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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Applied Digital Corp. (APLD). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($158.3M vs $126.6M, roughly 1.3× Applied Digital Corp.). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs -11.4%, a 19.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Applied Digital Corp. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (98.2% vs -3.5%). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-15.6M vs $-567.9M). Over the past eight quarters, Applied Digital Corp.'s revenue compounded faster (70.9% CAGR vs 1.3%).

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.

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is an international defence and security technology firm owned by BAE Systems. They specialize in delivering digital solutions that enable rapid, data-driven decision-making. Their services, solutions and products span customers in Law Enforcement, National Security, Government Departments and Government Enterprises, Critical National Infrastructure, Telecommunications, the Military, and Space.

APEI vs APLD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
APEI
APEI
1.3× larger
APEI
$158.3M
$126.6M
APLD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
APLD
APLD
+101.7% gap
APLD
98.2%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
APEI
APEI
19.4% more per $
APEI
8.0%
-11.4%
APLD
More free cash flow
APEI
APEI
$552.3M more FCF
APEI
$-15.6M
$-567.9M
APLD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
APLD
APLD
Annualised
APLD
70.9%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Revenue
$158.3M
$126.6M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$-14.4M
Gross Margin
56.4%
20.6%
Operating Margin
12.0%
-24.5%
Net Margin
8.0%
-11.4%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
98.2%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
89.6%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$-0.07

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.

Revenue
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$158.3M
$126.6M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$64.2M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$-33.3M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$52.9M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$63.9M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$60.7M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$43.7M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$43.3M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$12.6M
$-14.4M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$-16.9M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$-52.5M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$-35.6M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$-138.7M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$-4.2M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$-64.5M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$-62.8M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
56.4%
20.6%
Q3 25
54.2%
13.4%
Q2 25
51.8%
Q1 25
54.5%
7.1%
Q4 24
56.3%
18.0%
Q3 24
50.8%
-0.6%
Q2 24
50.2%
-9.1%
Q1 24
53.1%
-8.6%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
12.0%
-24.5%
Q3 25
5.9%
-34.7%
Q2 25
4.3%
Q1 25
7.4%
-35.8%
Q4 24
13.1%
-29.1%
Q3 24
2.7%
15.6%
Q2 24
1.5%
-68.4%
Q1 24
3.4%
-128.8%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
8.0%
-11.4%
Q3 25
3.4%
-26.4%
Q2 25
2.8%
157.8%
Q1 25
5.4%
-67.2%
Q4 24
7.9%
-217.2%
Q3 24
1.5%
-7.0%
Q2 24
0.2%
-147.5%
Q1 24
0.3%
-145.0%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$0.67
$-0.07
Q3 25
$0.30
$-0.07
Q2 25
$-0.02
$-0.31
Q1 25
$0.41
$-0.16
Q4 24
$0.63
$-0.66
Q3 24
$0.04
$-0.03
Q2 24
$-0.06
$-0.57
Q1 24
$-0.06
$-0.52

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$1.9B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$1.4B
Total Assets
$521.4M
$5.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$174.1M
$1.9B
Q3 25
$191.3M
$73.9M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$41.6M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$68.7M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$286.2M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$58.2M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$3.3M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$4.4M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$94.7M
Q3 25
$94.4M
Q2 25
$94.1M
Q1 25
$93.7M
Q4 24
$93.4M
Q3 24
$93.1M
Q2 24
$92.8M
Q1 24
$95.0M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$294.8M
$1.4B
Q3 25
$279.3M
$1.0B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$497.7M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$454.6M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$434.6M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$241.8M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$124.8M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$118.5M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$521.4M
$5.2B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$2.4B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$1.9B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$1.7B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$1.5B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$937.7M
Q2 24
$560.7M
$762.9M
Q1 24
$559.0M
$643.2M
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
0.32×
Q3 25
0.34×
Q2 25
0.35×
Q1 25
0.30×
Q4 24
0.31×
Q3 24
0.32×
Q2 24
0.32×
Q1 24
0.33×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$-15.8M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$-567.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
-448.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
436.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$-1.3B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$-15.8M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$-82.0M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$6.9M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$5.9M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$-52.3M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$-75.9M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$-34.1M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$38.8M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$-567.9M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$-331.4M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$-191.4M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$-251.6M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$-223.3M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$-130.7M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$-88.9M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$-2.3M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
-9.9%
-448.6%
Q3 25
10.7%
-516.1%
Q2 25
6.8%
574.8%
Q1 25
20.1%
-475.4%
Q4 24
-1.1%
-349.6%
Q3 24
5.1%
-215.3%
Q2 24
4.7%
-203.5%
Q1 24
9.4%
-5.4%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
2.6%
436.1%
Q3 25
2.6%
388.4%
Q2 25
2.3%
-595.4%
Q1 25
2.4%
486.6%
Q4 24
2.0%
267.8%
Q3 24
4.1%
90.3%
Q2 24
3.4%
125.4%
Q1 24
4.0%
95.0%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
APLD
APLD
Q4 25
-0.92×
Q3 25
3.90×
Q2 25
3.29×
Q1 25
4.16×
Q4 24
0.12×
Q3 24
6.22×
Q2 24
33.57×
Q1 24
40.20×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

APEI
APEI

American Public Education Inc Segment$71.0M45%
Rasmussen University Segment$66.6M42%
Hondros College Of Nursing Segment$20.7M13%

APLD
APLD

HPC Hosting Business$85.0M67%
Data Center Hosting Business$41.6M33%

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