vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and BLACKBERRY Ltd (BB). 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 $141.8M, roughly 1.1× BLACKBERRY Ltd). BLACKBERRY Ltd runs the higher net margin — 9.7% vs 8.0%, a 1.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, BLACKBERRY Ltd posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.8% vs -3.5%). BLACKBERRY Ltd produced more free cash flow last quarter ($17.4M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, BLACKBERRY Ltd's revenue compounded faster (17.8% 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.

BlackBerry Limited, formerly Research In Motion (RIM), is a Canadian software company specializing in secure communications and the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1984, it developed the BlackBerry brand of two-way pagers, smartphones, and tablets. The company later transitioned to providing software and services and holds critical software application patents.

APEI vs BB — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
APEI
APEI
1.1× larger
APEI
$158.3M
$141.8M
BB
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
BB
BB
+2.7% gap
BB
-0.8%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
BB
BB
1.7% more per $
BB
9.7%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
BB
BB
$33.0M more FCF
BB
$17.4M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BB
BB
Annualised
BB
17.8%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Revenue
$158.3M
$141.8M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$13.7M
Gross Margin
56.4%
77.5%
Operating Margin
12.0%
8.4%
Net Margin
8.0%
9.7%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
-0.8%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
224.5%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.02

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
BB
BB
Q4 25
$158.3M
$141.8M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$129.6M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$121.7M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$141.7M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$143.6M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$126.2M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$123.4M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$102.1M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$12.6M
$13.7M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$13.3M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$1.9M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$-7.4M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$-10.5M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$-19.7M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$-41.4M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$-56.2M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
56.4%
77.5%
Q3 25
54.2%
74.5%
Q2 25
51.8%
74.2%
Q1 25
54.5%
73.5%
Q4 24
56.3%
78.1%
Q3 24
50.8%
70.2%
Q2 24
50.2%
72.9%
Q1 24
53.1%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
12.0%
8.4%
Q3 25
5.9%
8.9%
Q2 25
4.3%
1.6%
Q1 25
7.4%
-5.6%
Q4 24
13.1%
13.6%
Q3 24
2.7%
1.7%
Q2 24
1.5%
-10.5%
Q1 24
3.4%
50.0%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
8.0%
9.7%
Q3 25
3.4%
10.3%
Q2 25
2.8%
1.6%
Q1 25
5.4%
-5.2%
Q4 24
7.9%
-7.3%
Q3 24
1.5%
-15.6%
Q2 24
0.2%
-33.5%
Q1 24
0.3%
-55.0%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$0.67
$0.02
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.02
Q2 25
$-0.02
$0.00
Q1 25
$0.41
$-0.01
Q4 24
$0.63
$-0.02
Q3 24
$0.04
$-0.03
Q2 24
$-0.06
$-0.07
Q1 24
$-0.06
$-0.08

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$304.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
$196.2M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$741.1M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$1.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×
0.26×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$174.1M
$304.2M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$290.5M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$306.6M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$337.8M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$220.0M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$211.0M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$229.0M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$237.1M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$94.7M
$196.2M
Q3 25
$94.4M
$195.9M
Q2 25
$94.1M
$195.6M
Q1 25
$93.7M
$195.3M
Q4 24
$93.4M
Q3 24
$93.1M
Q2 24
$92.8M
Q1 24
$95.0M
$194.1M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$294.8M
$741.1M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$725.1M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$725.1M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$719.9M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$725.2M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$732.1M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$742.6M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$775.1M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$521.4M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$1.2B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$1.2B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$1.3B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$1.3B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$1.4B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
0.32×
0.26×
Q3 25
0.34×
0.27×
Q2 25
0.35×
0.27×
Q1 25
0.30×
0.27×
Q4 24
0.31×
Q3 24
0.32×
Q2 24
0.32×
Q1 24
0.33×
0.25×

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
BB
BB
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$18.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$17.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
12.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
0.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
1.34×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$42.8M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$18.3M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$3.9M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$-18.0M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$41.6M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$6.0M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$-16.0M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$-15.1M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$-15.5M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$17.4M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$3.1M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$-18.9M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$41.2M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$5.2M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$-16.5M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$-16.5M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$-17.6M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
-9.9%
12.3%
Q3 25
10.7%
2.4%
Q2 25
6.8%
-15.5%
Q1 25
20.1%
29.1%
Q4 24
-1.1%
3.6%
Q3 24
5.1%
-13.1%
Q2 24
4.7%
-13.4%
Q1 24
9.4%
-17.2%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
2.6%
0.6%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.6%
Q2 25
2.3%
0.7%
Q1 25
2.4%
0.3%
Q4 24
2.0%
0.6%
Q3 24
4.1%
0.4%
Q2 24
3.4%
1.1%
Q1 24
4.0%
2.1%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
BB
BB
Q4 25
-0.92×
1.34×
Q3 25
3.90×
0.29×
Q2 25
3.29×
-9.47×
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%

BB
BB

QNX$68.7M48%
Secure Communication$67.0M47%
Licensing$6.1M4%

Related Comparisons