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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC (APEI) and Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Upstart Holdings, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($296.1M vs $158.3M, roughly 1.9× AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC). AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION INC runs the higher net margin — 8.0% vs 6.3%, a 1.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Upstart Holdings, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (35.2% vs -3.5%). Upstart Holdings, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($108.4M vs $-15.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Upstart Holdings, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (52.2% 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.
Upstart is an AI lending platform that partners with banks and credit unions to provide consumer loans using non-traditional variables, such as education and employment, to predict creditworthiness.
APEI vs UPST — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $158.3M | $296.1M |
| Net Profit | $12.6M | $18.6M |
| Gross Margin | 56.4% | — |
| Operating Margin | 12.0% | 6.4% |
| Net Margin | 8.0% | 6.3% |
| Revenue YoY | -3.5% | 35.2% |
| Net Profit YoY | -2.7% | 776.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.67 | $0.20 |
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 | $296.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $163.2M | $277.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.8M | $257.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $164.6M | $213.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $164.1M | $219.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $153.1M | $162.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $152.9M | $127.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $154.4M | $127.8M |
| Q4 25 | $12.6M | $18.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6M | $31.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.5M | $5.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $8.9M | $-2.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $13.0M | $-2.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.3M | $-6.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $371.0K | $-54.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $516.0K | $-64.6M |
| 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% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 53.1% | — |
| Q4 25 | 12.0% | 6.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.9% | 8.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 1.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.4% | -2.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.1% | -2.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.7% | -27.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.5% | -43.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.4% | -52.8% |
| Q4 25 | 8.0% | 6.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.4% | 11.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 2.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.4% | -1.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | -1.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | -4.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.2% | -42.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.3% | -50.5% |
| Q4 25 | $0.67 | $0.20 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.30 | $0.23 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-0.02 | $0.05 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.41 | $-0.03 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.63 | $-0.01 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.04 | $-0.07 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.62 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-0.06 | $-0.74 |
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 | $652.4M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $94.7M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $294.8M | $798.8M |
| Total Assets | $521.4M | $3.0B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.32× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $174.1M | $652.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $191.3M | $489.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $174.9M | $395.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $161.6M | $599.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $131.9M | $788.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $135.4M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $129.8M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $125.3M | — |
| 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 | $798.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $279.3M | $743.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $722.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $310.0M | $676.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $303.9M | $633.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $290.4M | $595.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $288.7M | $594.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $288.5M | $612.8M |
| Q4 25 | $521.4M | $3.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $525.3M | $2.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $537.4M | $2.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $578.7M | $2.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $570.1M | $2.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $569.6M | $1.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $560.7M | $1.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $559.0M | $1.9B |
| 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 | $108.6M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-15.6M | $108.4M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -9.9% | 36.6% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.6% | 0.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -0.92× | 5.82× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $46.1M | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-11.6M | $108.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $21.7M | $-122.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8M | $-120.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $37.0M | $-13.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.6M | $-110.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $14.1M | $179.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5M | $65.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.7M | $52.6M |
| Q4 25 | $-15.6M | $108.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.5M | $-122.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.1M | $-120.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $33.1M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $-1.8M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.8M | $179.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.3M | $65.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $14.5M | $51.9M |
| Q4 25 | -9.9% | 36.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 10.7% | -44.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.8% | -46.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 20.1% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | -1.1% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 5.1% | 110.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 51.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | 40.6% |
| Q4 25 | 2.6% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.6% | 0.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.3% | 0.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.4% | 0.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 0.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.0% | 0.5% |
| Q4 25 | -0.92× | 5.82× | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.90× | -3.86× | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.29× | -21.43× | ||
| 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% |
UPST
| Personal Lending Segment | $201.4M | 68% |
| Servicing Fees Net | $39.5M | 13% |
| Servicing Fees | $27.5M | 9% |
| Other | $15.7M | 5% |
| Borrower Fees | $8.4M | 3% |
| Collection Agency Fees | $3.5M | 1% |
