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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. (CASH). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($173.1M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.1× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. runs the higher net margin — 20.3% vs 8.0%, a 12.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.2% vs -3.5%). PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($104.1M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC's revenue compounded faster (1.3% CAGR vs -18.0%).
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.
Pathward Financial, Inc. is a U.S.-based banking and financial services company. It adopted its current name in 2022 after its parent, Meta Financial Group, sold the "Meta" trademark to Meta Platforms.
APEI vs CASH — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $173.1M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $35.2M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | — |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 24.6% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 20.3% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | -0.2% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 11.9% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $1.57 |
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 | $173.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $186.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $195.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $274.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $182.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $179.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $188.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $257.6M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $35.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $38.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $42.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $75.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $30.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $33.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $44.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $69.9M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | — |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 24.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 25.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 24.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 33.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 19.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 20.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 27.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | 33.8% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 20.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 20.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 21.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 27.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 16.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 18.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 23.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | 27.1% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $1.57 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $1.69 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $1.81 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $3.14 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $1.23 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $1.34 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $1.78 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $2.74 |
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 | $331.2M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | $33.5M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $854.5M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $7.6B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | 0.04× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $331.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $120.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $258.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $254.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $597.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $158.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $298.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $347.9M |
| Q4 25 | $94.7M | $33.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $94.4M | $33.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $94.1M | $33.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $93.7M | $33.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.4M | $33.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $93.1M | $33.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $92.8M | $33.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $95.0M | $33.4M |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $854.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $858.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $819.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $814.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $758.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $822.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $748.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $719.5M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $7.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $7.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $7.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $7.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $7.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $7.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $7.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $7.4B |
| Q4 25 | 0.32× | 0.04× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.34× | 0.04× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.35× | 0.04× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.30× | 0.04× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.31× | 0.04× | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.32× | 0.04× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.32× | 0.04× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.33× | 0.05× |
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 | $108.3M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $104.1M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 60.1% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 2.4% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 3.08× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $616.8M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $108.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $303.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $30.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $188.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $-71.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $143.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $113.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $203.0M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $104.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $300.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $27.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $184.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $-73.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $138.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $111.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $201.3M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 60.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 160.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 14.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 67.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | -40.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 77.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 58.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | 78.1% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 2.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 1.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 1.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 1.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 2.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 1.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 0.7% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 3.08× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 7.83× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 0.72× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 2.51× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | -2.39× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | 4.27× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 2.52× | ||
| Q1 24 | 40.20× | 2.90× |
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% |
CASH
| Consumer | $103.0M | 59% |
| Payment Card And Deposit Fees | $30.1M | 17% |
| Other | $24.2M | 14% |
| Rental Income | $11.6M | 7% |
| Commercial | $4.2M | 2% |
