsoft has a new client segment for its AI software: A customer running AI workloads on Azure may now also become a buyer of Microsoft’s AI software, developer tools, and workplace apps.

Microsoft’s recent reporting shift shows that management increasingly wants investors to consider those companies together.

Microsoft just changed how Wall Street should look at its AI business.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Microsoft’s AI shift is changing how investors see the business

Microsoft intends to reduce its reporting segments from three to two.

One of those new businesses, named Agents and Infra, will contain Microsoft’s cloud-computing services, AI-based software, and more conventional business software.

The second, Devices and Consumer, would encompass Windows, Xbox, Bing-linked advertising, and LinkedIn advertising, Reuters confirmed.

That seems like an accounting adjustment on the face of it.

In a strategic sense, this change indicates much more.

More Microsoft:

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Citi revamps Microsoft stock price target for the rest of 2026

Microsoft’s former reporting structure was a reflection of a corporation whose core products could still be pretty neatly segregated into productivity software, cloud infrastructure, and personal computing.

Artificial intelligence makes maintaining boundaries harder. Azure provides AI infrastructure. GitHub Copilot integrates AI into software development. Microsoft 365 Copilot adds generative AI to business apps. Companies can add more software to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure with its growing AI agent portfolio.

Those items may make money in diverse ways, but economically they reinforce each other more and more.

A firm may first acquire computer capacity from Azure. It may then add AI tools for developers, Microsoft 365 Copilot subscriptions for workers, and AI agents to automate corporate processes.

Nadella captured that shift when he said AI is “blurring the boundaries between our products and reshaping our business models,” The Standard reported.

That may be the true message of Microsoft’s financial-reporting facelift. Wall Street has been asking for years how big Azure is. Microsoft may now be telling investors that the right question is not Azure alone.

Microsoft also slightly lowered the Azure revenue forecast it gave investors last month. But there’s a good reason.

The adjustment followed the company’s decision to transfer certain GitHub sales that had been lumped with Azure into its Microsoft 365 Cloud businesses, which include many of Microsoft’s advanced AI services, the company said.

Microsoft said it still expects the same results for the quarter overall. Thus, the lower Azure forecast was not framed as a drop-off in demand. It was another consequence of Microsoft redrawing the lines between businesses that AI is increasingly bringing together.

Microsoft’s $101.9 billion reveal comes with an expensive catch

There is still a big danger underlying Microsoft’s growing AI prospect.

Building artificial intelligence costs a lot of money.

Microsoft has been investing in data centers, semiconductors, networking equipment, and other infrastructure to meet the need for AI computing.

That investment is helping Azure develop swiftly, but it is also squeezing profitability.

Microsoft said its cloud gross margin percentage declined from a year ago, partially due to a shift in its sales mix toward Azure, as well as sustained investment in AI infrastructure and increased use of AI products.

This situation presents perhaps the biggest issue for Microsoft investors.

Artificial intelligence can provide significant new income, but ultimately, Microsoft has to show those dollars increase faster than the massive expense of sustaining them.

The company has several ways to make that equation work. Azure can generate infrastructure revenue directly. Copilot products can add higher-value software revenue.

Developer tools and AI agents also provide Microsoft with other routes to monetize the same consumers who currently use its cloud.

That’s why the new Agents and Infra category is potentially so essential.

Microsoft seems to be constructing an AI economic engine in which consuming infrastructure feeds software sales, and software adoption creates more demand for infrastructure.

If that flywheel succeeds, Azure’s $101.9 billion in yearly sales may one day seem less like the main focus of Microsoft’s AI narrative and more like the foundation underneath it.

But the squeeze on margins means investors can’t expect every more AI dollar to be as lucrative.

Microsoft must still prove that improvements in efficiency, software monetization, and scalability can outweigh the expense of the infrastructure buildout.

That makes the company’s first Azure revenue report particularly helpful.

For the first time, investors now have a clear yardstick for one of Microsoft’s most valuable companies.

And Microsoft’s new reporting structure implies management already expects the next act in the tale will be far larger than Azure alone.

Microsoft finally tells Wall Street how big its cloud engine is.

Now investors need to figure out how much more valuable that engine becomes when Microsoft hooks it up to just about everything else the business offers.

Related: Bank of America resets Microsoft stock price target for 2026

Best Student Loan Refinance Companies of September 2026

Filed Under: Money.com, SUCCESS

Key Takeaways

Earnest claims the best overall title with its flexible repayment options; you can choose your monthly bill amount and create a term around it. Other top companies include SoFi and RISLA.
Borrowers with federal undergraduate loans will have a hard time beating their interest rate on the private market. But federal graduate loans, federal parent loans and private loans carry higher interest rates and offer a better shot at savings.
When you refinance federal loans, you lose access to certain benefits and repayment terms. Although there is a lot of anxiety regarding changes to the federal loan system, borrowers with federal debt should not make any knee-jerk decisions to refinance.
Methodology: Our team has been covering student loans for more than a decade. We independently analyzed and vetted student loan refinance products, focusing on eligibility, perks, interest rates and fees, to determine which lenders stand out.

Refinancing student loans can help borrowers pay off debt faster or lower their monthly bills to free up cash for other priorities. The move doesn’t make sense for all borrowers, but it can be a smart strategy for some — particularly if your credit score and financial profile have improved since you took out your loans.
If you’re looking for more information on in-school loans to pay for college, see our picks for best student loans.
Our picks for the top student loan refinance companies
The following companies are listed in alphabetical order.

Earnest – Best Overall
ELFI – Best for Parents
Lendkey – Best for Offers from Community Banks and Credit Unions
SoFi® – Best for Member Perks
RISLA – Best for Borrower Protections

Pros

Customizable payments

Ability to set up autopay for biweekly payments

Offers in-school refinancing for students in their within six months of graduation
Nine-month grace period

Cons

Cosigner release only available for certain loans

Not available in Mississippi

HIGHLIGHTS

Minimum income requirements
Does not disclose

Minimum credit score
665 without a cosigner; 700 if you have not finished your degree

Loan amount
$5,000 up to $550,000

Loan terms
Customizable between 5 and 20 years

Fees
No origination or application fees. No late fees

Fixed interest rate
4.45% – 9.99%(includes 0.25% autopay discount)

Earnest is our top overall pick thanks in large part to its customizable payments, which allow borrowers to pick the monthly payment that fits their budget, and set their repayment term based on that amount — even if it results in an uncommon number like 7.5 years. The result is more than 180 ways to customize your loan, the lender says. The repayment flexibilities don’t stop there, either. Earnest also allows borrowers to skip one payment every 12 months.
Earnest doesn’t charge late fees (or any fees at all, really) and consistently offers low starting interest rates, especially if you set up autopay. And it is transparent about what it offers for borrowers struggling to make their payments: You can make interest-only payments for up to 24 months over the life of the loan or request a financial hardship forbearance for up to 12 months. There’s also a nine-month payment grace period after graduation.
Read full Earnest student loan refinance review>>

Pros

Allows parents to transfer PLUS loans into student’s name.
Excellent customer service
Low maximum APY compared to other refinancing lenders

Cons

No rate discounts
No cosigner release
Fewer repayment term options for parent refinance loans
Requires a bachelor’s degree or higher

HIGHLIGHTS

Minimum income
$35,000

Minimum credit score
680

Loan amounts
Minimum of $10,000. Maximum varies based on eligibility.

Loan terms
5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years for students. 5 or 10 years for parents.

Fees
No application or origination fees. Late fee of up to $50.

Fixed interest rate
4.29% – 8.44%

Most lenders allow parents to refinance federal parent PLUS loans, but many require parents to stay on as the primary borrower. ELFI doesn’t; parents can refinance a PLUS loan in their name or refinance as a way to transfer the loan to their student (assuming the student meets the lender’s credit eligibility). ELFI only offers two repayment terms for parents (compared to five for student borrowers who are refinancing), but we still chose them at the top choice for parents as other lenders also tend to limit the number of terms available for parent refinance loans. ELFI’s starting APR is slightly higher than some winners on our list, but it also has a lower maximum interest rate than most lenders.
ELFI sets up all customers with a one-on-one session with a student loan advisor. With more than 2,200 reviews, the company has a 4.9 rating (out of 5 stars) on Trustpilot — the highest of any lender Money looked at. It also boasts an average monthly savings of $334 for its refinancing customers.
Worth noting: Medical residency and bar study loans aren’t eligible for refinancing with ELFI. Neither are international student loans made outside the U.S.

Pros

Low minimum refinancing amount
Associate degrees are eligible to refinance
Partners with hundreds of banks and credit unions
Can refinance while still in school

Has a referral rewards program

Cons

Does not refinance parent PLUS loans
No ability to choose a specific lender
Some credit unions may require you to become a member before borrowing

HIGHLIGHTS

Minimum income
Does not disclose (though “steady employment or job offer” is required)

Minimum credit score
Does not disclose

Loan amounts
$5,000 – $125,000 (undergraduate debt) or $250,000 (graduate debt)

Loan terms
5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years

Fees
No application or origination fees. Late fees depend on individual lenders

Fixed interest rate
3.98% – 9.24% APR (with autopay discount)

LendKey is a platform that connects you with a network of smaller banks and credit unions. LendKey isn’t a direct lender, but we chose to include it in our list as it can help you quickly expand your search for a solid refinance offer and it offers access to a group of lenders many borrowers wouldn’t find on their own. Plus, while a separate financial institution finances the loan (and determines eligibility), LendKey services the loan, so borrowers deal directly with the company through repayment.
LendKey has a quick, easy online application, allows for refinancing on balances as low as $5,000, and offers competitive interest rates. But you will have to use the check rates tool (it’s a soft inquiry, so it won’t hurt your credit) to see which of LendKey’s partners you’re eligible for — and even then, LendKey simply presents you with the available terms and interest rates. You cannot browse offers from various lenders.

Pros

Income-based payment option

Up to 24 months of forbearance for financial hardships

In-school refinancing available

Offers internship and nursing rewards programs

Cons

Only offers fixed-rate loans

Maximum loan term is 15 years

Cosigner release not available in all states

HIGHLIGHTS

Minimum income requirements
$40,000

Minimum credit score
Not disclosed

Loan amount
$1,500 minimum. The maximum depends on the type of loan: $200,000 (undergrad or parent loans), $250,000 (most graduate degrees), $350,000 (some professional degree programs)

Loan terms
5, 10 or 15 years

Fees
None

Fixed interest rate
3.99% – 8.74% APR (with 0.25% autopay discount)

RISLA is a nonprofit lender that stands out from other loan companies because of its borrower protection programs, including an income-based repayment option. Under this program, monthly payments will never exceed 15% of the borrower’s (or cosigner’s) discretionary income. And if there is still a loan balance after 25 years on the repayment plan, RISLA will forgive the remainder. These are valuable perks since typically only federal student loans have income-based payment options.
RISLA also offers military service benefits, a very low minimum loan amount and a six-month grace period after leaving school, and there’s an economic hardship forbearance option of up to 24 months to help borrowers experiencing financial hardship, unemployment or disability.

Pros

Members get rate discounts, awards and perks
Available for associate degrees
Special payment plans for medical residency

Deep experience in student loan refinancing

Cons

Bar exam loans for lawyers aren’t eligible for refinancing

CFPB complaints have been trending upward over the last year

HIGHLIGHTS

Minimum income requirements
Does not disclose

Minimum credit score
650

Loan amount
$5,000 up to total balance

Loan terms
5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years

Fees
No application, pre-payment or late fees

Fixed interest rate
3.99% – 10.99% with all discounts

SoFi® was the first company to offer refinancing for federal and private students back in 2012, and it remains a top lender in the space today. It stands out for its variety of membership perks. Anyone with a SoFi product (banking and investment services, personal loans, mortgage loans, credit and student loans) gets access to financial coaching, estate planning, discounts, networking events and more.
SoFi’s SmartStart loan option allows borrowers to ease into repayment on their refinanced loan, with nine months of partial payments before full principal and interest payments are due. There are also specific refinancing programs for medical students, medical residents, law students, MBA students, and parents.
Read full SoFi student loan refinance review>>

Other Companies We Considered
The companies reviewed below didn’t make it into our top picks, but they may offer competitive student loan refinance interest rates and loan terms that may suit some borrowers.
MPower Financing
MPower Financing is a great option for borrowers who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, as the public benefit corporation specializes in financing higher education for international students. MPOWER will allow borrowers to refinance loans originated in several countries, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. The lender has also reached its funding capacity for 2026 and has paused originations for the time being. New borrowers can apply to join the waitlist only.
Read full MPower student loan refinance review>>
Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank has strict eligibility requirements. Borrowers need good to excellent credit to qualify, and the refinanced loan minimum is $10,000 — higher than other lenders require. Citizens Bank does have forbearance programs, but the lender says decisions are made on a case-by-case basis rather than having set requirements or durations. Citizens Bank also has higher starting fixed interest rates than others on our list (nearly 6%).
For more information, check out our full review of Citizens Bank’s refinancing options.
What to to know before refinancing your student debt
Students and parents may be able to save money by refinancing, especially during periods of low interest rates. But refinancing isn’t a smart move for every borrower, so before taking that step, consider the implications of refinancing and if the outcome will be beneficial to your particular financial situation. For example, federal borrowers may score a lower interest rate but lose financial protections that could be crucial down the road.
How does refinancing student loans work?
When you refinance your student loan you are replacing your current loan with a new loan and new terms from a private lender. Generally, borrowers refinance student loans to extend their repayment period (and therefore lower monthly payments), obtain a lower interest rate so they’ll pay less over the life of the loan or consolidate multiple student loans into one single payment. Some loan borrowers may find terms that achieve all three at once.
You can only refinance student loans through a private lender, not the federal government. Experts caution people with federal loans to think very carefully about their situation before refinancing, because they’ll be giving up federal benefits that come with government loans such as student loan forgiveness programs and income-driven repayment plans. If your student loan is from a private lender, there’s little downside to looking for better terms. You can refinance private student loans with your current lender or choose a different lender.
Student loan refinancing vs. Student loan consolidation
One of the benefits of refinancing through a private student loan lender is that borrowers can consolidate multiple loans into one and have a single monthly payment under one servicer. But this benefit is not limited to private lenders. Students with eligible federal loans can consolidate their debt with a Direct Consolidation Loan, though there are pros and cons with that process as well.
Should you refinance your student loans?
Refinancing your debt — whether federal or private student loans — may save you money if you have high interest rates and a large monthly payment. But there are some real downsides to consider for borrowers with federal loans.
Refinancing a federal loan means converting it to a private lender. You’ll lose valuable benefits and protections, such as income-based loan repayment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness and interest subsidies. And the process cannot be reversed. For many federal borrowers, enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan will be a better option, as those plans can reduce your monthly payment and offer loan forgiveness on any balance left over after a certain number of years.
If you have a private student loan, there’s no real downside to refinancing to get better terms. But you will need a good credit score and stable income (or a creditworthy cosigner) to qualify for refinancing. When weighing whether it makes sense for you, remember that lenders’ lowest rates are reserved for borrowers with the strongest credit.
What to consider when refinancing a student loan
Before refinancing your loans, consider the following:
Federal student loans
With federal student loans, refinancing can help you secure a lower interest rate and possibly reduce your monthly payment. But federal loan refinancing can be risky because your federal loans will be transferred to a private lender. As a result, you’ll no longer be eligible for borrower protections like federal income-driven repayment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness or Total and Permanent Disability Discharge.
Private student loans
When you refinance, the loans are switched to a new loan servicer. Private loan rates, policies and customer service varies by lender, so be careful about refinancing your loans.
Steps to refinance your student loans
Refinancing student loans can be an excellent way to save money or accelerate your repayment, and it’s easier to do than you may think:
1. Check your credit
Student loan refinance lenders generally require borrowers to have good to excellent credit, meaning a score of 670 or higher, and to get the best student loan refinancing rates, you’ll need an even better score. Check your credit to see where you stand. If your credit is less-than-perfect or you have a high debt-to-income ratio, you may not even qualify for a loan unless you add a cosigner to your application.
Not all refinancing companies offer cosigner releases, so review the lender’s loan terms to see if a cosigner release is possible.
2. Consider the types of loans you have
If you have a mix of federal and private loans, remember that you don’t have to refinance all of your debt. Although you can refinance private student loans and federal loans, you can opt to only refinance your private loans or your loans with the highest rates.
3. Shop for the best rate
Each lender has its own credit and income requirements, so you may qualify for better rates with some lenders over others. Shop around and request quotes from multiple companies to find the best deal. Many lenders have tools that allow you to view prequalified rates without affecting your credit score, and using a marketplace like Credible or Splash Financial can help you get several quotes at once.
Rates range based on your credit and loan term; the lowest rates are usually for the shorter repayment periods, such as five or seven years.
4. Research lender’s financial hardship relief options
Not all refinancing lenders offer financial relief programs if you lose your job or become ill. And not all lenders will discharge your loans in cases of death or permanent disability. Carefully review the lender’s forbearance, deferment and forgiveness policies so you know under what circumstances the lender will pause or forgive your loans.
5. Fill out your loan application
Student loan refinancing companies allow you to apply online. You’ll need to provide your current loan statements, student loan account numbers and employment information. You’ll also need to consent to a hard credit inquiry.
6. Sign your loan approval and start making monthly payments
Once you’re approved, the lender will send you a loan agreement to review and sign. After that, the lender will work with your current loan servicers to pay off your student loans. Continue making your usual monthly payments until you receive confirmation that your loans have been paid in full; otherwise, you risk late payment fees and damage to your credit report.
How to refinance student loans with bad credit
If you have poor credit or no credit history, you will need a cosigner with a high credit score and steady source of income to qualify for a loan. (Most lenders require a minimum credit score around 650, but your cosigner will need a very good or excellent score to qualify for the best rates) Some lenders will allow you to apply for a cosigner release if you meet its requirements and make a specific number of payments on time, but not all lenders offer that option.
If you don’t have a cosigner to apply with, you’ll have to improve your credit before applying to refinance.
Latest student loan repayment news
Industry numbers from Earnest suggest that only about 10% of borrowers who could theoretically save money by refinancing do so. One possible explanation for that over the past five years is the uncertainty surrounding the federal lending system. Many federal borrowers were holding out for widespread student loan forgiveness and then were hoping for an especially generous repayment option that kept their monthly bills low.
But now that student loan bills are back in full force and the repayment landscape is shifting, some borrowers may be reconsidering their options. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which is the new income-based option, came online July 1, 2026. Monthly payments under the plan range from 1% to 10% of a borrower’s adjusted gross income.
RAP will eventually replace all of the existing income-driven options. Some borrowers have until the summer of 2028 to decide whether they want to switch to RAP. But borrowers in the now-defunct Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan — which was struck down in court — will have to act sooner. Once they receive an official notice from their loan servicer, they’ll have 90 days to switch.
If you’re considering refinancing into a private loan amid all the federal changes, keep in mind that while refinancing can help you get a lower monthly payment or lower interest rate, you’ll lose access to federal forgiveness programs. Private lenders typically also have more limited hardship protections.
The U.S. Department of Education recently introduced a new discount that would allow federal student loan borrowers to reduce their interest rate by one percentage point. The catch? They simply need to set up autopay for their monthly loan payments. The discount is available through mid-2028.

Best Student Loan Refinance Companies FAQ
What happens when you refinance student loans?
Refinancing involves taking out a new loan, ideally one with better terms, to pay off your existing debt(s). With federal loans, you’ll have to leave the federal loan program and take out a private loan to refinance your debt, while refinancing private loans usually means switching lenders. Most borrowers look for a lower interest rate when refinancing.
How often can you refinance student loans?
There is no limit to how often you can refinance your loans. Some borrowers may find that they can qualify for lower rates later as the economy changes and their credit scores improve, so it can make sense to shop around once a year to see what loan options are available.
How to refinance student loans with bad credit?
If you have poor credit or no credit history, you will need a cosigner with a high credit score and steady source of income to qualify for a loan. Some lenders will allow you to apply for a cosigner release if you meet its annual income requirements and make a specific number of payments on time, but not all lenders offer that option.
Who has the best student loan refinance rates?
As of September 2026, you can find the lowest student loan refinance annual percentage rates (APRs) through Earnest, LendKey, SoFi and RISLA, which offer fixed rate loans starting under 4%. However, other lenders may offer a lower rate for your specific situation, so it’s always smart to shop around.
Is it ever a good idea to refinance student loans?
It can be a good idea to refinance your student loans if you can get a lower interest rate or reduce your monthly payment. Be careful about refinancing federal student loans, though, as doing so will mean losing the unique benefits these loans come with, like Public Student Loan Forgiveness and income-based repayment plans.

Best student loan refinance methodology: How we picked our winners
We evaluated lenders on more than 20 factors, focusing on eligibility, costs, loan terms and borrower protections. Here’s a breakdown:
Variety of loans eligible
In addition to the standard bachelor’s and graduate degree offerings, we prioritized refinance companies that accepted parent loans, debt from associate degrees and loans from students who are still enrolled.
Flexible repayment options
We compared the variety of repayment term lengths, favoring lenders with four or more term options. Since the length of your term influences your interest rate and monthly payment, multiple repayment options are critical to helping borrowers get the right fit. We also considered whether lenders offered cosigner releases and how long a borrower had to wait before applying.
Competitive interest rates, low fees and reputation
We focused on lenders that balanced low starting rates for the most credit-worthy borrowers with still reasonable rates for borrowers with fair credit. In this case, we primarily looked for lenders with rates starting around 4% and maxing out below 10%, though we did make some exceptions. Most refinance companies do not charge origination or application fees, but we awarded extra points to lenders that also eliminated late or insufficient fund fees. Finally, we reviewed customer review sites including the Better Business Bureau and Trust Pilot to see which companies are known for good service.
We favored companies with flexible payback policies, such as cosigner release and financial hardship relief options for qualified applicants. We also looked for financial institutions that offered refinance loans without charging origination fees or late fees.
Borrower protections
One of the biggest downsides to refinancing federal student loans is that you lose access to extensive forbearance and deferment options, and so it’s critical for borrowers to research what their options would be should they struggle with payments in the future. These policies vary from lender to lender. We favored lenders with transparent forbearance policies on their websites and options to defer payments for up to a year, at a minimum.
Summary of Money’s Best Student Loan Refinance Companies of September 2026

Earnest – Best Overall
ELFI – Best for Parents
LendKey – Best for Offers from Community Banks and Credit Unions
SoFi® – Best for Member Perks
RISLA – Best for Borrower Protections

Key court ruling threatens to unravel $45 billion-per-month prediction market

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Kalshi, Polymarket and Polymarket US handled $45.33 billion in combined trading volume in August, according to The Block, down 14.5% from July’s record and the first monthly decline in a year.

It still ran 76.7% above the $25.66 billion the three platforms cleared in May.

On Aug. 28, a federal appeals court came for the legal shield underneath most of it:

“We conclude that Kalshi has not shown a likelihood that the CEA preempts state gaming regulations as applied to its sports event contracts.”

That was a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling 3-0 for Nevada’s gaming regulators and referring to the Commodity Exchange Act.

“This is a significant win for states’ authority to regulate gambling operations,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said.

“Despite the Ninth Circuit’s opinion, we still believe the CFTC regulations as written do not prohibit sports contracts,” Kalshi spokesperson Dani Lever told The Block. The company will seek further review.

Every one of these fights turns on one question. Ismail Vali, president of Gaming Compliance International, says America settled it long ago.

“Officially in America, it’s not gambling, it’s trading,” Vali said on the On The Margin podcast. “But everywhere else in the world is struggling with what do we do about these problems.”

Mayes has more riding on that question than most. Arizona is the only state to bring criminal charges against a prediction market, and the 9th Circuit binds it.

Arizona’s criminal case was frozen. Now it may thaw

Mayes filed 20 criminal counts against KalshiEx LLC and Kalshi Trading LLC in Maricopa County Superior Court on March 17: four for election wagering, which Arizona bans outright, and 16 for illegal betting, mostly on sports. An investigator from her own office placed the election bets, NPR reported.

The federal commodities statute “was never intended to strip states of their traditional police power over gambling,” Mayes said.

Kalshi went to federal court and won. U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi issued an injunction on May 5, resting on the preemption argument the 9th Circuit has now rejected. Mayes says she will ask him to look at that order again.

The panel addressed sports event contracts, not election wagering or games of chance, which is where four of Arizona’s counts live, KJZZ reported.

The CFTC is not conceding either

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has spent 2026 suing states that try to police event contracts.

“A derivative contract structured as a swap is a swap regardless of the underlying subject matter,” CFTC spokesperson Zach Fulton told The Block, noting that the statute carves out only onions and movie box office receipts.

The 3rd Circuit ruled the other way in April in Kalshi’s fight with New Jersey, holding the same contracts were likely protected swaps. The CFTC says the conflict “calls out for resolution by the Supreme Court.”

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, who sued in March, put his state’s case in plain terms.

“For Kalshi, every event, every tragedy is nothing more than a potential way for Americans to risk their fortunes and for Kalshi to get rich,” Brown said.

Where the state fights stand:

Arizona: 20 criminal counts, frozen by federal injunction, now under fresh challenge.

Nevada: Won at the 9th Circuit on Aug. 28.

Washington: A King County judge ordered Kalshi on Aug. 13 to stop taking wagers on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, with geofencing due Sept. 2 and penalties of $120,000 a day, according to the state attorney general’s office.

New York: Sued Kalshi on July 31 seeking more than $36 billion.

Massachusetts and Michigan: Each holds a court order restricting the platform.

Bloomberg / Getty Images

The argument underneath the lawsuits

“Right now, prediction market platforms are the hot thing in gaming, okay? But they’re not really gambling because in America, they’re seen as financial products, they’re futures derivatives, effectively,” Vali said.

His firm’s work, he says, shows prediction markets eating into sports betting’s share. He is harsher still on the retail trader’s odds.

“You are the sucker who’s being dragged into betting a load of money on stuff that’s probably not gonna happen,” Vali said.

Betr founder Joey Levy, whose company is rolling out sports prediction markets nationwide with Polymarket as the infrastructure, reads the same growth as expansion.

“I don’t know if I fully buy the cannibalization narrative that some are running with,” Levy said on the On The Margin podcast. “This is a story of TAM expansion.”

A game built with no payout

On the other hand, some companies offering the same competitive itch can be sold with nothing riding on it. ScorePoint’s games open in a browser tab with nothing to download, and nothing in them pays anyone to play.

Its in-platform currencies, ScoreCoin and LandCoin, buy progression and stay inside the platform, closed-loop virtual currencies for gameplay rather than cryptocurrencies, blockchain tokens or financial products. “

Scores are connected to identity, not just anonymous play,” the company said in written responses to questions.

“We created Match Kora to give players a football game they can enter quickly while still offering different ways to compete,” said Hussain Al-Malki, founder of the Jeddah-based platform. What it sells instead of a payout is standing: profiles, points, badges, clans that play other clans, rankings by country.

Kalshi’s whole case is that its contracts sit on the other side of that line, federal instruments the states have no say over. One appeals court has now said otherwise.

“Calling a sports bet a ‘swap’ doesn’t make it one,” Mayes said.