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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Jefferson Capital, Inc. (JCAP). 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 $150.8M, roughly 1.0× Jefferson Capital, Inc.). Jefferson Capital, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 25.4% vs 8.0%, a 17.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. Jefferson Capital, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($63.0M vs $-15.6M).

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.

GE Capital was the financial services division of General Electric. Its various units were sold between 2013 and 2021, including the notable spin-off of the North American consumer finance division as Synchrony Financial. Ultimately, only one division of the company remained, GE Energy Financial Services, which was transferred to GE Vernova when General Electric was broken up.

APEI vs JCAP — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
APEI
APEI
1.0× larger
APEI
$158.3M
$150.8M
JCAP
Higher net margin
JCAP
JCAP
17.5% more per $
JCAP
25.4%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
JCAP
JCAP
$78.6M more FCF
JCAP
$63.0M
$-15.6M
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Revenue
$158.3M
$150.8M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$38.4M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
46.4%
Net Margin
8.0%
25.4%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.59

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
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$158.3M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$150.8M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$152.7M
Q1 25
$164.6M
Q4 24
$164.1M
Q3 24
$153.1M
Q2 24
$152.9M
Q1 24
$154.4M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$12.6M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$38.4M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$47.7M
Q1 25
$8.9M
Q4 24
$13.0M
Q3 24
$2.3M
Q2 24
$371.0K
Q1 24
$516.0K
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
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
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
12.0%
Q3 25
5.9%
46.4%
Q2 25
4.3%
56.7%
Q1 25
7.4%
Q4 24
13.1%
Q3 24
2.7%
Q2 24
1.5%
Q1 24
3.4%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
8.0%
Q3 25
3.4%
25.4%
Q2 25
2.8%
31.2%
Q1 25
5.4%
Q4 24
7.9%
Q3 24
1.5%
Q2 24
0.2%
Q1 24
0.3%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$0.67
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.59
Q2 25
$-0.02
$16.76
Q1 25
$0.41
Q4 24
$0.63
Q3 24
$0.04
Q2 24
$-0.06
Q1 24
$-0.06

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$42.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$437.4M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$1.8B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$174.1M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$42.3M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$51.7M
Q1 25
$161.6M
Q4 24
$131.9M
Q3 24
$135.4M
Q2 24
$129.8M
Q1 24
$125.3M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
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
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$294.8M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$437.4M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$410.8M
Q1 25
$310.0M
Q4 24
$303.9M
Q3 24
$290.4M
Q2 24
$288.7M
Q1 24
$288.5M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$521.4M
Q3 25
$525.3M
$1.8B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$1.8B
Q1 25
$578.7M
Q4 24
$570.1M
Q3 24
$569.6M
Q2 24
$560.7M
Q1 24
$559.0M
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
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
JCAP
JCAP
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$63.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$63.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
41.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
1.64×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$-11.6M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$63.1M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$130.6M
Q1 25
$37.0M
Q4 24
$1.6M
Q3 24
$14.1M
Q2 24
$12.5M
Q1 24
$20.7M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
$-15.6M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$63.0M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$130.0M
Q1 25
$33.1M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
Q3 24
$7.8M
Q2 24
$7.3M
Q1 24
$14.5M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
-9.9%
Q3 25
10.7%
41.7%
Q2 25
6.8%
85.1%
Q1 25
20.1%
Q4 24
-1.1%
Q3 24
5.1%
Q2 24
4.7%
Q1 24
9.4%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
2.6%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.1%
Q2 25
2.3%
0.4%
Q1 25
2.4%
Q4 24
2.0%
Q3 24
4.1%
Q2 24
3.4%
Q1 24
4.0%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
JCAP
JCAP
Q4 25
-0.92×
Q3 25
3.90×
1.64×
Q2 25
3.29×
2.74×
Q1 25
4.16×
Q4 24
0.12×
Q3 24
6.22×
Q2 24
33.57×
Q1 24
40.20×

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%

JCAP
JCAP

United States Segment$108.1M72%
Other$35.8M24%
United Kingdom Segment$6.9M5%

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