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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and BALCHEM CORP (BCPC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
BALCHEM CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($270.7M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.7× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). BALCHEM CORP runs the higher net margin — 14.9% vs 8.0%, a 6.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, BALCHEM CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.1% vs -3.5%). BALCHEM CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($33.8M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, BALCHEM CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.5% 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.
Balchem Corp is a global specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients provider that develops, manufactures and distributes application-specific products for human nutrition, animal health, pharmaceutical and industrial end markets, serving customers across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
APEI vs BCPC — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $270.7M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $40.3M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | — |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 20.5% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 14.9% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 8.1% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 8.7% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $1.25 |
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 | — | $270.7M | ||
| Q4 25 | $158.3M | $263.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $267.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $255.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $250.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $240.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $239.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $234.1M |
| Q1 26 | — | $40.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $39.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $40.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $38.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $37.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $33.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $33.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $32.1M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 35.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 35.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 36.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 35.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 36.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 35.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 35.5% |
| Q1 26 | — | 20.5% | ||
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 19.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 20.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 20.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 20.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 19.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 20.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 19.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | 14.9% | ||
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 14.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 15.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 15.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 14.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 14.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 14.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 13.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.25 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $1.21 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $1.24 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $1.17 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $1.13 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $1.03 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $1.03 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $0.98 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $174.1M | $72.9M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $1.3B |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $1.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $72.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $74.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $65.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $65.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $49.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $49.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $73.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $63.7M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| 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 26 | — | $1.3B | ||
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $1.1B |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.7B | ||
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $1.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $1.6B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| 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× | — |
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 | $-11.6M | $40.1M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $33.8M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 12.5% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 2.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 0.99× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $40.1M | ||
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $67.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $65.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $47.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $36.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $52.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $51.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $45.0M |
| Q1 26 | — | $33.8M | ||
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | — |
| Q1 26 | — | 12.5% | ||
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | 0.99× | ||
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 1.72× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 1.63× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 1.23× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 0.98× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | 1.56× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | 1.52× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 1.40× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
APEI
| American Public Education Inc Segment | $71.0M | 45% |
| Rasmussen University Segment | $66.6M | 42% |
| Hondros College Of Nursing Segment | $20.7M | 13% |
BCPC
Segment breakdown not available.