vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP (LINC). 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 $142.9M, roughly 1.1× LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP). LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP runs the higher net margin — 8.9% vs 8.0%, a 0.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.7% vs -3.5%). LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($25.0M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP's revenue compounded faster (17.6% 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.
Lincoln Tech is an American group of for-profit postsecondary vocational institutions headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with campuses in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, a provider of career-oriented post-secondary education.
APEI vs LINC — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $142.9M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $12.7M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 62.3% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 12.4% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 8.9% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 19.7% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 85.9% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $0.41 |
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 | $142.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $141.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $116.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $117.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $119.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $114.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $102.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $103.4M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $12.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $3.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $1.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $1.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $6.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $4.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $-682.0K | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $-214.0K |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 62.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 59.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 59.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 59.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 62.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 58.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 55.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 58.4% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 12.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 4.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 2.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 2.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 9.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 5.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | -1.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | -0.4% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 8.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 2.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 1.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 1.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 5.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | -0.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | -0.2% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $0.41 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $0.12 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.05 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $0.06 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $0.22 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $0.13 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.02 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.01 |
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 | $28.5M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $199.7M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $493.2M |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $28.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $13.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $16.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $28.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $59.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $54.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $67.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $68.6M |
| 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 | $199.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $185.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $180.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $177.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $178.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $170.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $164.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $164.5M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $493.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $466.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $447.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $427.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $436.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $404.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $366.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $355.2M |
| 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 | $43.5M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $25.0M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 17.5% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 13.0% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 3.43× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $-27.3M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $43.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $23.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $299.0K | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $-8.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $30.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $5.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $8.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $-14.9M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $25.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $2.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $-26.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $-28.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $5.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $-13.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $-2.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $-16.6M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 17.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 1.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | -22.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | -24.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 4.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | -12.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | -2.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | -16.1% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 13.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 15.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 22.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 16.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 20.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 16.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 10.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 1.6% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 3.43× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 6.29× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 0.19× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | -4.31× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | 4.43× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | 1.42× | ||
| 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
| American Public Education Inc Segment | $71.0M | 45% |
| Rasmussen University Segment | $66.6M | 42% |
| Hondros College Of Nursing Segment | $20.7M | 13% |
LINC
| Transferred Over Time | $136.0M | 95% |
| Transferred At Point In Time | $6.9M | 5% |
