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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM INC (FIBK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($313.0M vs $158.3M, roughly 2.0× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM INC runs the higher net margin — 34.8% vs 8.0%, a 26.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.8% vs -3.5%). Over the past eight quarters, FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM INC's revenue compounded faster (13.7% 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.

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Billings, Montana. It is the parent company of First Interstate Bank, a community bank with locations throughout 14 states within the Western and Midwestern United States. It is the largest bank based in Montana, as measured by total assets.

APEI vs FIBK — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FIBK
FIBK
2.0× larger
FIBK
$313.0M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FIBK
FIBK
+23.3% gap
FIBK
19.8%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
FIBK
FIBK
26.8% more per $
FIBK
34.8%
8.0%
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FIBK
FIBK
Annualised
FIBK
13.7%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Revenue
$158.3M
$313.0M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$108.8M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
44.5%
Net Margin
8.0%
34.8%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
19.8%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
108.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$1.07

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.

Revenue
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$158.3M
$313.0M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$250.5M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$248.3M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$247.0M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$261.3M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$251.9M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$244.3M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$242.2M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$12.6M
$108.8M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$71.4M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$71.7M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$50.2M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$52.1M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$55.5M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$60.0M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$58.4M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
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%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
12.0%
44.5%
Q3 25
5.9%
37.0%
Q2 25
4.3%
37.7%
Q1 25
7.4%
26.9%
Q4 24
13.1%
25.5%
Q3 24
2.7%
28.9%
Q2 24
1.5%
32.1%
Q1 24
3.4%
31.7%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
8.0%
34.8%
Q3 25
3.4%
28.5%
Q2 25
2.8%
28.9%
Q1 25
5.4%
20.3%
Q4 24
7.9%
19.9%
Q3 24
1.5%
22.0%
Q2 24
0.2%
24.6%
Q1 24
0.3%
24.1%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$0.67
$1.07
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.69
Q2 25
$-0.02
$0.69
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.49
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.50
Q3 24
$0.04
$0.54
Q2 24
$-0.06
$0.58
Q1 24
$-0.06
$0.57

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
$146.3M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$3.4B
Total Assets
$521.4M
$26.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×
0.04×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
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 24
$125.3M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$94.7M
$146.3M
Q3 25
$94.4M
$146.2M
Q2 25
$94.1M
$252.0M
Q1 25
$93.7M
Q4 24
$93.4M
$132.2M
Q3 24
$93.1M
$137.3M
Q2 24
$92.8M
$383.4M
Q1 24
$95.0M
$370.8M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$294.8M
$3.4B
Q3 25
$279.3M
$3.4B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$3.4B
Q1 25
$310.0M
$3.4B
Q4 24
$303.9M
$3.3B
Q3 24
$290.4M
$3.4B
Q2 24
$288.7M
$3.2B
Q1 24
$288.5M
$3.2B
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$521.4M
$26.6B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$27.3B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$27.6B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$28.3B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$29.1B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$29.6B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$30.3B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$30.1B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
0.32×
0.04×
Q3 25
0.34×
0.04×
Q2 25
0.35×
0.07×
Q1 25
0.30×
Q4 24
0.31×
0.04×
Q3 24
0.32×
0.04×
Q2 24
0.32×
0.12×
Q1 24
0.33×
0.12×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$305.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
2.81×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$305.6M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$91.7M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$68.1M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$78.5M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$355.0M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$89.9M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$82.3M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$87.6M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
$-15.6M
Q3 25
$17.5M
Q2 25
$11.1M
Q1 25
$33.1M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
Q3 24
$7.8M
Q2 24
$7.3M
Q1 24
$14.5M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
-9.9%
Q3 25
10.7%
Q2 25
6.8%
Q1 25
20.1%
Q4 24
-1.1%
Q3 24
5.1%
Q2 24
4.7%
Q1 24
9.4%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
2.6%
Q3 25
2.6%
Q2 25
2.3%
Q1 25
2.4%
Q4 24
2.0%
Q3 24
4.1%
Q2 24
3.4%
Q1 24
4.0%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
FIBK
FIBK
Q4 25
-0.92×
2.81×
Q3 25
3.90×
1.28×
Q2 25
3.29×
0.95×
Q1 25
4.16×
1.56×
Q4 24
0.12×
6.81×
Q3 24
6.22×
1.62×
Q2 24
33.57×
1.37×
Q1 24
40.20×
1.50×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

APEI
APEI

American Public Education Inc Segment$71.0M45%
Rasmussen University Segment$66.6M42%
Hondros College Of Nursing Segment$20.7M13%

FIBK
FIBK

Segment breakdown not available.

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