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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

National Storage Affiliates Trust is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($187.0M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.2× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). National Storage Affiliates Trust runs the higher net margin — 12.2% vs 8.0%, a 4.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, National Storage Affiliates Trust posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-1.6% vs -3.5%). National Storage Affiliates Trust produced more free cash flow last quarter ($299.8M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC's revenue compounded faster (1.3% CAGR vs -2.4%).

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.

National Storage Affiliates Trust is a U.S.-headquartered real estate investment trust focused on self-storage assets. It owns, operates and acquires self-storage facilities across dozens of U.S. states, offering secure storage solutions for residential and commercial customers.

APEI vs NSA — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
NSA
NSA
1.2× larger
NSA
$187.0M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
NSA
NSA
+1.9% gap
NSA
-1.6%
-3.5%
APEI
Higher net margin
NSA
NSA
4.3% more per $
NSA
12.2%
8.0%
APEI
More free cash flow
NSA
NSA
$315.4M more FCF
NSA
$299.8M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
APEI
APEI
Annualised
APEI
1.3%
-2.4%
NSA

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Revenue
$158.3M
$187.0M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$22.9M
Gross Margin
56.4%
72.5%
Operating Margin
12.0%
20.2%
Net Margin
8.0%
12.2%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
-1.6%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
36.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.23

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
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$158.3M
$187.0M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$188.7M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$188.8M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$188.4M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$190.1M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$193.6M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$190.4M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$196.1M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$12.6M
$22.9M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$18.4M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$19.5M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$13.0M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$16.7M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$18.7M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$17.1M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$59.0M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
56.4%
72.5%
Q3 25
54.2%
70.7%
Q2 25
51.8%
70.5%
Q1 25
54.5%
70.7%
Q4 24
56.3%
72.5%
Q3 24
50.8%
72.8%
Q2 24
50.2%
72.6%
Q1 24
53.1%
72.1%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
12.0%
20.2%
Q3 25
5.9%
15.8%
Q2 25
4.3%
16.5%
Q1 25
7.4%
11.0%
Q4 24
13.1%
14.5%
Q3 24
2.7%
15.8%
Q2 24
1.5%
17.2%
Q1 24
3.4%
48.9%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
8.0%
12.2%
Q3 25
3.4%
9.8%
Q2 25
2.8%
10.3%
Q1 25
5.4%
6.9%
Q4 24
7.9%
8.8%
Q3 24
1.5%
9.7%
Q2 24
0.2%
9.0%
Q1 24
0.3%
30.1%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$0.67
$0.23
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.17
Q2 25
$-0.02
$0.19
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.10
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.19
Q3 24
$0.04
$0.18
Q2 24
$-0.06
$0.16
Q1 24
$-0.06
$0.65

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$23.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$946.0M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$5.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$174.1M
$23.3M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$26.3M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$26.1M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$19.3M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$50.4M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$69.9M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$59.0M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$64.2M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
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
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$294.8M
$946.0M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$973.1M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$1.0B
Q1 25
$310.0M
$1.0B
Q4 24
$303.9M
$1.1B
Q3 24
$290.4M
$986.9M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$1.2B
Q1 24
$288.5M
$1.3B
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$521.4M
$5.1B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$5.1B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$5.2B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$5.3B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$5.4B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$5.4B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$5.3B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$5.4B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
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
NSA
NSA
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$338.5M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$299.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
160.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
20.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
14.79×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$541.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$338.5M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$100.2M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$79.9M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$85.6M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$363.1M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$105.7M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$83.2M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$94.0M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$299.8M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$88.0M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$73.8M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$79.9M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$344.4M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$101.8M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$79.5M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$88.6M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
-9.9%
160.3%
Q3 25
10.7%
46.6%
Q2 25
6.8%
39.1%
Q1 25
20.1%
42.4%
Q4 24
-1.1%
181.2%
Q3 24
5.1%
52.6%
Q2 24
4.7%
41.7%
Q1 24
9.4%
45.2%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
2.6%
20.7%
Q3 25
2.6%
6.5%
Q2 25
2.3%
3.2%
Q1 25
2.4%
3.0%
Q4 24
2.0%
9.8%
Q3 24
4.1%
2.0%
Q2 24
3.4%
1.9%
Q1 24
4.0%
2.7%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
NSA
NSA
Q4 25
-0.92×
14.79×
Q3 25
3.90×
5.44×
Q2 25
3.29×
4.10×
Q1 25
4.16×
6.59×
Q4 24
0.12×
21.70×
Q3 24
6.22×
5.65×
Q2 24
33.57×
4.88×
Q1 24
40.20×
1.59×

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%

NSA
NSA

Segment breakdown not available.

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