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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and HCI Group, Inc. (HCI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

HCI Group, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($246.2M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.6× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). HCI Group, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 39.7% vs 8.0%, a 31.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, HCI Group, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (52.1% vs -3.5%). HCI Group, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($440.8M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, HCI Group, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (9.2% 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.

HCI Equity Partners is a Washington, DC–based private equity firm with an additional office in Chicago, Illinois.

APEI vs HCI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
HCI
HCI
1.6× larger
HCI
$246.2M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
HCI
HCI
+55.6% gap
HCI
52.1%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
HCI
HCI
31.7% more per $
HCI
39.7%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
HCI
HCI
$456.4M more FCF
HCI
$440.8M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
HCI
HCI
Annualised
HCI
9.2%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Revenue
$158.3M
$246.2M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$97.7M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
58.5%
Net Margin
8.0%
39.7%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
52.1%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
3679.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$7.29

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
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$158.3M
$246.2M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$216.3M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$221.9M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$216.4M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$161.9M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$175.3M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$206.2M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$206.6M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$12.6M
$97.7M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$65.5M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$66.2M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$69.7M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$2.6M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$5.7M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$54.1M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$47.6M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
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
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
12.0%
58.5%
Q3 25
5.9%
41.9%
Q2 25
4.3%
42.5%
Q1 25
7.4%
46.4%
Q4 24
13.1%
3.6%
Q3 24
2.7%
8.0%
Q2 24
1.5%
36.9%
Q1 24
3.4%
37.5%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
8.0%
39.7%
Q3 25
3.4%
30.3%
Q2 25
2.8%
29.8%
Q1 25
5.4%
32.2%
Q4 24
7.9%
1.6%
Q3 24
1.5%
3.2%
Q2 24
0.2%
26.2%
Q1 24
0.3%
23.0%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$0.67
$7.29
Q3 25
$0.30
$4.90
Q2 25
$-0.02
$5.18
Q1 25
$0.41
$5.35
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.32
Q3 24
$0.04
$0.52
Q2 24
$-0.06
$4.24
Q1 24
$-0.06
$3.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$1.2B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$1.0B
Total Assets
$521.4M
$2.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$174.1M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$191.3M
$987.9M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$947.2M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$754.5M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$532.5M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$518.8M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$445.8M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$655.4M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
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
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$294.8M
$1.0B
Q3 25
$279.3M
$821.8M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$758.6M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$522.7M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$453.3M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$455.3M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$447.3M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$395.7M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$521.4M
$2.5B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$2.3B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$2.4B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$2.3B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$2.2B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$2.0B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$1.9B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$1.8B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
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
HCI
HCI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$444.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$440.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
179.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
1.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
4.55×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$771.4M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$444.4M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$26.7M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$145.0M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$162.0M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$331.8M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$104.1M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$-29.0M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$182.0M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$440.8M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$25.9M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$144.5M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$160.3M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$327.8M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$103.2M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$-30.1M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$181.0M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
-9.9%
179.0%
Q3 25
10.7%
12.0%
Q2 25
6.8%
65.1%
Q1 25
20.1%
74.1%
Q4 24
-1.1%
202.5%
Q3 24
5.1%
58.9%
Q2 24
4.7%
-14.6%
Q1 24
9.4%
87.6%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
2.6%
1.5%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.4%
Q2 25
2.3%
0.2%
Q1 25
2.4%
0.8%
Q4 24
2.0%
2.5%
Q3 24
4.1%
0.5%
Q2 24
3.4%
0.5%
Q1 24
4.0%
0.5%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
HCI
HCI
Q4 25
-0.92×
4.55×
Q3 25
3.90×
0.41×
Q2 25
3.29×
2.19×
Q1 25
4.16×
2.32×
Q4 24
0.12×
128.41×
Q3 24
6.22×
18.33×
Q2 24
33.57×
-0.54×
Q1 24
40.20×
3.82×

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%

HCI
HCI

Insurance Operation$218.3M89%
Reciprocal Exchange Operation$27.0M11%

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