vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and AMERICAN STATES WATER CO (AWR). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN STATES WATER CO is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($164.3M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.0× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). AMERICAN STATES WATER CO runs the higher net margin — 17.5% vs 8.0%, a 9.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AMERICAN STATES WATER CO posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (14.8% vs -3.5%). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-15.6M vs $-36.0M). Over the past eight quarters, AMERICAN STATES WATER CO's revenue compounded faster (10.2% 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.

American Water is an American public utility company that, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States.

APEI vs AWR — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AWR
AWR
1.0× larger
AWR
$164.3M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
AWR
AWR
+18.3% gap
AWR
14.8%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
AWR
AWR
9.5% more per $
AWR
17.5%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
APEI
APEI
$20.4M more FCF
APEI
$-15.6M
$-36.0M
AWR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
AWR
AWR
Annualised
AWR
10.2%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Revenue
$158.3M
$164.3M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$28.7M
Gross Margin
56.4%
88.9%
Operating Margin
12.0%
27.4%
Net Margin
8.0%
17.5%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
14.8%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
1.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.74

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
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$158.3M
$164.3M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$182.7M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$163.1M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$148.0M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$143.1M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$161.8M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$155.3M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$135.3M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$12.6M
$28.7M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$41.2M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$33.7M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$26.8M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$28.4M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$35.8M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$31.9M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$23.1M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
56.4%
88.9%
Q3 25
54.2%
91.0%
Q2 25
51.8%
92.1%
Q1 25
54.5%
91.3%
Q4 24
56.3%
92.4%
Q3 24
50.8%
92.7%
Q2 24
50.2%
89.6%
Q1 24
53.1%
88.4%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
12.0%
27.4%
Q3 25
5.9%
33.8%
Q2 25
4.3%
31.3%
Q1 25
7.4%
30.8%
Q4 24
13.1%
27.0%
Q3 24
2.7%
34.0%
Q2 24
1.5%
33.3%
Q1 24
3.4%
28.8%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
8.0%
17.5%
Q3 25
3.4%
22.5%
Q2 25
2.8%
20.7%
Q1 25
5.4%
18.1%
Q4 24
7.9%
19.9%
Q3 24
1.5%
22.1%
Q2 24
0.2%
20.5%
Q1 24
0.3%
17.1%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$0.67
$0.74
Q3 25
$0.30
$1.06
Q2 25
$-0.02
$0.87
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.70
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.75
Q3 24
$0.04
$0.95
Q2 24
$-0.06
$0.85
Q1 24
$-0.06
$0.62

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$18.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
$782.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$1.0B
Total Assets
$521.4M
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×
0.75×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$174.1M
$18.8M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$26.1M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$20.2M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$21.2M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$26.7M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$16.5M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$3.6M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$17.0M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$94.7M
$782.7M
Q3 25
$94.4M
Q2 25
$94.1M
Q1 25
$93.7M
Q4 24
$93.4M
$640.4M
Q3 24
$93.1M
Q2 24
$92.8M
Q1 24
$95.0M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$294.8M
$1.0B
Q3 25
$279.3M
$1.0B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$972.5M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$956.4M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$920.1M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$879.5M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$833.5M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$800.5M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$521.4M
$2.7B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$2.7B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$2.6B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$2.5B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$2.5B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$2.4B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$2.3B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$2.3B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
0.32×
0.75×
Q3 25
0.34×
Q2 25
0.35×
Q1 25
0.30×
Q4 24
0.31×
0.70×
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
AWR
AWR
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$27.7M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$-36.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
-21.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
38.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
0.96×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$-7.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$27.7M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$92.4M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$64.6M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$45.1M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$64.5M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$63.7M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$24.7M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$45.8M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$-36.0M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$37.7M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$13.7M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$-22.5M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$6.0M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$-478.0K
Q2 24
$7.3M
$-37.0M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$-1.7M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
-9.9%
-21.9%
Q3 25
10.7%
20.7%
Q2 25
6.8%
8.4%
Q1 25
20.1%
-15.2%
Q4 24
-1.1%
4.2%
Q3 24
5.1%
-0.3%
Q2 24
4.7%
-23.8%
Q1 24
9.4%
-1.3%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
2.6%
38.8%
Q3 25
2.6%
29.9%
Q2 25
2.3%
31.2%
Q1 25
2.4%
45.6%
Q4 24
2.0%
40.9%
Q3 24
4.1%
39.7%
Q2 24
3.4%
39.8%
Q1 24
4.0%
35.2%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
AWR
AWR
Q4 25
-0.92×
0.96×
Q3 25
3.90×
2.24×
Q2 25
3.29×
1.92×
Q1 25
4.16×
1.68×
Q4 24
0.12×
2.27×
Q3 24
6.22×
1.78×
Q2 24
33.57×
0.78×
Q1 24
40.20×
1.98×

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%

AWR
AWR

Water Service Utility Operations$110.0M67%
Public Utilities Inventory Water$22.3M14%
Wastewater$15.9M10%
Electric Service Utility Operations$15.2M9%

Related Comparisons