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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Sprout Social, Inc. (SPT). 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 $120.9M, roughly 1.3× Sprout Social, Inc.). On growth, Sprout Social, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (12.9% vs -3.5%). Sprout Social, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($9.9M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Sprout Social, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (11.8% 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.
Sprout Social, Inc. is a technology company that runs a social media management platform. A public company headquartered in Chicago, it was founded in 2010 by Justyn Howard, Aaron Rankin, Gil Lara, and Peter Soung.
APEI vs SPT — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $120.9M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | — |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 77.6% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | -9.0% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | — |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 12.9% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | — |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $-0.18 |
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.
| Q4 25 | $158.3M | $120.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $115.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $111.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $109.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $107.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $102.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $99.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $96.8M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $-9.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $-12.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $-11.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $-17.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $-16.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $-13.6M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 77.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 77.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 77.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 77.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 78.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 77.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 77.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 76.8% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | -9.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | -7.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | -11.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | -10.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | -12.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | -16.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | -16.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | -13.7% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | -8.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | -10.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | -10.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | -16.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | -17.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | -14.0% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $-0.18 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $-0.16 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $-0.21 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $-0.19 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $-0.25 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $-0.30 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.30 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.24 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $174.1M | $95.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | $40.0M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $203.4M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $523.1M |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | 0.20× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $95.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $90.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $101.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $100.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $86.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $82.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $80.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $69.2M |
| Q4 25 | $94.7M | $40.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $94.4M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $94.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $93.7M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.4M | $25.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $93.1M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $92.8M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $95.0M | — |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $203.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $194.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $184.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $175.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $166.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $158.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $152.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $147.3M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $523.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $481.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $422.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $424.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $428.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $388.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $393.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $389.9M |
| Q4 25 | 0.32× | 0.20× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.34× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.35× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.30× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.31× | 0.15× | ||
| 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $-11.6M | $10.9M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $9.9M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 8.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 0.9% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $39.3M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $10.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $9.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $5.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $18.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $4.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $9.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $2.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $11.2M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $9.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $8.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $4.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $16.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $3.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $8.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $1.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $10.1M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 8.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 7.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 3.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 15.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | 3.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 1.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | 10.4% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 1.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 0.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 0.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 1.1% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 40.20× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
APEI
| American Public Education Inc Segment | $71.0M | 45% |
| Rasmussen University Segment | $66.6M | 42% |
| Hondros College Of Nursing Segment | $20.7M | 13% |
SPT
Segment breakdown not available.
