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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Shutterstock, Inc. (SSTK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Shutterstock, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($220.2M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.4× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs -7.3%, a 15.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-3.5% vs -12.0%). Shutterstock, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($25.9M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Shutterstock, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (1.4% 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.
Shutterstock, Inc. is an American provider of stock photography, stock footage, stock music, and editing tools; it is headquartered in New York. Founded in 2002 by programmer and photographer Jon Oringer, Shutterstock maintains a library of around 200 million royalty-free stock photos, vector graphics, and illustrations, with around 10 million video clips and music tracks available for licensing. Originally a subscription site only, Shutterstock expanded beyond subscriptions into à la carte p...
APEI vs SSTK — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $220.2M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $-16.0M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | 55.8% |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | -1.1% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | -7.3% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | -12.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | -1021.0% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $-0.47 |
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 | $220.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $260.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $267.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $242.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $250.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $250.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $220.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $214.3M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $-16.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $13.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $29.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $18.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $-1.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $17.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $3.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $16.1M |
| Q4 25 | 56.4% | 55.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 54.2% | 60.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 51.8% | 60.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 54.5% | 58.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 56.3% | 55.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 50.8% | 58.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 50.2% | 58.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | 58.8% |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | -1.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 12.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 13.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | 4.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | 5.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | 7.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | 9.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | 7.8% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | -7.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 5.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 11.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | 7.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | -0.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 7.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | 1.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | 7.5% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $-0.47 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $0.37 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.82 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $0.53 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $-0.04 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $0.50 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $0.10 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $0.45 |
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 | $178.2M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $581.0M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $1.4B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $178.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $165.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $116.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $112.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $111.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | $131.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | $74.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | $71.8M |
| 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 | — |
| Q4 25 | $294.8M | $581.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $594.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $586.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $547.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $518.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $522.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $520.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $541.3M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $1.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $1.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $1.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $1.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $1.0B |
| 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $-11.6M | $36.2M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $25.9M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 11.8% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 4.7% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | $123.8M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $36.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $78.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $26.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $25.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $8.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $-11.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $28.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $8.3M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $25.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $68.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $15.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | $14.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | $-952.0K | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $-26.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $18.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $-6.2M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 11.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | 26.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | 5.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | 6.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | -0.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | -10.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 8.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | -2.9% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 4.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 4.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 4.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 4.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 3.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 5.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 4.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 6.7% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | 5.86× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | 0.91× | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.16× | 1.35× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.12× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.22× | -0.66× | ||
| Q2 24 | 33.57× | 7.71× | ||
| Q1 24 | 40.20× | 0.51× |
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% |
SSTK
Segment breakdown not available.
