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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Duolingo, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($295.5M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.9× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). Duolingo, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 11.9% vs 8.0%, a 3.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Duolingo, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (27.0% vs -3.5%). Duolingo, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($103.0M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Duolingo, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (28.7% 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.
Duolingo, Inc. is a leading global edtech firm operating a gamified language learning platform. It offers free and premium self-paced courses for over 40 languages, plus language certification, math learning tools, and literacy programs, serving individual learners, schools and corporate clients worldwide.
APEI vs DUOL — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $295.5M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $35.1M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 55.5% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 8.0% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 11.9% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 27.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 24.0% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $0.72 |
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 | — | $295.5M | ||
| Q4 25 | $158.3M | $282.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $271.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $252.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $230.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $209.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $192.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $178.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $35.1M | ||
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $42.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $292.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $44.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $35.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $13.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $23.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $24.4M |
| Q1 26 | — | 55.5% | ||
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 72.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 72.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 72.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 71.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 71.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 72.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 73.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 8.0% | ||
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 15.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 12.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 13.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 10.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 6.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 7.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 10.5% |
| Q1 26 | — | 11.9% | ||
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 14.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 107.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 17.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 15.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 6.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 12.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 13.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | $0.72 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $0.99 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $5.95 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.91 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $0.72 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $0.31 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $0.49 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $0.51 |
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 | $1.1B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $1.3B |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $2.0B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $1.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $1.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $976.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $884.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $785.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $854.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $888.2M |
| 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 | $977.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $893.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $824.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $822.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $766.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.0B | ||
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $1.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $1.1B |
| 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 | $105.6M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $103.0M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 34.9% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 3.01× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $368.4M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $105.6M | ||
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $107.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $84.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $90.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $105.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $83.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $56.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $62.4M |
| Q1 26 | — | $103.0M | ||
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $96.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $79.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $89.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $104.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $81.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $53.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $56.8M |
| Q1 26 | — | 34.9% | ||
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 34.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 29.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 35.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 45.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 38.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 27.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 31.9% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 3.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 1.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 0.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 0.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 1.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 3.1% |
| Q1 26 | — | 3.01× | ||
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 2.56× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 0.29× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 2.02× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 3.01× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | 5.99× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | 2.41× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 2.56× |
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% |
DUOL
| Bookings | $283.5M | 96% |
| Other | $12.0M | 4% |
