What the Department of Education buys, who it buys from, and what's open for bid — from FY2026 USAspending awards and live SAM.gov solicitations.
Contract data as of Oct 18, 2026 (USAspending) · recent coverage verified weekly
| Quarter | Awards | Obligated | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 FY2026 | 29 | $527.5M | — |
| Q2 FY2026 | 34 | $82.4M | -84% |
| Q3 FY2026 | 46 | $779.7M | +846% |
| Q4 FY2026 | 147 | $332.3M | -57% |
Federal fiscal quarters (Q1 = Oct–Dec). Awards are counted in the quarter they start; obligations are the award's obligated amount.
| # | Contractor | Obligated | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NELNET SERVICING LLC | $366.2M | 21.3% |
| 2 | MAXIMUS INC | $296.5M | 17.2% |
| 3 | MISSOURI HIGHER EDUCATION LOAN AUTHORITY | $229.3M | 13.3% |
| 4 | EDFINANCIAL SERVICES LLC | $214.6M | 12.5% |
| 5 | CENTRAL RESEARCH INC | $115.4M | 6.7% |
| 6 | ACCENTURE PLC | $109.1M | 6.3% |
| 7 | KAIVA TECH, LLC | $47.5M | 2.8% |
| 8 | GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP | $36.5M | 2.1% |
| 9 | JOHN J. YIM & ASSOCIATES, LLC | $23.0M | 1.3% |
| 10 | WITS SOLUTIONS INC. | $21.9M | 1.3% |
Registrations are rolled up to their corporate parent (USAspending parent UEI), so a company with several SAM registrations ranks once.
| Set-aside type | Obligated | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Small business set-aside | $95.5M | 73.0% |
| 8(a) | $25.4M | 19.4% |
| SDVOSB | $102K | 0.1% |
| WOSB / EDWOSB | $505K | 0.4% |
| HUBZone | $88K | 0.1% |
| No set-aside (full & open) | $9.2M | 7.0% |
Share of obligations on awards whose set-aside type is recorded — 8% of this market's dollars. Most USAspending bulk-archive records leave the field blank, so blank awards are excluded rather than counted as full & open.
Links open the notice on SAM.gov.
Source: USAspending.gov contract awards (prime awards with a start date from Oct 1, 2025 through Sep 30, 2026), SAM.gov contract opportunities, and SBA size standards. Recompetes are contracts whose final end date — options included — falls in the next 12 months. Figures are recomputed when a new USAspending load lands. See our data sources.