Synchrony earns mostly from interest on credit cards it offers through retail partners. In the third quarter of 2026, card spending rose but balances barely grew, costs climbed and profit fell.
Many shops offer their own credit card at the checkout. If you have one, the lender behind it may well be Synchrony. It provides credit cards and other financing that shoppers use with its retail and commercial partners. It funds these loans mostly with savers' deposits and earns the difference between what borrowers pay and what that money costs.
Cardholders who carry a balance from month to month pay interest and fees. Synchrony pays interest to depositors and other lenders. That gap, net interest income, makes up almost all of revenue: in 2025 it was $18.5bn out of $19bn. Partners contribute too: merchants give Synchrony a discount on card sales, recorded as interest income over time. Two costs decide what remains. The first is the credit losses, an accounting charge for loans expected to go unpaid. It swings with the economy and moves profit the most. The second is the cost of running the business, which moves more slowly but has lately risen faster than revenue.
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