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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and FIRST COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL CORP (FCF). 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 $133.7M, roughly 1.2× FIRST COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL CORP). FIRST COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL CORP runs the higher net margin — 28.1% vs 8.0%, a 20.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FIRST COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (13.0% vs -3.5%). Over the past eight quarters, FIRST COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL CORP'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.
First Commonwealth Financial Corp is a Pennsylvania-based regional financial services holding company. It offers consumer and commercial banking products, loans, wealth management, and insurance services for individuals, small and mid-sized enterprises across central and western Pennsylvania and Ohio.
APEI vs FCF — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $133.7M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $37.5M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | — |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | — |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 28.1% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 13.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 14.8% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $0.37 |
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 | — | $133.7M | ||
| Q4 25 | $158.3M | $137.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $136.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $131.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $118.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $120.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $121.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $120.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | $37.5M | ||
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $44.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $41.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $33.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $32.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $35.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $32.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $37.1M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| 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 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 40.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 38.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 32.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 34.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 37.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 33.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 38.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | 28.1% | ||
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 32.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 30.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 25.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 27.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 29.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 26.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 30.9% |
| Q1 26 | — | $0.37 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $0.44 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $0.39 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.32 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $0.32 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $0.35 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $0.31 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $0.36 |
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 | — |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | $154.9M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $1.6B |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $12.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | 0.10× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | — |
| Q1 26 | — | $154.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $94.7M | $261.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $94.4M | $262.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $94.1M | $262.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $93.7M | $262.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.4M | $263.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $93.1M | $136.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $92.8M | $136.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $1.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $1.4B |
| Q1 26 | — | $12.3B | ||
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $12.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $12.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $12.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $11.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $11.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $12.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $11.6B |
| Q1 26 | — | 0.10× | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.32× | 0.17× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.34× | 0.17× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.35× | 0.17× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.30× | 0.18× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.31× | 0.19× | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.32× | 0.10× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.32× | 0.10× |
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 | — |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $187.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $49.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $30.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $55.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $129.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $53.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $22.7M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $171.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $113.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 124.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 94.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 12.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 4.18× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 1.20× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 0.91× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 1.71× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | 3.61× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | 1.67× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 0.61× |
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% |
FCF
Segment breakdown not available.
