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

Smith Douglas Homes Corp. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($260.4M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.6× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs 1.4%, a 6.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-3.5% vs -9.4%). Smith Douglas Homes Corp. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($8.7M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Smith Douglas Homes Corp.'s revenue compounded faster (17.3% 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.

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, United States.

APEI vs SDHC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SDHC
SDHC
1.6× larger
SDHC
$260.4M
$158.3M
APEI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
APEI
APEI
+5.9% gap
APEI
-3.5%
-9.4%
SDHC
Higher net margin
APEI
APEI
6.6% more per $
APEI
8.0%
1.4%
SDHC
More free cash flow
SDHC
SDHC
$24.4M more FCF
SDHC
$8.7M
$-15.6M
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SDHC
SDHC
Annualised
SDHC
17.3%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Revenue
$158.3M
$260.4M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$3.5M
Gross Margin
56.4%
19.9%
Operating Margin
12.0%
6.5%
Net Margin
8.0%
1.4%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
-9.4%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
-14.3%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$0.39

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
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$158.3M
$260.4M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$262.0M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$223.9M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$224.7M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$287.5M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$277.8M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$220.9M
Q1 24
$154.4M
$189.2M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$12.6M
$3.5M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$2.1M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$2.4M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$2.7M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$4.1M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$5.3M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$3.6M
Q1 24
$516.0K
$3.0M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
56.4%
19.9%
Q3 25
54.2%
21.0%
Q2 25
51.8%
23.2%
Q1 25
54.5%
23.8%
Q4 24
56.3%
25.5%
Q3 24
50.8%
26.5%
Q2 24
50.2%
26.7%
Q1 24
53.1%
26.1%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
12.0%
6.5%
Q3 25
5.9%
6.6%
Q2 25
4.3%
7.7%
Q1 25
7.4%
8.7%
Q4 24
13.1%
10.4%
Q3 24
2.7%
14.2%
Q2 24
1.5%
11.7%
Q1 24
3.4%
11.3%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
8.0%
1.4%
Q3 25
3.4%
0.8%
Q2 25
2.8%
1.1%
Q1 25
5.4%
1.2%
Q4 24
7.9%
1.4%
Q3 24
1.5%
1.9%
Q2 24
0.2%
1.7%
Q1 24
0.3%
1.6%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$0.67
$0.39
Q3 25
$0.30
$0.24
Q2 25
$-0.02
$0.26
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.30
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.50
Q3 24
$0.04
$0.58
Q2 24
$-0.06
$0.40
Q1 24
$-0.06
$0.33

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$12.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$86.7M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$557.6M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$174.1M
$12.7M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$14.8M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$16.8M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$12.7M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$22.4M
Q3 24
$135.4M
$23.7M
Q2 24
$129.8M
$17.3M
Q1 24
$125.3M
$32.8M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
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
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$294.8M
$86.7M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$82.2M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$80.0M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$76.9M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$73.6M
Q3 24
$290.4M
$68.4M
Q2 24
$288.7M
$62.1M
Q1 24
$288.5M
$59.7M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$521.4M
$557.6M
Q3 25
$525.3M
$571.6M
Q2 25
$537.4M
$570.2M
Q1 25
$578.7M
$513.9M
Q4 24
$570.1M
$475.9M
Q3 24
$569.6M
$460.1M
Q2 24
$560.7M
$429.3M
Q1 24
$559.0M
$401.3M
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
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
SDHC
SDHC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$9.8M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-15.6M
$8.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-9.9%
3.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
0.4%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.92×
2.77×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$46.1M
$-36.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$9.8M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$22.8M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$-28.9M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$-34.9M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$5.5M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$22.9M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$39.0K
Q1 24
$20.7M
$-9.3M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
$-15.6M
$8.7M
Q3 25
$17.5M
$21.4M
Q2 25
$11.1M
$-31.1M
Q1 25
$33.1M
$-35.9M
Q4 24
$-1.8M
$4.8M
Q3 24
$7.8M
$22.3M
Q2 24
$7.3M
$-2.1M
Q1 24
$14.5M
$-9.7M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
-9.9%
3.4%
Q3 25
10.7%
8.2%
Q2 25
6.8%
-13.9%
Q1 25
20.1%
-16.0%
Q4 24
-1.1%
1.7%
Q3 24
5.1%
8.0%
Q2 24
4.7%
-1.0%
Q1 24
9.4%
-5.1%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
2.6%
0.4%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.5%
Q2 25
2.3%
0.9%
Q1 25
2.4%
0.5%
Q4 24
2.0%
0.2%
Q3 24
4.1%
0.2%
Q2 24
3.4%
1.0%
Q1 24
4.0%
0.2%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
SDHC
SDHC
Q4 25
-0.92×
2.77×
Q3 25
3.90×
10.70×
Q2 25
3.29×
-12.24×
Q1 25
4.16×
-13.01×
Q4 24
0.12×
1.33×
Q3 24
6.22×
4.28×
Q2 24
33.57×
0.01×
Q1 24
40.20×
-3.12×

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%

SDHC
SDHC

Southeast$164.7M63%
Central$95.8M37%

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