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

PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($211.6M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.3× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). On growth, PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (20.0% vs -3.5%). PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp produced more free cash flow last quarter ($37.9M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp's revenue compounded faster (12.2% 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.

Perdoceo Education Corporation (PRDO) is a public company that owns five for-profit universities in the United States: American Intercontinental University, Colorado Technical University, California Southern University, Trident University International, and University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The company was previously known as Career Education Corporation.

APEI vs PRDO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PRDO
PRDO
1.3× larger
PRDO
$211.6M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PRDO
PRDO
+23.5% gap
PRDO
20.0%
-3.5%
APEI
More free cash flow
PRDO
PRDO
$53.5M more FCF
PRDO
$37.9M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PRDO
PRDO
Annualised
PRDO
12.2%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Revenue
$158.3M
$211.6M
Net Profit
$12.6M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
19.8%
Net Margin
8.0%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
20.0%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.55

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
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$158.3M
$211.6M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$211.9M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$209.6M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$213.0M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$176.4M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$169.8M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$166.7M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$168.3M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$12.6M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$39.9M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$41.0M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$43.7M
Q4 24
$13.0M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$38.3M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$38.4M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$39.4M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
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%
Q1 24
53.1%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
12.0%
19.8%
Q3 25
5.9%
24.1%
Q2 25
4.3%
24.5%
Q1 25
7.4%
24.3%
Q4 24
13.1%
21.1%
Q3 24
2.7%
26.4%
Q2 24
1.5%
27.6%
Q1 24
3.4%
27.5%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
8.0%
Q3 25
3.4%
18.8%
Q2 25
2.8%
19.6%
Q1 25
5.4%
20.5%
Q4 24
7.9%
Q3 24
1.5%
22.5%
Q2 24
0.2%
23.0%
Q1 24
0.3%
23.4%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$0.67
$0.55
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.60
Q2 25
$-0.02
$0.62
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.65
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.46
Q3 24
$0.04
$0.57
Q2 24
$-0.06
$0.57
Q1 24
$-0.06
$0.59

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$111.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$972.4M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$1.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$174.1M
$111.0M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$159.5M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$172.1M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$132.1M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$109.1M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$238.0M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$127.9M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$125.8M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
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
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$294.8M
$972.4M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$997.9M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$984.6M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$970.3M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$959.5M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$935.4M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$899.5M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$866.1M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$521.4M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$1.3B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$1.1B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$1.1B
Q1 24
$559.0M
$1.1B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
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
PRDO
PRDO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$40.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$37.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
17.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
1.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$216.7M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$40.1M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$41.2M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$78.8M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$65.1M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$17.6M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$51.0M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$38.5M
Q1 24
$20.7M
$54.5M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$37.9M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$39.4M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$76.0M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$63.4M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$16.0M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$50.0M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$37.7M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$53.3M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
-9.9%
17.9%
Q3 25
10.7%
18.6%
Q2 25
6.8%
36.3%
Q1 25
20.1%
29.8%
Q4 24
-1.1%
9.1%
Q3 24
5.1%
29.4%
Q2 24
4.7%
22.6%
Q1 24
9.4%
31.7%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
2.6%
1.1%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.9%
Q2 25
2.3%
1.3%
Q1 25
2.4%
0.8%
Q4 24
2.0%
0.9%
Q3 24
4.1%
0.6%
Q2 24
3.4%
0.5%
Q1 24
4.0%
0.7%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
PRDO
PRDO
Q4 25
-0.92×
Q3 25
3.90×
1.03×
Q2 25
3.29×
1.92×
Q1 25
4.16×
1.49×
Q4 24
0.12×
Q3 24
6.22×
1.33×
Q2 24
33.57×
1.00×
Q1 24
40.20×
1.38×

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%

PRDO
PRDO

CTU$107.0M51%
AIUS$60.8M29%
University Of St Augustine For Health Sciences Llc$43.7M21%
Other$1.1M1%

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