Synchrony Financial (SYF) Stock Analysis & Winston Score

Synchrony Financial is a consumer lending company that issues store credit cards and other financing products. It partners with retailers, healthcare providers, and auto dealers to offer customers a way to pay for purchases over time. Some of its well-known partners include Amazon, Lowe's, and PayPal, making it one of the largest private-label credit card issuers in the United States.

Synchrony makes money by charging interest and fees on the credit balances its cardholders carry. It operates almost entirely in the United States and manages roughly 70 million active accounts. Its main competitive advantage is its deep network of retail and healthcare partnerships, which are often locked in through multi-year contracts. The biggest risk the company faces is a rise in loan defaults — when consumers struggle to pay their bills, Synchrony absorbs those losses directly, which can quickly pressure earnings during economic downturns.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

14 trades / 12mo

9 Congressional buys and 5 sells on SYF in the last 12 months.

Unlock the full Smart Money Map — every trade plotted on the price chart with politicians, amounts and returns since each trade. Founder's Deal is $57/mo locked for life.

Unlock politician trades

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+16.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+19.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

Insider Activity

0.5%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$20.6B cash & investments

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Synchrony Financial is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 17%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

82.7%

Premium pricing power — 82.7% gross margin

Operating Margin

16.3%

Healthy — 16.3% operating margin

ROCE

2.8%

Weak — 2.8% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales YoY

+1.6%

Nearly flat sales (1.6% YoY)

EPS YoY

+32.6%

Earnings growing fast (32.6% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

EPS Consistency

8/8 quarters

Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

273%

Turns 273% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

49.4%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (49.4%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

Debt / Equity

1.00

Moderate — manageable debt (1.00)

Interest Cover

1.13x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.1x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

7.5x

no trend

Attractive valuation — P/E 7.5

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

P/E vs Forward

+0.0

GROWING

Earnings roughly flat

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend Yield

1.53%

no trend

Small dividend — 1.53% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+14.3%

no trend

Dividend growing fast (14.3% YoY)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial