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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Stride, Inc. (LRN). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Stride, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.3M vs $158.3M, roughly 4.0× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). Stride, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 15.8% vs 8.0%, a 7.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Stride, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.5% vs -3.5%). Stride, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($91.6M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Stride, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (10.1% 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.
Stride, Inc. is a for-profit education company that provides online and blended education programs. Stride, Inc. is an education management organization (EMO) that provides online education designed as an alternative to traditional "brick and mortar" education for public school students from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as career learning programs. As of 2012, publicly traded Stride, Inc. was the largest EMO in terms of enrollment.
APEI vs LRN — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q2 2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $631.3M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $99.5M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 41.1% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 23.3% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 15.8% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 7.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 3.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $2.12 |
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 | $631.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $620.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $653.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $613.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $587.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $551.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $534.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $520.8M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $99.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $68.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $51.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $99.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $96.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $40.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $62.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $69.7M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 41.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 39.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 36.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 40.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 40.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 39.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 35.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 38.7% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 23.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 11.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 8.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 21.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 21.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 8.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 13.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | 17.0% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 15.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 11.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 7.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 16.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 16.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 7.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 11.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | 13.4% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $2.12 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $1.40 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.96 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $2.02 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $2.03 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $0.94 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $1.44 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $1.60 |
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 | $625.7M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | $417.2M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $1.5B |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $2.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | 0.27× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $625.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $715.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $985.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $723.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $717.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $522.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $692.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $376.6M |
| Q4 25 | $94.7M | $417.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $94.4M | $416.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $94.1M | $416.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $93.7M | $415.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.4M | $415.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $93.1M | $415.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $92.8M | $414.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $95.0M | $414.3M |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $1.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $1.1B |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $2.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $2.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $2.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $2.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $1.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $1.9B |
| Q4 25 | 0.32× | 0.27× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.34× | 0.27× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.35× | 0.28× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.30× | 0.29× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.31× | 0.32× | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.32× | 0.34× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.32× | 0.35× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.33× | 0.38× |
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 | $91.8M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $91.6M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 14.5% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 0.0% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 0.92× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $246.3M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $91.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $-195.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $298.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $53.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $223.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $-142.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $172.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $68.6M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $91.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $-196.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $297.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $52.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $222.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $-142.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $171.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $68.4M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 14.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | -31.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 45.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 8.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 38.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | -25.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 32.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | 13.1% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 0.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 0.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 0.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 0.0% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 0.92× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | -2.85× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 5.81× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 0.53× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | 2.32× | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | -3.47× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 2.74× | ||
| Q1 24 | 40.20× | 0.98× |
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% |
LRN
| General Education | $341.4M | 54% |
| Middle High School | $275.6M | 44% |
| Adult | $14.3M | 2% |
