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Side-by-side financial comparison of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM) and Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Affirm Holdings, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($401.4M vs $305.9M, roughly 1.3× Strategic Education, Inc.). Affirm Holdings, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 32.3% vs 10.7%, a 21.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Affirm Holdings, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (32.5% vs 0.8%). Affirm Holdings, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($118.0M vs $77.3M). Over the past eight quarters, Affirm Holdings, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (43.5% CAGR vs -1.0%).
Affirm Holdings, Inc. is an American financial technology company and a point-of-sale lender. Founded in 2012 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, it is the largest U.S. based buy now, pay later (BNPL) financier. As of 2025, Affirm reports nearly 26 million users and processing $37 billion in annual payments.
Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) is an education services holding company and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit, online Capella University and Strayer University, as well as non-degree programs schools such as DevMountain, Hackbright Academy, and Sophia Learning.
AFRM vs STRA — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $401.4M | $305.9M |
| Net Profit | $129.6M | $32.8M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 29.3% | 13.4% |
| Net Margin | 32.3% | 10.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 32.5% | 0.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | 61.3% | 10.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.37 | $1.48 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q1 26 | — | $305.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $401.4M | $323.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $320.5M | $319.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $306.6M | $321.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $272.5M | $303.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.0M | $311.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $231.8M | $306.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $224.0M | $312.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $32.8M | ||
| Q4 25 | $129.6M | $37.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $80.7M | $26.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $69.2M | $32.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.8M | $29.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $80.4M | $25.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-100.2M | $27.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-45.1M | $29.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | 13.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 29.3% | 16.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 19.9% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 18.9% | 14.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | -3.1% | 13.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.4% | 11.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | -57.2% | 11.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | -32.8% | 13.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 10.7% | ||
| Q4 25 | 32.3% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 25.2% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 22.6% | 10.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.0% | 9.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 26.5% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | -43.2% | 9.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | -20.2% | 9.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.48 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.37 | $1.65 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.23 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.22 | $1.37 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.01 | $1.24 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.23 | $1.05 | ||
| Q3 24 | $-0.31 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.13 | $1.24 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $1.5B | $150.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $9.0B | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $3.5B | $1.6B |
| Total Assets | $13.0B | $2.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 2.54× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $150.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.5B | $148.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.4B | $172.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.4B | $164.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.4B | $182.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.2B | $184.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $222.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.0B | $256.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $9.0B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.7B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $7.6B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $7.1B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $7.3B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.8B | — |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.5B | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.3B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.9B | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.8B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.8B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.7B | $1.7B |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $13.0B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $11.5B | $2.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.2B | $2.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $10.4B | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $10.5B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $10.1B | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $9.5B | $2.2B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.54× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.35× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.48× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.49× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.62× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.67× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $173.7M | $87.4M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $118.0M | $77.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 29.4% | 25.3% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 13.9% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 1.34× | 2.66× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $619.1M | $173.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $87.4M | ||
| Q4 25 | $173.7M | $39.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $374.6M | $60.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $74.6M | $31.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $210.4M | $67.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $312.0M | $15.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $196.9M | $51.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $68.8M | $24.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $77.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $118.0M | $27.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $320.2M | $49.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $23.5M | $20.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $157.4M | $57.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $268.1M | $4.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $152.7M | $42.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $30.5M | $13.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | 25.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 29.4% | 8.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 99.9% | 15.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 7.7% | 6.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 57.7% | 18.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 88.5% | 1.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 65.9% | 13.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 13.6% | 4.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 13.9% | 3.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 17.0% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 16.7% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 19.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.5% | 3.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.0% | 3.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 17.1% | 3.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.66× | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.34× | 1.03× | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.64× | 2.26× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.08× | 0.97× | ||
| Q1 25 | 75.03× | 2.27× | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.88× | 0.63× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.86× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.81× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
AFRM
| Merchant Network | $328.4M | 82% |
| Virtual Card Network | $73.0M | 18% |
| Commercial Agreement Amazon | $1.9M | 0% |
STRA
| U.S. Higher Education | $212.6M | 69% |
| Australia/New Zealand | $51.8M | 17% |
| Education Technology Services | $41.5M | 14% |
