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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and BLACKLINE, INC. (BL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
BLACKLINE, INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($183.2M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.2× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs 2.7%, a 5.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, BLACKLINE, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.1% vs -3.5%). BLACKLINE, INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($26.1M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, BLACKLINE, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (7.9% 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.
BlackLine Systems, Inc., is an American enterprise software company that develops cloud-based services designed to automate and manage the entire financial close process as well as consolidation, invoice-to-cash, and intercompany accounting. The Los Angeles–based company has 17 offices worldwide.
APEI vs BL — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $183.2M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $4.9M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 75.2% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 3.7% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 2.7% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 8.1% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | -91.3% |
| 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.
| Q4 25 | $158.3M | $183.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $178.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $172.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $166.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $169.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $165.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $160.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $157.5M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $4.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $5.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $8.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $6.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $56.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $17.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $76.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $10.8M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 75.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 75.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 75.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 75.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 75.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 75.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 74.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 75.2% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 3.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 4.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 4.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 2.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 3.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 5.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 1.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | 1.1% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 2.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 3.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 4.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 3.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 33.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 10.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 47.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | 6.9% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $0.07 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $0.09 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.13 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $0.10 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $0.79 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $0.27 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $0.22 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $0.17 |
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 | $390.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $332.3M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $1.8B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $390.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $419.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $459.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $479.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $885.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $725.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $616.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $331.4M |
| 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 | — |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $332.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $328.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $414.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $417.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $446.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $367.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $325.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $279.8M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $1.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $1.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $1.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $1.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $1.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $2.1B |
| 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $-11.6M | $26.7M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $26.1M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 14.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 0.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 5.46× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $161.5M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $26.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $63.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $32.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $46.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $43.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $55.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $40.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $50.4M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $26.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $63.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $31.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $40.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $43.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $55.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $40.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $50.1M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 14.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 35.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 18.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 24.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 25.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 33.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 24.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | 31.8% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 0.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 0.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 0.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 3.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 0.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 0.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 0.2% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 5.46× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 12.07× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 3.90× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 7.72× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | 0.78× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | 3.24× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 0.53× | ||
| Q1 24 | 40.20× | 4.66× |
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% |
BL
| Subscription And Circulation | $173.2M | 95% |
| Technology Service | $10.0M | 5% |
