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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (SFBS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($159.0M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.0× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 52.2% vs 8.0%, a 44.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. Over the past eight quarters, ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (17.7% 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.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. is a U.S.-based bank holding company operating full-service banking locations primarily across the Southeastern United States. It offers a full suite of commercial banking, consumer banking, wealth management, and mortgage lending services to small and medium-sized businesses, professional clients, and individual consumers.

APEI vs SFBS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SFBS
SFBS
1.0× larger
SFBS
$159.0M
$158.3M
APEI
Higher net margin
SFBS
SFBS
44.2% more per $
SFBS
52.2%
8.0%
APEI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SFBS
SFBS
Annualised
SFBS
17.7%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Revenue
$158.3M
$159.0M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$83.0M
Gross Margin
56.4%
Operating Margin
12.0%
Net Margin
8.0%
52.2%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
31.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$1.52

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
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
$159.0M
Q4 25
$158.3M
$162.2M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$136.3M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$132.1M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$131.8M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$131.9M
Q3 24
$153.1M
$123.7M
Q2 24
$152.9M
$114.8M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
$83.0M
Q4 25
$12.6M
$86.4M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$65.6M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$61.4M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$63.2M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$65.2M
Q3 24
$2.3M
$59.9M
Q2 24
$371.0K
$52.1M
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
Q4 25
12.0%
66.3%
Q3 25
5.9%
57.8%
Q2 25
4.3%
58.0%
Q1 25
7.4%
60.0%
Q4 24
13.1%
60.2%
Q3 24
2.7%
58.5%
Q2 24
1.5%
58.0%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
52.2%
Q4 25
8.0%
59.0%
Q3 25
3.4%
48.1%
Q2 25
2.8%
46.5%
Q1 25
5.4%
48.0%
Q4 24
7.9%
52.9%
Q3 24
1.5%
48.4%
Q2 24
0.2%
45.4%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
$1.52
Q4 25
$0.67
$1.58
Q3 25
$0.30
$1.20
Q2 25
$-0.02
$1.12
Q1 25
$0.41
$1.16
Q4 24
$0.63
$1.19
Q3 24
$0.04
$1.10
Q2 24
$-0.06
$0.95

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$1.8B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$1.9B
Total Assets
$521.4M
$18.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
$1.8B
Q4 25
$174.1M
Q3 25
$191.3M
Q2 25
$174.9M
Q1 25
$161.6M
Q4 24
$131.9M
Q3 24
$135.4M
Q2 24
$129.8M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
$1.9B
Q4 25
$294.8M
$1.8B
Q3 25
$279.3M
$1.8B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$1.7B
Q1 25
$310.0M
$1.7B
Q4 24
$303.9M
$1.6B
Q3 24
$290.4M
$1.6B
Q2 24
$288.7M
$1.5B
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
$18.2B
Q4 25
$521.4M
$17.7B
Q3 25
$525.3M
$17.6B
Q2 25
$537.4M
$17.4B
Q1 25
$578.7M
$18.6B
Q4 24
$570.1M
$17.4B
Q3 24
$569.6M
$16.4B
Q2 24
$560.7M
$16.0B
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$355.2M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$140.9M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$67.6M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$48.0M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$252.9M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$84.0M
Q2 24
$12.5M
$48.3M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
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
SFBS
SFBS
Q1 26
Q4 25
-0.92×
4.11×
Q3 25
3.90×
2.15×
Q2 25
3.29×
1.10×
Q1 25
4.16×
0.76×
Q4 24
0.12×
3.88×
Q3 24
6.22×
1.40×
Q2 24
33.57×
0.93×

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%

SFBS
SFBS

Net Interest Income$148.1M93%
Noninterest Income$10.8M7%

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