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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Commerce.com, Inc. (CMRC). 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 $89.5M, roughly 1.8× Commerce.com, Inc.). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs -9.3%, a 17.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Commerce.com, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (2.9% vs -3.5%). Commerce.com, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-2.2M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Commerce.com, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (5.5% 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.
SPS Commerce, Inc. is a technology and application software company based in the United States that provides cloud-based supply chain management software. The company's headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but it also has a US office in New Jersey, and international locations in Amsterdam, Beijing, Breukelen, Hong Kong, Kyiv, Melbourne, Montpellier, Sydney, and Toronto.
APEI vs CMRC — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $89.5M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $-8.4M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 78.3% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | -7.4% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | -9.3% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 2.9% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | -250.0% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $-0.11 |
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 | $89.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $86.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $84.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $82.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $87.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $83.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $81.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $80.4M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $-8.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $-2.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $-8.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $-353.0K | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $-2.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $-7.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $-11.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $-6.4M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 78.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 78.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 79.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 79.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 77.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 76.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 75.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 77.1% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | -7.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | -0.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | -8.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | -2.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | -0.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | -23.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | -16.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | -10.2% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | -9.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | -2.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | -9.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | -0.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | -2.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | -8.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | -13.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | -8.0% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $-0.11 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $-0.03 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $-0.10 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $0.00 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $-0.03 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $-0.09 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.15 | ||
| 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $174.1M | $141.1M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | $157.0M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $39.4M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $308.8M |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | 3.99× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $141.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $142.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $134.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $120.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $178.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $168.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $275.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $265.2M |
| Q4 25 | $94.7M | $157.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $94.4M | $157.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $94.1M | $157.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $93.7M | $157.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.4M | $216.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $93.1M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $92.8M | $340.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $95.0M | $340.5M |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $39.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $42.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $38.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $38.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $33.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $29.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $26.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $26.9M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $308.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $309.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $302.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $286.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $340.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $335.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $452.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $442.5M |
| Q4 25 | 0.32× | 3.99× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.34× | 3.67× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.35× | 4.06× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.30× | 4.14× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.31× | 6.49× | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.32× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.32× | 13.06× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.33× | 12.65× |
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 | $980.0K |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $-2.2M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | -2.4% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 3.5% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $16.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $980.0K | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $10.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $13.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $401.0K | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $12.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $5.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $11.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $-3.4M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $-2.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $7.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $11.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $-424.0K | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $11.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $4.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $10.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $-4.2M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | -2.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 8.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 14.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | -0.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 13.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 5.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 13.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | -5.3% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 3.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 2.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 1.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 1.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 1.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 1.0% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | — | ||
| 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
| American Public Education Inc Segment | $71.0M | 45% |
| Rasmussen University Segment | $66.6M | 42% |
| Hondros College Of Nursing Segment | $20.7M | 13% |
CMRC
| Subscription And Circulation | $65.2M | 73% |
| Partner And Services | $24.4M | 27% |
