vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Graham Holdings Co (GHC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Graham Holdings Co is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.3B vs $158.3M, roughly 7.9× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). Graham Holdings Co runs the higher net margin — 8.7% vs 8.0%, a 0.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Graham Holdings Co posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (0.4% vs -3.5%). Graham Holdings Co produced more free cash flow last quarter ($5.0M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Graham Holdings Co's revenue compounded faster (4.2% 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.

Graham Holdings Company is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of The Washington Post newspaper and Newsweek magazine.

APEI vs GHC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
GHC
GHC
7.9× larger
GHC
$1.3B
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
GHC
GHC
+3.9% gap
GHC
0.4%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
GHC
GHC
0.7% more per $
GHC
8.7%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
GHC
GHC
$20.6M more FCF
GHC
$5.0M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
GHC
GHC
Annualised
GHC
4.2%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Revenue
$158.3M
$1.3B
Net Profit
$12.6M
$108.7M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
3.8%
Net Margin
8.0%
8.7%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
0.4%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
-80.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$24.76

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
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$158.3M
$1.3B
Q3 25
$163.2M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$162.8M
$1.2B
Q1 25
$164.6M
$1.2B
Q4 24
$164.1M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$153.1M
$1.2B
Q2 24
$152.9M
$1.2B
Q1 24
$154.4M
$1.2B
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$12.6M
$108.7M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$122.9M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$36.7M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$23.9M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$548.8M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$72.5M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$-21.0M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$124.4M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
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
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
12.0%
3.8%
Q3 25
5.9%
5.2%
Q2 25
4.3%
6.0%
Q1 25
7.4%
4.1%
Q4 24
13.1%
5.8%
Q3 24
2.7%
6.8%
Q2 24
1.5%
2.2%
Q1 24
3.4%
3.1%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
8.0%
8.7%
Q3 25
3.4%
9.6%
Q2 25
2.8%
3.0%
Q1 25
5.4%
2.0%
Q4 24
7.9%
44.1%
Q3 24
1.5%
6.0%
Q2 24
0.2%
-1.8%
Q1 24
0.3%
10.8%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$0.67
$24.76
Q3 25
$0.30
$27.91
Q2 25
$-0.02
$8.35
Q1 25
$0.41
$5.45
Q4 24
$0.63
$124.05
Q3 24
$0.04
$16.42
Q2 24
$-0.06
$-4.79
Q1 24
$-0.06
$27.72

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$267.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$4.8B
Total Assets
$521.4M
$8.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$174.1M
$267.0M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$190.8M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$176.2M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$156.7M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$260.9M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$244.4M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$140.7M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$130.9M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
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
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$294.8M
$4.8B
Q3 25
$279.3M
$4.5B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$4.4B
Q1 25
$310.0M
$4.3B
Q4 24
$303.9M
$4.3B
Q3 24
$290.4M
$4.0B
Q2 24
$288.7M
$4.0B
Q1 24
$288.5M
$4.0B
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$521.4M
$8.4B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$7.9B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$7.6B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$7.6B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$7.7B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$7.4B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$7.2B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$7.3B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
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
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$28.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$5.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
0.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
1.9%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
0.26×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$275.3M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$28.3M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$178.1M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$94.8M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$46.0M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$116.3M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$237.6M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$52.0M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$1.1M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$5.0M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$161.8M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$78.0M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$30.5M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$91.1M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$219.4M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$33.7M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$-20.2M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
-9.9%
0.4%
Q3 25
10.7%
12.6%
Q2 25
6.8%
6.4%
Q1 25
20.1%
2.6%
Q4 24
-1.1%
7.3%
Q3 24
5.1%
18.2%
Q2 24
4.7%
2.8%
Q1 24
9.4%
-1.8%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
2.6%
1.9%
Q3 25
2.6%
1.3%
Q2 25
2.3%
1.4%
Q1 25
2.4%
1.3%
Q4 24
2.0%
2.0%
Q3 24
4.1%
1.5%
Q2 24
3.4%
1.5%
Q1 24
4.0%
1.8%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
GHC
GHC
Q4 25
-0.92×
0.26×
Q3 25
3.90×
1.45×
Q2 25
3.29×
2.58×
Q1 25
4.16×
1.93×
Q4 24
0.12×
0.21×
Q3 24
6.22×
3.28×
Q2 24
33.57×
Q1 24
40.20×
0.01×

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%

GHC
GHC

Products$602.7M48%
Kaplan International$251.9M20%
Manufacturing$117.8M9%
Television Broadcasting$110.5M9%
Higher Education$83.8M7%
Supplemental Education$74.9M6%
Related Party$4.4M0%

Related Comparisons