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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and SunPower Inc. (SPWR). 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 $79.7M, roughly 2.0× SunPower Inc.). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs -17.8%, a 25.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-3.5% vs -10.1%). Over the past eight quarters, SunPower Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (118.7% 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.

SunPower Corporation is an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems and battery energy storage products, primarily for residential customers. The company, headquartered in San Jose, California, was founded in 1985 by Richard Swanson, an electrical engineering professor from Stanford University. Cypress Semiconductor bought a majority interest in the company in 2002, growing it quickly until SunPower went public in 2005. TotalEnergies, a French energy and oil company p...

APEI vs SPWR — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
APEI
APEI
2.0× larger
APEI
$158.3M
$79.7M
SPWR
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
APEI
APEI
+6.6% gap
APEI
-3.5%
-10.1%
SPWR
Higher net margin
APEI
APEI
25.7% more per $
APEI
8.0%
-17.8%
SPWR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SPWR
SPWR
Annualised
SPWR
118.7%
1.3%
APEI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Revenue
$158.3M
$79.7M
Net Profit
$12.6M
$-14.2M
Gross Margin
56.4%
35.5%
Operating Margin
12.0%
-27.4%
Net Margin
8.0%
-17.8%
Revenue YoY
-3.5%
-10.1%
Net Profit YoY
-2.7%
-130.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.67
$-0.05

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
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$158.3M
$79.7M
Q3 25
$163.2M
$22.0M
Q2 25
$162.8M
$67.5M
Q1 25
$164.6M
$82.7M
Q4 24
$164.1M
$88.7M
Q3 24
$153.1M
Q2 24
$152.9M
Q1 24
$154.4M
Net Profit
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$12.6M
$-14.2M
Q3 25
$5.6M
$-16.9M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$-22.4M
Q1 25
$8.9M
$8.1M
Q4 24
$13.0M
$47.0M
Q3 24
$2.3M
Q2 24
$371.0K
Q1 24
$516.0K
Gross Margin
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
56.4%
35.5%
Q3 25
54.2%
Q2 25
51.8%
42.6%
Q1 25
54.5%
48.5%
Q4 24
56.3%
46.5%
Q3 24
50.8%
Q2 24
50.2%
Q1 24
53.1%
Operating Margin
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
12.0%
-27.4%
Q3 25
5.9%
-15.7%
Q2 25
4.3%
-4.0%
Q1 25
7.4%
1.3%
Q4 24
13.1%
-24.2%
Q3 24
2.7%
Q2 24
1.5%
Q1 24
3.4%
Net Margin
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
8.0%
-17.8%
Q3 25
3.4%
-76.9%
Q2 25
2.8%
-33.2%
Q1 25
5.4%
9.8%
Q4 24
7.9%
53.0%
Q3 24
1.5%
Q2 24
0.2%
Q1 24
0.3%
EPS (diluted)
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$0.67
$-0.05
Q3 25
$0.30
$-0.19
Q2 25
$-0.02
$-0.28
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.00
Q4 24
$0.63
$0.27
Q3 24
$0.04
Q2 24
$-0.06
Q1 24
$-0.06

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$174.1M
$9.6M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$94.7M
$164.8M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$294.8M
$-90.1M
Total Assets
$521.4M
$241.2M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.32×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$174.1M
$9.6M
Q3 25
$191.3M
$5.1M
Q2 25
$174.9M
$11.1M
Q1 25
$161.6M
$10.6M
Q4 24
$131.9M
$13.4M
Q3 24
$135.4M
Q2 24
$129.8M
Q1 24
$125.3M
Total Debt
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$94.7M
$164.8M
Q3 25
$94.4M
$204.3M
Q2 25
$94.1M
$152.9M
Q1 25
$93.7M
Q4 24
$93.4M
$147.3M
Q3 24
$93.1M
Q2 24
$92.8M
Q1 24
$95.0M
Stockholders' Equity
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$294.8M
$-90.1M
Q3 25
$279.3M
$-112.3M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$-107.2M
Q1 25
$310.0M
$-89.0M
Q4 24
$303.9M
$-97.5M
Q3 24
$290.4M
Q2 24
$288.7M
Q1 24
$288.5M
Total Assets
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$521.4M
$241.2M
Q3 25
$525.3M
$208.3M
Q2 25
$537.4M
$163.1M
Q1 25
$578.7M
$147.8M
Q4 24
$570.1M
$144.5M
Q3 24
$569.6M
Q2 24
$560.7M
Q1 24
$559.0M
Debt / Equity
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
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
SPWR
SPWR
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-11.6M
$-1.9M
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
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
$-11.6M
$-1.9M
Q3 25
$21.7M
$-6.4M
Q2 25
$14.8M
$-4.4M
Q1 25
$37.0M
$-2.6M
Q4 24
$1.6M
$-25.6M
Q3 24
$14.1M
Q2 24
$12.5M
Q1 24
$20.7M
Free Cash Flow
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
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
Q1 24
$14.5M
FCF Margin
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
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%
Q1 24
9.4%
Capex Intensity
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
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%
Q1 24
4.0%
Cash Conversion
APEI
APEI
SPWR
SPWR
Q4 25
-0.92×
Q3 25
3.90×
Q2 25
3.29×
Q1 25
4.16×
-0.32×
Q4 24
0.12×
-0.54×
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
APEI

American Public Education Inc Segment$71.0M45%
Rasmussen University Segment$66.6M42%
Hondros College Of Nursing Segment$20.7M13%

SPWR
SPWR

Residential Solar Installation$46.9M59%
New Homes Business$22.7M29%
Other$10.1M13%

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