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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC. (FORR). 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 $101.1M, roughly 1.6× FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC.). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs -33.5%, a 41.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-3.5% vs -6.5%). FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-4.3M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC's revenue compounded faster (1.3% CAGR vs 0.5%).
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.
Forrester Research, Inc. is a research and advisory firm working in research, consulting and events. Forrester’s clients include large global business, technology and consumer enterprises. The firm is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
APEI vs FORR — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $101.1M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $-33.9M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 56.7% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | -36.6% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | -33.5% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | -6.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | -7941.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $-1.75 |
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 | $101.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $94.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $111.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $89.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $108.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $102.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $121.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $100.1M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $-33.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $-2.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $3.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $-87.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $432.0K | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $-5.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $6.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $-6.7M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 56.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 60.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 55.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 55.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 58.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 60.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 57.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 54.9% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | -36.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 4.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 6.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | -97.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | -0.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | -0.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 9.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | -9.3% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | -33.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | -2.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 3.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | -97.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 0.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | -5.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 5.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | -6.7% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $-1.75 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $-0.11 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.20 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $-4.62 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $0.02 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $-0.30 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $0.33 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.35 |
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 | $63.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $126.5M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $404.0M |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $63.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $65.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $67.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $75.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $56.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $62.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $58.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $61.4M |
| 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 24 | $95.0M | — |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $126.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $157.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $159.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $147.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $229.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $234.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $237.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $230.9M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $404.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $414.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $436.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $439.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $503.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $505.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $524.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $555.7M |
| 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× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.33× | — |
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 | $-3.2M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $-4.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | -4.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 1.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $18.1M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $-3.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $1.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $-3.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $26.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $-1.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $264.0K | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $-2.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $611.0K |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $-4.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $524.0K | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $-4.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $26.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $-2.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $-223.0K | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $-3.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $-815.0K |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | -4.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 0.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | -3.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 29.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | -2.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | -0.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | -3.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | -0.8% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 0.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 0.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 0.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 0.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 1.4% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | -0.93× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | -4.24× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | -0.46× | ||
| 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% |
FORR
| Research Segment | $82.2M | 81% |
| Consulting Segment | $16.2M | 16% |
| Billable Expenses | $1.5M | 2% |
| Professional Services | $1.4M | 1% |
