Goodwill and Acquired Intangible Assets
Goodwill
We recorded as goodwill the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired as part of the Nitro acquisition in the first quarter of 2022 and the Scholly acquisition in the third quarter of 2023. At December 31, 2025, we had $56 million in total goodwill. See Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies — Business Combinations” in this Form 10-K for additional details on our acquisitions of Nitro and Scholly.
Goodwill is not amortized but is tested periodically for impairment. We test goodwill for impairment annually in the fourth quarter of the year, or more frequently if we believe that indicators of impairment exist. As a part of the 2025 annual impairment testing, we conducted a quantitative impairment test of goodwill associated with our education services business. We utilized the income approach to estimate the fair value of the reporting unit. The income approach measures the value of the reporting unit’s future economic benefit determined by its discounted cash flows derived from our reporting unit’s internal forecast. Based on the quantitative analysis, we determined that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeded its carrying value. Thus, no impairment charges were recorded during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Acquired Intangible Assets
Our intangible assets include acquired trade names and trademarks, customer relationships, and developed technologies. We review our long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, we determined that it was more likely than not that the Nitro trade name and trademark assets would not be used as originally intended due to changes in business strategy and, therefore, no longer held value. As a result, the Company performed an impairment review and wrote down the Nitro trade name and trademark to zero, which resulted in the recognition of a non-cash pre-tax impairment loss of $56 million. That impairment loss was recorded to acquired intangible assets impairment and amortization expense.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, we determined that it was more likely than not that the Scholly partner relationships asset no longer held value. As a result, the Company performed an impairment review and wrote down the Scholly partner relationships asset to zero, which resulted in the recognition of a non-cash pre-tax impairment loss of less than $1 million. That impairment loss was recorded to acquired intangible assets impairment and amortization expense.
Acquired intangible assets include the following:
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As of December 31,
(dollars in thousands) | | | | 2025 | | 2024 |
| Useful Life (in years)(1) | | Cost Basis | | Accumulated Amortization | | Net | | Cost Basis | | Accumulated Amortization | | Net |
| Trade names and trademarks | | 4.0 | | $ | 6,040 | | | $ | (3,649) | | | $ | 2,391 | | | $ | 6,040 | | | $ | (2,139) | | | $ | 3,901 | |
| Customer relationships | | 4.6 | | 8,920 | | | (8,073) | | | 847 | | | 8,920 | | | (6,465) | | | 2,455 | |
| Developed technologies | | 3.5 | | 2,590 | | | (2,064) | | | 526 | | | 2,590 | | | (1,661) | | | 929 | |
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| Sallie.com domain | | 4.0 | | 150 | | | (43) | | | 107 | | | 150 | | | (6) | | | 144 | |
| Total acquired intangible assets | | | | $ | 17,700 | | | $ | (13,829) | | | $ | 3,871 | | | $ | 17,700 | | | $ | (10,271) | | | $ | 7,429 | |
(1) The weighted average useful life of acquired intangible assets related to the Nitro acquisition is 4.6 years and the weighted average useful life of the acquired intangible assets related to the Scholly acquisition is 4.0 years.
We recorded amortization of acquired intangible assets totaling approximately $4 million, $5 million, and $10 million in the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. We will continue to amortize our intangible assets with definite useful lives over their remaining estimated useful lives. We estimate amortization expense associated with these intangible assets will be approximately $3 million, $1 million, and less than $1 million in 2026, 2027, and 2028.