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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (MCB). 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 $88.5M, roughly 1.8× Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.). Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. runs the higher net margin — 35.5% vs 8.0%, a 27.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (25.4% vs -3.5%). Over the past eight quarters, Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.'s revenue compounded faster (14.3% 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.

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. was a bank holding company headquartered in Olney, Maryland and operating in the Washington metropolitan area. In addition to banking services, the company offered commercial and personal lines of insurance, surety bonds, workers compensation insurance, and professional liability insurance protection as well as financial planning, wealth management, and asset management for high-net-worth individuals, businesses, and associations. In April 2025, the company was acqu...

APEI vs MCB — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
APEI
APEI
1.8× larger
APEI
$158.3M
$88.5M
MCB
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MCB
MCB
+28.9% gap
MCB
25.4%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
MCB
MCB
27.6% more per $
MCB
35.5%
8.0%
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
MCB
MCB
Annualised
MCB
14.3%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Revenue
$158.3M
$88.5M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$31.4M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
Net Margin
8.0%
35.5%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
25.4%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
92.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$2.92

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
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
$88.5M
Q4 25
$158.3M
$88.4M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$79.8M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$76.3M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$70.6M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$71.0M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$71.5M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$67.7M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
$31.4M
Q4 25
$12.6M
$28.9M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$7.1M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$18.8M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$16.4M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$21.4M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$12.3M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$16.8M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
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%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
12.0%
46.6%
Q3 25
5.9%
12.8%
Q2 25
4.3%
35.1%
Q1 25
7.4%
33.1%
Q4 24
13.1%
44.1%
Q3 24
2.7%
24.6%
Q2 24
1.5%
35.3%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
35.5%
Q4 25
8.0%
32.6%
Q3 25
3.4%
8.9%
Q2 25
2.8%
24.6%
Q1 25
5.4%
23.2%
Q4 24
7.9%
30.2%
Q3 24
1.5%
17.2%
Q2 24
0.2%
24.8%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
$2.92
Q4 25
$0.67
$2.74
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.67
Q2 25
$-0.02
$1.76
Q1 25
$0.41
$1.45
Q4 24
$0.63
$1.89
Q3 24
$0.04
$1.08
Q2 24
$-0.06
$1.50

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$948.3M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$8.8B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
$174.1M
$393.6M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$385.9M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$152.5M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$196.5M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$200.3M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$318.5M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$244.7M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
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
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
$948.3M
Q4 25
$294.8M
$743.1M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$732.0M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$723.0M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$737.8M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$729.8M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$715.2M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$692.4M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
$8.8B
Q4 25
$521.4M
$8.3B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$8.2B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$7.9B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$7.6B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$7.3B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$7.4B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$7.3B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
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×

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
MCB
MCB
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$88.7M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$31.8M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$18.4M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$7.8M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$148.5M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$4.8M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$35.3M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-15.6M
Q3 25
$17.5M
Q2 25
$11.1M
Q1 25
$33.1M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
Q3 24
$7.8M
Q2 24
$7.3M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
-9.9%
Q3 25
10.7%
Q2 25
6.8%
Q1 25
20.1%
Q4 24
-1.1%
Q3 24
5.1%
Q2 24
4.7%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.6%
Q3 25
2.6%
Q2 25
2.3%
Q1 25
2.4%
Q4 24
2.0%
Q3 24
4.1%
Q2 24
3.4%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
MCB
MCB
Q1 26
Q4 25
-0.92×
3.07×
Q3 25
3.90×
4.47×
Q2 25
3.29×
0.98×
Q1 25
4.16×
0.47×
Q4 24
0.12×
6.93×
Q3 24
6.22×
0.39×
Q2 24
33.57×
2.10×

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%

MCB
MCB

Segment breakdown not available.

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