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

KADANT INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($271.6M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.7× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). KADANT INC runs the higher net margin — 10.2% vs 8.0%, a 2.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, KADANT INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.0% vs -3.5%). KADANT INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($44.1M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, KADANT INC's revenue compounded faster (6.7% 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.

Kadant Inc. is a company that was established in 1991, as a partly privately owned subsidiary of Thermo Electron, and partly publicly traded company, and was fully spun out and renamed Kadant in 2001. The company supports papermaking, paper recycling, wood processing, material handling, and other processing industries. Kadant is a multi-national corporation with operations in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

APEI vs KAI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
KAI
KAI
1.7× larger
KAI
$271.6M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
KAI
KAI
+3.5% gap
KAI
-0.0%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
KAI
KAI
2.2% more per $
KAI
10.2%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
KAI
KAI
$59.7M more FCF
KAI
$44.1M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
KAI
KAI
Annualised
KAI
6.7%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Revenue
$158.3M
$271.6M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$27.7M
Gross Margin
56.4%
45.2%
Operating Margin
12.0%
15.7%
Net Margin
8.0%
10.2%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
-0.0%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
-12.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$2.35

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
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$158.3M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$271.6M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$255.3M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$239.2M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$258.0M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$271.6M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$274.8M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$249.0M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$12.6M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$27.7M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$26.2M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$24.1M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$24.0M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$31.6M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$31.3M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$24.7M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
56.4%
Q3 25
54.2%
45.2%
Q2 25
51.8%
45.9%
Q1 25
54.5%
46.1%
Q4 24
56.3%
43.4%
Q3 24
50.8%
44.7%
Q2 24
50.2%
44.4%
Q1 24
53.1%
44.6%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
12.0%
Q3 25
5.9%
15.7%
Q2 25
4.3%
15.4%
Q1 25
7.4%
14.9%
Q4 24
13.1%
14.3%
Q3 24
2.7%
18.0%
Q2 24
1.5%
17.6%
Q1 24
3.4%
14.8%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
8.0%
Q3 25
3.4%
10.2%
Q2 25
2.8%
10.2%
Q1 25
5.4%
10.1%
Q4 24
7.9%
9.3%
Q3 24
1.5%
11.6%
Q2 24
0.2%
11.4%
Q1 24
0.3%
9.9%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$0.67
Q3 25
$0.30
$2.35
Q2 25
$-0.02
$2.22
Q1 25
$0.41
$2.04
Q4 24
$0.63
$2.04
Q3 24
$0.04
$2.68
Q2 24
$-0.06
$2.66
Q1 24
$-0.06
$2.10

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$124.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
$254.6M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$949.8M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$1.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×
0.27×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$174.1M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$124.5M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$95.3M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$91.7M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$94.7M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$88.4M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$73.8M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$81.4M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$94.7M
Q3 25
$94.4M
$254.6M
Q2 25
$94.1M
$245.7M
Q1 25
$93.7M
$273.5M
Q4 24
$93.4M
$285.2M
Q3 24
$93.1M
$323.2M
Q2 24
$92.8M
$342.0M
Q1 24
$95.0M
$306.8M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$294.8M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$949.8M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$926.0M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$876.0M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$847.1M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$851.7M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$807.7M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$782.7M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$521.4M
Q3 25
$525.3M
$1.5B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$1.5B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$1.4B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$1.4B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$1.5B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$1.5B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$1.4B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
0.32×
Q3 25
0.34×
0.27×
Q2 25
0.35×
0.27×
Q1 25
0.30×
0.31×
Q4 24
0.31×
0.34×
Q3 24
0.32×
0.38×
Q2 24
0.32×
0.42×
Q1 24
0.33×
0.39×

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
KAI
KAI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$47.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$44.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
16.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
1.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
1.70×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$145.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$-11.6M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$47.3M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$40.5M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$22.8M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$51.9M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$52.5M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$28.1M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$22.8M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$-15.6M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$44.1M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$36.5M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$19.0M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$46.3M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$48.3M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$23.1M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$16.6M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
-9.9%
Q3 25
10.7%
16.2%
Q2 25
6.8%
14.3%
Q1 25
20.1%
7.9%
Q4 24
-1.1%
17.9%
Q3 24
5.1%
17.8%
Q2 24
4.7%
8.4%
Q1 24
9.4%
6.7%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
2.6%
Q3 25
2.6%
1.2%
Q2 25
2.3%
1.6%
Q1 25
2.4%
1.6%
Q4 24
2.0%
2.2%
Q3 24
4.1%
1.5%
Q2 24
3.4%
1.8%
Q1 24
4.0%
2.5%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
-0.92×
Q3 25
3.90×
1.70×
Q2 25
3.29×
1.55×
Q1 25
4.16×
0.95×
Q4 24
0.12×
2.16×
Q3 24
6.22×
1.66×
Q2 24
33.57×
0.90×
Q1 24
40.20×
0.92×

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%

KAI
KAI

Flow Control$94.8M35%
Capital$83.2M31%
Material Handling Systems$70.3M26%
Transferred Over Time$17.1M6%
Other$6.1M2%

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